93: 100 Signals for Relevant Messaging

4-step process + video walkthrough

Picture of the Week.

Read on jed.substack.com

Read time: 3min

Welcome back to The Practical Prospecting Newsletter! Today I’m sharing how I create a highly targeted outbound campaign based on relevant signals.

Agenda:

1. Video Walkthrough (w/ a free resource)

2. The Problem With Intent Data

3. Using Signals to Create Highly Relevant Campaigns (4-step process)

P.S. I’m trying out new days of the week for my newsletter (which is why you’re receiving this on Wednesday as opposed to the usual Sunday). If you have a preferred date, lemme know!

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Video Walkthrough (w/ a free resource)

Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Common Room!

They created one of the most helpful prospecting resources I’ve seen in a while: 100 Signals for Pipeline Creation — including the strength of the signal, why it matters, and a playbook for how to execute each one.

Common Room combines all of these signals in one place so you can reach out to your warmest accounts, at the right time, with a relevant message.

Check out this video where I break down the full process I’m outlining in today’s newsletter and how Common Room’s 100 Signals resource can help you with that:

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The Problem With Intent Data

Intent data is dead.

But tools like 6Sense, Demandbase, and Bomboro have a fundamental flaw: the intent lacks a “why”.

I’ve used these tools for years now and I’ve talked to countless sales leaders who have as well. Unfortunately, I still haven’t met a raving fan.

Intent data sounds great in theory. Because you know if an account is showing intent then they’re probably in the market.

The problem is, when a sales rep gets that account, they don’t know “WHY” they’re showing intent. In other words, they have no ammo for their messaging.

All they know is that someone in the company clicked on an ad, researched a relevant keyword, or visited the website.

And saying “Hey I saw someone at your company was researching us… wanna demo?” isn’t gonna cut it (and yes, I tried this in the early days).

The other issue (that’s hardly talked about) is that if all your competitors are using the same intent tools as you, then they’re going to be reaching out to the SAME accounts as you at the same time… you have no advantage!

So what’s the solution?

Tangible “signals” or “triggers” that show up before intent.

I firmly believe that reps who know how to find the right signals at scale will be the most successful going forward.

Here’s how you can do it…

Please note: Intent CAN and DOES work when combined with relevant signals. It’s intent by itself that I believe is dead. And I know what you’re thinking: saying things are “dead” is, in itself, dead. I agree… so please forgive me this one time.

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Using Signals to Create Highly Relevant Campaigns

If you haven’t already, go watch the video at the top of this newsletter. It explains the entire process you’re about to read in more detail.

But I get it if you’re more of a reader :)

When I work with a client to build out their outbound campaigns, these are the 4 steps I take them through:

Step 1: List out every possible prospecting signal that’s relevant to your solution

Prospecting Signals = Information found by researching an account or prospect that helps you add context and relevance to your messaging.

Here are 3 resources to help you come up with ideas for prospecting signals that are relevant to you:

1. My 27 Prospecting Signals

2. This ChatGPT prompt (credit: Jordan Crawford)

3. Common Room’s 100 Signals for Pipeline Generation

Step 2: Use each signal to create a problem hypothesis

Problem Hypothesis = What problems might be occurring at that account as a result of those prospecting signals?

For example, if a company just had a merger or acquisition (i.e. the signal) then you know they might have pain points around integrating the two teams (i.e. problem hypothesis).

Step 3: Rank the list by the impact of the signal & how easy it is to find with the data available to you

For example, mergers & acquisitions may be an extremely relevant signal to you. But you might not have a tool that can give you that data. Of course, if you control the budget, then go buy that tool! But I know not everyone reading this is in that position.

Ultimately you want to have a list of 3 to 5 signals that are easy to find and highly impactful (as in, it gives you a strong “why” for your messaging).

Step 4: Create outbound campaigns that directly address (a) the signal you found and (b) the problem hypothesis

Once you have your list, now you can easily send highly relevant emails at scale based on the signals and problem hypothesis.

Test each one to see which one converts best. And for better results, combine multiple signals into one campaign (although, your list will likely be smaller).

Thanks for reading,

Jed

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