Summary
Most inbound MQLs go cold because follow-up is slow, generic, or in the wrong channel. The Inbound MQL Conversion play fixes that — Alta routes every inbound lead into a multi-channel cadence (LinkedIn, email, calls), picks the right sender persona based on the prospect's company size, and adds an optional AI-calling lead magnet so prospects get instant value. Teams running this play typically recover ~15% of leads they'd otherwise lose.
Who this is for
Marketing, demand gen, and SDR leaders sitting on a high volume of inbound MQLs and watching too many of them never book a meeting. Works whether your form lives on your site, an event page, a webinar landing page, or a lead-magnet URL like inbound.altahq.com.
Before you start
An Alta workspace with connected LinkedIn accounts and mailboxes for the senders you want to use (typically: SDR/AE for sub-150-employee accounts, VP/Director or founder for 150+).
A way to push MQLs into Alta — a form, a webhook, a CRM sync (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho, Dynamics 365), or the public lead-magnet page.
An optional AI-calling assistant (Alex or similar) if you want to add the instant-value AI-call lead magnet.
The shape of the play
This play has three parallel cadences, each tuned to a different prospect state:
MQL — no meeting. The leaking bucket. People who converted but never booked. Multi-channel cadence, AE/SDR sender for sub-150-employee companies, VP/Director or founder sender for 150+.
Hot leads. People who booked but didn't show, or who hit a high-intent page. Same persona routing — all reps for sub-150, founder/leadership reps for 150+.
AI-calling lead magnet. A low-friction "talk to our AI" entry point that captures leads and auto-enrolls them in the MQL nurture cadence. Lives at a dedicated page (e.g.
inbound.altahq.com) and gives buyers instant value while you sleep.
How to set the play up in Alta
Step 1: Create the "MQL — no meeting" campaign
Create a new campaign with an audience source that matches how MQLs land in Alta — typically a CRM segment ("Lifecycle stage = MQL AND last meeting is null") or a Flows webhook from your form.
Build a multi-channel sequence: LinkedIn connect → LinkedIn message → email → email → call. Use the Refine button on each prompt to layer in tone and the specific reason they converted.
Set the sender to a default AE/SDR for sub-150-employee companies. We'll route larger accounts to a different persona in Step 3.
Use prompt variables to reference the asset they converted on ("Saw you grabbed the {asset_name} — happy to share what we learned building it…") so the cadence doesn't feel like cold outbound.
Step 2: Create the "hot leads" campaign
Clone the MQL campaign and tighten the sequence — fewer touches, faster cadence, more direct CTA. These prospects are already warm; the goal is to remove friction, not nurture them.
Add a "book a time" CTA in the first message rather than the third.
Step 3: Route large accounts to a senior sender
In each campaign, split the audience by company size — Alta's audience filters expose employee count and industry.
For accounts with 150+ employees, override the default sender with a VP, Director, or founder persona. Larger accounts respond at a much higher rate to senior outreach.
Keep the message body identical or near-identical — the persona swap alone moves the metric.
Step 4: Add the AI-calling lead magnet (optional but high-leverage)
Stand up an AI calling assistant (Alex or your own) in Alta and publish a public lead-magnet page where prospects can click "Talk to Alex" and get an instant qualification call.
Wire the captured leads into the MQL cadence as a new audience source — every prospect that talks to Alex auto-enrolls in email + LinkedIn follow-up.
Use the page in CTAs across your site, your webinars, and your event booths. It's a low-friction entry point that gives buyers value the moment they raise their hand.
Step 5: Measure what matters
Track MQL → meeting % as the headline metric — that's what this play is built to move.
Watch reply rate by persona — the sub-150 vs. 150+ split should show clearly higher reply rates on the senior sender for larger accounts.
Watch the AI-call → MQL → meeting funnel separately. Most teams see roughly 15% of otherwise-lost leads convert when this is wired in.
Why it works
Seals the leaking bucket. MQLs you already paid for stop falling out at the first follow-up gap.
Right channel, right sender. Persona routing by company size lifts senior-buyer reply rates without you having to think about it on each lead.
Instant value. The AI-calling lead magnet gives prospects something useful the moment they show interest — no "we'll get back to you in 1–2 business days".
Brand signal. Prospects who hit a polished, multi-touch Alta cadence often comment on the flow itself — it strengthens your brand even when they don't convert this quarter.
Tips and common pitfalls
Don't merge MQL and hot-lead cadences. The asks are different — keep them as separate campaigns so each can be tuned independently.
Persona routing is binary by default. Start with sub-150 vs. 150+. Add more buckets only once you have evidence that another cohort needs a different sender.
Reference the asset. The opener should mention what they converted on. Generic "thanks for your interest" is worse than no follow-up.
AI calls aren't replacements. The AI-call lead magnet is a qualifier and a value-add — not a substitute for a human handoff once intent is real.
Auto-enroll, don't double-enroll. Use audience exclusions so the same lead doesn't sit in both the "MQL — no meeting" and "hot leads" cadences at once.
Related
How to Configure the Call flow
Inbound Call Script Best Practices
Outbound Call Script Best Practices
How to Use Message Scoring in Alta
How to A/B Test Subject Lines and CTAs in Your Campaigns