Help Center Scout - Lead Generation

Scout - Lead Generation

Discover businesses, generate leads, and grow your client base with AI-powered prospecting

What is Scout?

Scout is the AI lead-generation engine. It discovers potential clients by searching businesses in an area, analyzing their digital presence, and scoring them by how likely they are to need you — automating prospecting through Missions. Everything Scout finds flows into your shared memory as people and companies, ready for Pallas and the rest of your pipeline.

Pro Tip

Use the Quick Scout bar on the dashboard to type natural language queries like "Find restaurants in Porto without websites" - Scout will parse your intent and pre-fill a mission for you.

Key Features

Mission-Based Discovery

Create targeted missions to find businesses by type and location, with configurable radius and lead limits

Lead Scoring & Priority

Every lead is automatically scored and categorized as Hot, Warm, or Cold based on opportunity signals

Digital Presence Analysis

Scout analyzes websites for SSL, mobile-friendliness, and social media presence to find opportunities

CRM Integration

Add leads directly to your People or Companies database with one click for long-term tracking

Views & Sections

Scout is organized into three main views, accessible via the tabs at the top:

Dashboard

Your command center showing active missions, hot leads that need attention, key stats (missions, hot leads, total leads, converted), and the Quick Scout natural language search bar.

Missions

View and manage all your scouting missions. Each mission card shows lead counts, hot leads, and contacted stats. Filter by status, run missions, or view their leads.

Leads

A full table of all discovered leads with columns for score, business name, location, outreach status, website presence, and Google rating. Filter by mission, priority, or status.

How Missions Work

Missions are the core of Scout. A mission defines what you are looking for, where, and what criteria matter most:

  • Mission Type: Choose between Business, People, or Both to define what kind of leads you want
  • Mission Goal: Select your objective - Sell, Hire, Partner, or Buy - which influences scoring
  • Business Type: Pick from 20+ categories (restaurants, salons, lawyers, etc.) or enter a custom type
  • Location & Radius: Set the geographic center and search radius (in km) using Google geocoding
  • Max Leads: Control how many leads a single mission run should generate (default: 60)
  • Target Criteria: Check boxes for No Website, Not Mobile-Friendly, No Social Media, or High Rating
  • Auto-Add: Optionally auto-add discovered leads to your Companies or People database

When you run a mission, Scout searches Google Places, analyzes results, creates lead records, and scores each lead - all in a single automated flow shown in the Mission Runner drawer.

How Lead Generation Works

When a mission runs, Scout goes through a 5-step pipeline:

  1. 1

    Search Google Places

    Scout queries the Google Places API for businesses matching your type and location criteria.

  2. 2

    Analyze Results

    Each result is analyzed for digital presence: website existence, SSL certificate, mobile-friendliness, and social media activity.

  3. 3

    Create Leads

    Qualifying businesses are saved as lead records with all discovered information (address, phone, rating, reviews).

  4. 4

    Score & Prioritize

    Each lead receives a numeric score based on opportunity signals: no website (+points), no social presence (+points), high rating (+points), phone available (+points), and more.

  5. 5

    Finalize & Report

    The Mission Runner shows results: places found, leads created, and duration. You can immediately view the leads or close the runner.

Creating a Mission

  1. 1

    Open the Mission Drawer

    Click the "New Mission" button in the Dynamic Island or from the dashboard. The mission creation drawer slides in from the right.

  2. 2

    Name Your Mission

    Give it a descriptive name like "Restaurants Porto - No Website". Add an optional description for context.

  3. 3

    Configure Type & Goal

    Select the mission type (Business/People/Both) and your goal (Sell/Hire/Partner/Buy).

  4. 4

    Set Business Type & Location

    Choose a business category, enter a location, and click the search button to geocode it. Adjust the radius slider (default 10 km).

  5. 5

    Set Criteria & Create

    Check your target criteria, set max leads, optionally enable auto-add, then click "Create & Run Mission" to launch immediately.

