Sales outreach AI agent use case

6 min

In this guide, you'll create a sales outreach agent step by step in Make. Your agent will:

Watch your Gmail for new emails labeled as leads

Analyze the email content to decide whether the lead is a potential sales opportunity

Research the lead with web scraping to learn more about the lead company

Qualify the lead based on the information gathered

Check your calendar availability for a meeting if the lead qualification score is high

Draft a personalized email to the lead

Sends the email draft to you on Slack

Overview

You'll follow these steps to build your agent:

Build your AI agent scenario

Add tools

Test your AI agent

Finish with a Slack module

Once you complete the steps, you'll have a sales outreach agent that you can use or extend further, depending on your goals.

Later, you can tailor this agent to your company guidelines by adding knowledge, as shown in the video.

Prerequisites

You must set up the following before you build your agent:

A Gmail account with a label for lead emails called "Leads" or similar

A Slack account with a private channel called "Leads" or similar

Google Calendar

Typically, an external system, such as a form or CRM tool, would automatically send lead emails to your Gmail. For now, send yourself a sample email that looks like a typical lead inquiry and apply the "Lead" label.

Additionally, you'll use the instructions below when building your agent. Copy them now so you're ready to give them to your agent in Step 1.

You are a Lead Qualification Agent that autonomously processes inbound leads, researches companies, and drafts personalized responses with meeting proposals when appropriate.

INPUT FORMAT

You will receive:

sender_email: Email address of the lead

sender_name: Name of the person who sent the email

email_subject: Subject line of the email

email_body: Content of the email

thread_id: Gmail thread ID for threading

AVAILABLE TOOLS Research Tools:

Research Lead information - Research companies and gather intelligence

Meeting Tools:

Get Free/Busy information - Get user availability for next 7 days

Email Tools:

Create email draft - Create Gmail draft response Input: To, Subject, Body (MUST BE HTML FORMAT) CRITICAL: This tool must ALWAYS be called LAST in your workflow

CONTEXT You should always access your context to retrieve the knowledge of the kind of company we are and services we offer

YOUR WORKFLOW

STEP 1: EXTRACT COMPANY DOMAIN

Extract the domain from sender_email (everything after @)

Identify the company name from the domain

Extract sender name and relevant context from email_body

STEP 2: RESEARCH THE COMPANY (MANDATORY)

Call research_lead_information with the company domain

Gather information about:

Industry and sector

Company size (estimated employees/revenue if available)

Products or services offered

Recent news, funding, or announcements

Potential pain points or business challenges

Technology stack or tools they use (if discoverable)

STEP 3: QUALIFY THE LEAD Analyze the gathered information and assign a qualification score:

HIGH - If 3 or more apply:

Company in target industry

Significant company size or budget indicators

Recent funding or growth signals

Clear pain point matching your solution

Specific inquiry or clear intent in email

MEDIUM - If 2 apply:

Relevant industry but unclear fit

Some budget indicators

General inquiry without specifics

Limited information available

LOW - If most apply:

Outside target industry

Very small company or individual

Generic or spam-like inquiry

No clear pain points

Minimal information available

STEP 4: MEETING WORTHINESS ASSESSMENT

Before proceeding, you must evaluate whether this lead warrants a meeting proposal. Consider:

PROPOSE A MEETING IF:

Qualification score is HIGH AND

Clear business opportunity exists (budget signals, specific need, decision-maker contact) AND

The inquiry is specific and actionable (not just information gathering) AND

There is explicit or implicit request for discussion/demo/call in the email AND

Timeline indicators suggest near-term decision making

DO NOT PROPOSE A MEETING IF:

Qualification score is LOW

Generic inquiry with no specific needs mentioned

Information-only request that can be handled via email

Student, academic, or research inquiry with no commercial intent

Sender appears to be in early exploration phase with no clear timeline

Red flags present (competitor research, spam patterns, unclear legitimacy)

MEDIUM qualification without strong engagement signals

MEETING DECISION FRAMEWORK: Ask yourself: "Would I personally want to spend 30 minutes on this call based on the information available?"

If YES: Proceed to get availability (Step 5) If NO: Skip to Step 6 (no meeting proposal)

STEP 5: GET CALENDAR AVAILABILITY (ONLY IF STEP 4 DETERMINED MEETING IS WARRANTED)

Step 5A: Get Calendar Availability

Call get_freebusy_information to retrieve available time slots for next 7 days

Analyze the returned availability data

Identify 2-3 available 30-minute slots within business hours (10 AM - 5 PM Berlin timezone)

Prefer slots in the next 3-5 business days

Avoid early morning (before 10 AM) or late afternoon (after 4:30 PM) slots

STEP 6: DRAFT PERSONALIZED EMAIL RESPONSE

Prepare a personalized email response that:

Acknowledges their specific inquiry or context from email_body

References specific company research (shows you did homework)

Addresses potential pain points discovered

Provides relevant value proposition

Includes clear call-to-action

Professional but warm tone

around 250 words

Email structure:

Greeting with name

Thank them and acknowledge their specific inquiry

1-2 sentences showing company knowledge

Brief value proposition relevant to their needs

Clear next step or call-to-action

Professional signature

IF MEETING SHOULD BE PROPOSED (based on Step 4 and 5):

Propose 2-3 specific available time slots from the calendar availability

Format: "I have availability on [Day, Date] at [Time] or [Day, Date] at [Time]. Would either of these work for you?"

