How Xgrid Built a 15-Minute Speed-to-Lead Engine That Turned Website Intent Into Immediate Outreach

Client: Mid-Market B2B Tech Company
Tech Stack: RB2B, Apollo, Zapier, GPT, HubSpot, Slack
Engagement Type: Speed-to-Lead Automation + Omni-Channel Follow-Up Framework

When your prospects show buying intent, every minute counts — especially in B2B sales. 

Our client faced a persistent issue: high-intent signals were being captured, but lead follow-up was untimely, inconsistent, and lacked context. 

Sales teams often learned about interest hours or days later, and return visitors — the most valuable audience — were treated the same as first-time visitors.

The question was simple:

Can we build a system that qualifies, sequences, and alerts sales within minutes of prospect intent?

The answer? Yes — within 15 minutes.

The Problem: Intent Was There — Speed Wasn’t

Before working with Xgrid, the client faced several blockers:

• Website visitors showed intent but remained anonymous
• Outreach depended heavily on form submissions
• No real-time visibility into website activity for sales
• Manual processes slowed down response times
• Returning visitors were difficult to identify or act on

In short, intent signals existed — but they weren’t operationalized fast enough.

The Objective

Xgrid aligned marketing and sales around three clear goals:

• 1. Identify website visitors automatically using intent data
• 2. Trigger first-touch outreach within 15 minutes of a visit
• 3. Build a scalable automation framework that could evolve over time

The system needed to move fast — without overwhelming sales or harming email health.

The Solution: A Speed-to-Lead Automation Framework

Xgrid designed a modular automation framework using RB2B, Apollo, Zapier, GPT, HubSpot, and Slack, with Apollo acting as the central execution layer.

This allowed the client to move from passive website visits to active outbound engagement — in minutes.

How the System Works (End-to-End)

Step 1: Visitor Identification via RB2B

When a visitor lands on the website:

• RB2B identifies the visitor
• Captures:
  • The page they visited
  • The associated email address, which is then enriched and validated through Apollo.

This removed the dependency on gated forms and enabled action on early-stage intent.

Step 2: RB2B → Google Sheets via API

Once identified:

• RB2B pushes visitor data to a Google Sheet using an API connection
• Each enriched visitor event is logged as a new row containing:
  • Email
  • Page visited
  • Timestamp

The sheet acts as a clean staging layer and audit log.

Step 3: Real-Time Automation via Zapier

The moment a new row is added:

• Zapier detects the update instantly
• Pulls the visitor data
• Routes it directly into Apollo

This eliminates manual handoffs and ensures near-real-time processing.

Step 4: Automated Outreach via Apollo (15-Minute SLA)

Inside Apollo:

• A pre-configured email sequence is already live
• Once the contact is passed from Zapier:
  • They are added to the appropriate list
  • An automated email is triggered within 15 minutes

This ensured prospects were contacted while intent was still fresh.

Step 5: Intelligent Visitor Handling (RB2B + Apollo)

New Visitors

• Added to Apollo
• Enrolled into a drip sequence
• Internal Slack notification sent to sales

Returning Visitors

• If within active drip window:
  • No re-enrollment
  • High-intent Slack alert sent to sales
• If beyond drip window:
  • Email with stronger CTA (calendar invite or meeting prompt)
  • Slack alert flagged as returning visitor

This reduced email fatigue while prioritizing high-intent accounts.

Step 6: Enrichment & Qualification (Apollo + Marketing Logic)

Within Apollo:

• Emails are enriched and evaluated for:
  • Persona Fit (defined by Marketing)
  • Company fit
• If multiple emails exist:
  • Apollo selects the most suitable address
• Qualified contacts are synced to HubSpot for lifecycle tracking

If enrichment fails:

• No automated email is sent
• Sales is notified via Slack using existing RB2B data

Step 7: AI-Assisted Messaging (GPT)

To balance speed with relevance:

• GPT supports email copy creation
• Messaging aligns with:
  • Page visited
  • Known pain-point themes
• Enables personalization at scale without slowing execution

Step 8: Sales Alerts via Slack

Slack acts as the real-time command center.

Sales receives alerts for:

• Email sent
• Email opened or replied
• Returning high-intent visitors
• Unenriched contacts
• Bounce or spam events

This gives sales context, urgency, and clarity — without dashboards.

Email Health & Deliverability Controls

To protect sender reputation and ensure long-term deliverability, Xgrid implemented a layered approach that combined technical safeguards, controlled sending behavior, and content best practices.

1. Technical Setup

• SPF, DKIM, and DMARC were properly configured to authenticate the sending domain and prevent spoofing.
• Emails were sent from a dedicated outbound domain (for example, getcompany.com) to protect the primary corporate domain’s reputation.

This ensured outbound activity did not negatively impact core business email.

2. Sending Behavior Controls

To avoid spam filters and build trust with inbox providers:

• Email warming was implemented using automated tools over a 3–4 week period before scaling volume.
• Daily sending limits were enforced, capped at approximately 30–50 emails per inbox per day.
• Staggered sending logic randomized send times to mimic human behavior rather than batch automation.

These controls allowed the system to scale safely without triggering deliverability issues.

3. Content Quality & Suppression Logic

To further reduce risk:

• Initial outreach emails were designed with minimal links (at most one link) and reduced tracking to avoid spam triggers.
• Clear and simple opt-out language was included to discourage spam complaints.
• Any email that bounced, landed in spam, or failed to send:
  • Was automatically removed from active sequences
  • Triggered a Slack alert to notify sales
  • Was suppressed from future outreach to prevent repeated attempts on bad data

Together, these measures ensured that speed-to-lead execution did not come at the cost of email health.

Full Cycle Outcome: Intent to Outreach in 15 Minutes

Before Xgrid:

• Website intent went largely unused
• Sales engagement was delayed by days
• Form fills were the only reliable trigger

After Xgrid:

• Website visitors received outreach within 15 minutes
• Sales gained real-time visibility into intent
• Returning visitors were prioritized intelligently
• The website became an active outbound signal, not just a content hub

What’s Next

With the foundation in place, future phases include:

• Session-level identification using PostHog and Apollo data
• Gated asset strategies for returning visitors
• Refined messaging using a three-pain-point framework
• Advanced scoring to further prioritize sales engagement

Why This Matters

Speed to lead isn’t just about being fast — it’s about being fast with context.

By combining RB2B, Apollo, Zapier, GPT, HubSpot, and Slack, Xgrid helped the client convert anonymous intent into timely, relevant outreach — all within a 15-minute window.

Because in B2B, the first meaningful follow-up often wins.