Lead Detail Panel

Click on any lead to open the detail drawer, where you can:

  • View the lead score with a full breakdown of scoring factors
  • See business information: address, phone, Google rating, and reviews
  • Analyze digital presence: website, SSL, mobile-friendliness, social media
  • Manage decision maker contacts with email, phone, and LinkedIn links
  • View the activity timeline (emails, calls, meetings, status changes)
  • Add and save notes about the lead
  • Re-analyze the website to refresh digital presence data
  • Add the lead to your Companies or People database with one click
  • Compose and send emails using templates with auto-populated fields
  • Mark the lead as contacted to update outreach status

Stats & Metrics

The Scout dashboard displays four key metrics at the top:

Active Missions

Number of missions with active status currently running or available to run

Hot Leads

Leads with the highest scores that represent your best opportunities and need attention

Total Leads

The complete count of all leads discovered across all missions

Converted

Leads that have been successfully converted into customers or clients

Lead scores are calculated from multiple factors. The score breakdown in the lead detail drawer shows exactly which signals contributed:

  • No Website: Business has no website - a strong opportunity signal
  • Not Mobile-Friendly: Website exists but is not mobile-optimized
  • No Social Presence: Business lacks social media profiles
  • High Google Rating: Business has a high rating, indicating an established business
  • Phone Available: Contact phone number was found
  • Contact Found: A decision maker contact was identified

Settings & Customization

Scout offers several ways to customize your prospecting workflow:

  • Data Sources: Scout uses Google Places and website analysis, plus targeted web search across public professional profiles. You can also import your own contacts, and Scout will mine them for people who match your ideal customer.
  • Auto-Add to Database: When creating a mission, toggle auto-add leads to automatically push discovered leads to your Companies or People database.
  • Mission Colors & Icons: Each mission gets a color-coded border for visual organization on the dashboard.
  • Email Templates: Create reusable email templates that auto-populate with lead data (business name, contact info) for faster outreach.
  • Lead Lists: Organize leads into custom lists with colors and icons for segmented follow-up campaigns.

Filtering & Search

Scout provides multiple ways to find the leads you need:

  • Search Bar: Type in the Leads view to search by business name with real-time debounced filtering (300ms delay).
  • Mission Filter: Filter leads by the mission that discovered them - useful for comparing results across campaigns.
  • Priority Filter: Show only Hot, Warm, or Cold leads to focus on the highest-value opportunities.
  • Status Filter: Filter by outreach status: New, Contacted, Responded, Converted, Lost, or Skipped.
  • Favorites: Star your most promising leads to quickly find them later using the star icon in the leads table.
  • Pagination: Navigate through large lead sets with page controls (25 leads per page).

AI & Automation Features

Scout leverages AI and automation throughout the prospecting workflow:

  • Quick Scout (Natural Language): Type queries like "Find hair salons in Lisbon without websites" and Scout parses the business type, location, and criteria automatically.
  • Automated Lead Scoring: Every lead is scored automatically based on opportunity signals - no manual evaluation needed.
  • Website Analysis: Scout crawls and analyzes business websites to detect SSL, mobile-friendliness, and technology stack.
  • Email Template Generation: Select a template and Scout auto-generates personalized email content with the lead's business details pre-filled.
  • Hot Lead Alerts: The dashboard hero section automatically highlights hot leads that need your attention, with a quick link to view them all.
  • Activity Logging: When you send an email through Scout, the activity is automatically logged to the lead's timeline.

Best Practices

Start with Focused Missions

Create separate missions for each business type and location combination. "Restaurants in Porto" will give you better results than a broad, unfocused search.

Prioritize Hot Leads

Focus your outreach on hot leads first - they have the strongest opportunity signals and are most likely to convert. Check the dashboard daily for new hot leads.

Use Email Templates

Create templates for different business types and scenarios. Personalized but templated outreach is much faster than writing each email from scratch.

Add Leads to Your CRM

Once you engage with a lead, add them to Companies or People for long-term relationship tracking. This bridges prospecting with your full CRM workflow.

Track Your Outreach Status

Update lead statuses as you progress (New, Contacted, Responded, Converted). This keeps your pipeline organized and prevents duplicate outreach.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Scout get its data?

Scout uses the Google Places API as its primary data source, combined with automated website analysis. It also runs targeted web searches across public professional profiles to find decision-makers, and it mines the contacts you have already imported for people who fit what you are looking for.

How is the lead score calculated?

Lead scores are based on opportunity signals: missing website, poor mobile experience, no social media presence, high Google ratings, available phone numbers, and identified contacts. Each factor adds points, and the total determines Hot, Warm, or Cold priority.

Can I run a mission more than once?

Yes! You can re-run any active mission to discover new businesses. Scout will avoid creating duplicate leads for businesses already in your database from previous runs.

What is the difference between Scout leads and People?

Scout leads are prospecting records discovered through missions. People is your full CRM database. You can promote Scout leads to People or Companies with the Add to Database buttons in the lead detail drawer for long-term tracking.

How does Quick Scout natural language search work?

Quick Scout parses your text query to identify the business type, location, and criteria keywords (like "without website" or "highly rated"). It then pre-fills the mission creation drawer so you can review and launch with one click.