Frame it as a helpful suggestion for discussion

Keep tone flexible and accommodating

IF NO MEETING SHOULD BE PROPOSED:

Provide helpful information or resources

Offer to schedule a call if they want to discuss further

Keep door open for future engagement

STEP 7: CREATE EMAIL DRAFT

Call create_email_draft with:

To: sender_email

Subject: Re: [original email_subject]

Body: Your drafted response in HTML format (including meeting time proposals if warranted)

CRITICAL: create_email_draft must be called for EVERY lead

HTML EMAIL FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS

When creating email drafts, format the body content in HTML with proper structure:

Basic structure:

Hi [Name],

[First paragraph content]

[Second paragraph content]

[Closing paragraph with call-to-action]

Best regards, [Your name] [Your title]

HTML formatting guidelines:

Wrap all content in and tags

Use inline CSS for styling (font-family, font-size, color, line-height)

Use tags for paragraphs with proper spacing

Use for line breaks within paragraphs

Use for emphasis if needed

Keep styling professional and clean

Ensure proper closing tags for all elements

IMPORTANT NOTES

This is a fully autonomous workflow - execute all steps without any user interaction

ALWAYS research the company before making any decisions

Apply critical thinking in Step 4 - not every lead deserves a meeting proposal

Base all decisions on objective criteria and available information

Keep email drafts personalized - avoid generic templates

When proposing meeting times, provide 2-3 specific options from available slots

Format meeting time proposals clearly with day, date, and time

CRITICAL: Email body content MUST always be in HTML format

CRITICAL: create_email_draft must ALWAYS be called for every lead

Reference specific details from the original email in your response draft

Work completely autonomously - no confirmations or user interactions needed

To start building, sign in to Make and click Create scenario at the top.

Add a Gmail trigger

The Gmail > Watch emails module triggers the scenario where your agent lives. It monitors your inbox for new emails and sends them to the agent to process further.

To add the Gmail > Watch emails module:

In the Scenario Builder, click the giant plus.

In the app search, search Gmail, and select Watch emails.

Click the module to open its settings.

In Connection, select an existing Gmail connection from the dropdown or click Add to create a new one.

In Filter type, select Simple filter.

In Folder, select All mail.

In Label, select the label you set up in Gmail for lead emails, such as Leads.

In Criteria, select All messages.

In Limit, specify the number of emails to return in each run, such as 5 or 10.

In Content format, select Full content.

Click Save.

In the dialog, select the point in time from which to process your inbox data. For example, to process only new emails from now on, select From now on.

Once you test this scenario, you can choose when to start processing inbox data at any time. Right-click the Gmail > Watch email and select Choose where to start.

Click the clock icon on the module to schedule the scenario.

In Schedule settings, specify how often your scenario runs, for example, every day at 9:00.

Click Save on the Scenario toolbar.

Click Run once on the Scenario toolbar to retrieve email data that you'll map this data in later modules.

You've now added the Gmail > Watch emails module to your AI agent scenario.

Add a Make AI Agent (New) module

Next, add the Make AI Agent (New) > Run an agent module to your scenario:

Click the plus icon next to the Gmail > Watch emails module.

Search for Make AI Agent (New) and click Run an agent.

In the Run an agent module settings, in Connection, select an existing AI provider connection from the dropdown. Alternatively, click Add to create a new one.

In Model, select a model.

In Instructions, add the copied instructions from prerequisites to this field.

In Input, copy the below input items and add them to the field. These items are email data you want the agent to work on.

sender_email: "{{1.fromEmail}}" sender_name: "{{1.fromName}}" email_subject: "{{1.subject}}" email_date: "{{1.internalDate}}" email_body: "{{1.fullTextBody}}" thread_id: "{{1.threadId}}"

Replace the placeholders between the quotation marks: map the output values from the Gmail > Watch emails module that correspond to each input item.

Once done, the Inputs field looks like this:

Toggle Advanced settings.

In Response format, select Data structure from the dropdown.

In Response structure, click Add item.

In Name, enter "draft_mail_id."

In Label, enter "Mail ID."

In Description, copy the following instructions and add them to the field. They tell the agent to take the draft email id.

After creating the draft mail, you'll get back a JSON like: { "draftId": "r7956931764211347721", "id": "19b46f571debca3f", "threadId": "19b46f571debca3f", "labelIds": [ "DRAFT" ], "sysFolders": [ { "id": "DRAFT", "name": "Draft" } ] } Pass here the "id" item of the JSON. In the example is "19b46f571debca3f"

Click Save.

Click Save on the Scenario toolbar.

You've now added the Make AI Agent (New) > Run an agent module to your scenario. You'll finish the scenario with a Slack module in a later step.

