Signal-based outbound plays
Purpose
A message with a reason behind it, tied to something that just happened to the prospect, gets read. A message with no reason gets deleted. This skill gives the team a set of signal plays: each has a trigger, a timing window, and an angle that gives value before asking for anything. It also says when a play should not be used, because a poorly timed play reads as surveillance.
When to use
- The team wants outbound that is timed to an event.
- A rep has a signal and needs to know whether a play fits.
- A campaign needs a set of plays, each with its own message frame.
Route elsewhere when:
- The question is detecting and interpreting a signal. Use signal-detection-and-timing.
- The question is a hiring signal. Use hiring-signal-tracking.
- The question is a champion who has moved. Use champion-job-change-tracking.
Inputs
- The signal for each prospect: what happened, and when.
- The play that matches the signal, and its timing window.
- The prospect's role and company, to check the angle fits.
- Any reason the play should not be used, such as a sensitive event or a recent contact.
The plays
| Play | Signal | Timing (default) | Angle |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. New team members | Company has added people to a relevant team | 2 to 4 weeks after the hire | Help the new person get up to speed on the problem |
| 2. Skills targeting | Public skills match the product's use | Ongoing | Speak to the work the skill implies |
| 3. Role targeting | An uncommon title shows the function is a priority | Ongoing | Ask how the role is set up to succeed |
| 4. Industry research | A survey or study of the buyer group | Value first | Share the findings and ask for their view |
| 5. Resources for new practitioners | New people starting in a role | Evergreen | Useful starter material, no pitch |
| 6. Departed employee | A person in a relevant role has left | 1 to 2 weeks after | Offer cover for the gap in their work |
| 7. Missing role | A function with no dedicated owner, at a company of a size where one is expected | Ongoing | Describe the gap and what it costs |
| 8. Public negative review | A public review names a problem your product solves | Within days | Acknowledge the problem, describe how others solved it |
| 9. Generated ideas | Personalized ideas about the prospect's business | Ongoing | Two specific ideas, then the offer |
| 10. Visitor activity | Prospect has visited pricing or a high-intent page | Real time | Helpful, short follow-up by the most relevant channel |
| 11. Inbound followers | A new follower on a relevant social account | 24 to 48 hours | Thank them and offer a relevant resource |
Play rules
- Use the play only when the signal is observable and current. A signal older than its timing window is not a signal.
- Do not reference how the prospect was found beyond what is public. Never imply monitoring of private activity.
- Play 8 uses only public, cited reviews, and names the problem rather than the reviewer.
- Play 10 is for prospects who opted in or whose activity is on the company's own site, and follows the team's consent rules.
- Do not use a play for a person who has asked not to be contacted.
Procedure
- Name the signal, with its source and date.
- Match it to a play. If none fits, do not force one.
- Check the timing window.
- Write the angle in the team's voice, value first.
- Apply the rules above, and check the offer against cold-offer-architect before sending.
- Route the draft for approval. Nothing is sent without it.
Output
- The signal, its source and date, and the play it matched.
- The draft, with its angle and timing.
- A note if the signal was too old, or no play fitted.
Quality bar
Every play is tied to a dated, observable signal. Timing windows are respected. The angle gives value before asking. No message reveals private monitoring. Watch for plays used on stale signals, messages that quote a prospect's activity back to them, and reviews used without citation.