What an alert should say
Northwind Logistics · Fit 86 · UK, ~400 people Came from: ChatGPT ad, "month-end close for logistics" Read: pricing, NetSuite integration Next step: contact the financial controller this week
Fictional example.
Filters
- Fit score 75 or above.
- Exclude customers, partners, competitors and open late-stage deals.
- One alert per company per week, unless behaviour changes.
Routing
- Named accounts: to the owner directly.
- Unowned accounts: to a shared channel with a round-robin owner.
- Low fit: no alert; weekly digest only.
Review
Every month, check how many alerts led to a contact and a meeting. Raise the threshold if most are ignored.
A routing table
| Account type | Fit | Channel | Response time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Named tier-1 account | Any | DM to owner | Same day |
| Unowned, in profile | 75+ | #ai-accounts | Within one working day |
| Unowned, in profile | 60–74 | Weekly digest | Weekly |
| Customer | – | Account manager digest | Weekly |
Questions
Slack or CRM tasks?
Slack for speed, CRM for record. Send the alert to Slack and log it in the CRM automatically.
How many alerts a day is too many?
If reps can't act on every alert they see, there are too many. Raise the threshold.
Should customers trigger alerts?
Not to new-business reps. A weekly digest for account managers can flag expansion interest.
Why most alert systems fail
They start with every identified company and wonder why reps mute the channel. Alerts work when they're rare enough to be read and specific enough to act on. A good test: could a rep send a useful message within five minutes of reading the alert, without opening another tool? If not, the alert needs more context or a higher threshold.
Context that makes alerts actionable
- The question: what the company was trying to solve.
- The pages: what they cared about: price, security, integrations.
- The fit: why this company matters.
- The owner: who should act, by name.
- The suggested step: a role to contact and a topic to raise.
Measure the alert channel itself
Track alerts sent, alerts acted on and meetings that followed. If fewer than half of alerts lead to an action, tighten the filters.
Start here: Company identification from AI. More articles in Company signals.