Your sales outreach agent uses three modules as tools:

Google Calendar > Get Free/Busy Information: Checks your calendar for your meeting availability

Make AI Web Search > Generate a response: Researches the company associated with the lead email address

Gmail > Create a draft email: Creates an email draft based on the content of the lead email

Add a Google Calendar module

To add the Google Calendar > Get Free/Busy Information module to your agent:

Hover over the plus icon on the Run an agent module and click Add tool.

In the app search, search for and click Google Calendar.

Select the Get Free/Busy Information module.

In the Connection dropdown, select an existing Google connection or create an new one.

In Time Range From, map the Date value from the Gmail > Watch emails module. This tells the agent to search your calendar for free slots after the email sent date.

In Time Range To, select Let AI Agent decide. Optionally, click Add details and specify your preferred time range, for example, "Within one month after the date."

In Calendars, select Let AI Agent decide.

Click Save.

Click Save on the Scenario toolbar.

You've now added a Google Calendar > Get Free/Busy Information module to your agent.

Add a Make AI Web Search module

To add the Make AI Web Search > Generate a response module to your agent:

Hover over the plus icon on the Run an agent module and click Add tool.

In the app search, search for and click Make AI Web Search.

Select the Generate a response module.

In Text, copy the following instructions and add them to the field.

Research the company associated with the domain for the mail "{{1.fromEmail}}" Gather comprehensive lead qualification information including: COMPANY BASICS - Official company name - Industry and sector - Company size (number of employees, revenue if available) - Headquarters location - Website and online presence BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE - Core products or services offered - Business model (B2B, B2C, SaaS, etc.) - Target market and customer base - Key differentiators or unique value propositions RECENT ACTIVITY - Recent news, press releases, or announcements from the last 6 months - Funding rounds, acquisitions, or partnerships - Product launches or major updates - Leadership changes or company milestones SIGNALS AND INDICATORS - Growth signals (hiring, expansion, new offices) - Technology stack or tools they use (if discoverable) - Pain points or challenges mentioned in recent content - Budget indicators or financial health signals COMPETITIVE CONTEXT - Main competitors in their space - Market position or reputation - Any awards, recognition, or notable achievements Focus on recent and relevant information that would help qualify this lead and personalize outreach. Prioritize facts over speculation.

Replace the {{1.fromEmail}}placeholder between the quotation marks: map the From (email)output value from the Gmail > Watch emails module.

Once done, the Text field looks like this:

Click Save.

Click Save on the Scenario toolbar.

You've now added the Make AI Web Search > Generate a response module to your agent.

Add a Gmail module

To add the Gmail > Create a draft email module to your agent:

Hover over the plus icon on the Run an agent module and click Add tool.

In the app search, search for and click Gmail.

Select the Create a draft email module.

In the Connection dropdown, select an existing Google connection or create an new one.

In To, map the output value from the Gmail > Watch emails module that corresponds to the sender address: From (email).

In Subject and Content fields, select Let AI Agent decide.

Click Save.

Click Save on the Scenario toolbar.

You've now added the Gmail > Create a draft email module to your agent. Next, test how well the agent works so far.

Now that you've added tools to your agent, run your scenario to test its performance.

To test your agent:

Next to Run once on the Scenario toolbar, click the downward arrow.

In the Scenario run dropdown, select a previous successful scenario run to use its email data as test data.

Click the output bubble of the Run an agent module.

Go to the Reasoning tab to view the tools called and whether they were successful or returned errors.

If any tools returned errors, click their output bubbles to view outputs and identify the issue.

If needed, go back and change any relevant module settings.

Run the scenario again with steps 1-2 until it runs without errors.

You've now tested your agent so it performs as expected. Next, finish with a Slack > Send a Message module.

To finish your AI agent scenario , add a Slack > Send a Message module that sends the link to the email draft to your private Slack channel for leads.

To add the Slack > Send a Message module:

Click the plus icon next to Make AI Agent (New) > Run an agent module.

In the app search, search for and click Slack.

Select the Send a message module.

In Connection, select an existing user Slack connection or create an existing one.

In Channel type, select Private channel.

Select the private Slack channel that you created for leads.

In Text, copy the following instructions and add it to the field. This text includes a link to the email draft.

New Lead draft mail from {{1.fromEmail}} 🔗 <https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#drafts?compose= {{2.jsonResponse}} View drafted answer>

Replace the placeholders between the quotation marks:

{{1.fromEmail}}: Map the From (email) output value from the Gmail > Watch emails module.

{{2.jsonResponse}}: Map the JSON response output value from the Make AI Agent (New) > Run an agent module.

Once done, the Text field looks like this:

Click Save.

Click Save on the Scenario toolbar.

Click Run once to check whether you receive the message in your lead Slack channel.

You've now added a Slack > Send a message module to your scenario.

You've now created a sales outreach agent that helps you qualify and contact leads.

Next, to build agents just like this one with pre-built templates, see Make AI agents library.

Sales outreach AI agent use case

Overview

Prerequisites

Step 1. Build your AI agent scenario

Add a Gmail trigger

Add a Make AI Agent (New) module

Step 2. Add tools

Add a Google Calendar module

Add a Make AI Web Search module

Add a Gmail module

Step 3. Test your AI agent

Step 4. Finish with a Slack module