--- name: prospecting-playbook description: Build and execute prospecting playbooks for outbound sales including target account identification, prospect research, multi-channel outreach, cadence design, and prospect engagement tracking. Use when developing prospecting strategies, designing outreach sequences, identifying target accounts, researching prospects, or tracking prospecting effectiveness. Triggers on phrases like "prospecting", "outbound", "target account", "cold outreach", "prospecting cadence", "ICP targeting", "account research", "prospect list". --- # Prospecting Playbook & Targeting Systematic approach to identifying, researching, and engaging target accounts and prospects for outbound sales. ## Workflow ### 1. Ideal Customer Profile & Targeting 1. **ICP definition and refinement**: - Firmographic criteria: industry, company size, revenue, geography - Technographic criteria: current technology stack, integration requirements - Behavioral criteria: growth signals, funding events, hiring patterns - Pain point alignment: challenges your solution addresses - Buying timeline and trigger events 2. **Target account list building**: - Strategic account identification (top 100-500 accounts) - Vertical and horizontal list building - Prospect database enrichment and cleansing - Account tiering (tier 1: strategic, tier 2: high potential, tier 3: standard) - Continuous list refresh and expansion 3. **Buying committee mapping**: - Economic buyer identification (budget authority) - Champion/advocate identification (internal sponsor) - Technical evaluator identification - End user and influence mapping - Blocker/risk taker identification ### 2. Prospect Research & Intelligence 1. **Account-level research**: - Company overview: business model, strategy, competitive position - Financial health: revenue, growth, funding, profitability - Recent events: earnings calls, press releases, leadership changes - Technology stack: current vendors, upgrade cycles, gaps - Strategic initiatives: digital transformation, expansion, consolidation 2. **Contact-level research**: - Professional background and career trajectory - Current role and responsibilities - Personal interests and background (for personalization) - Social media presence and content - Pain points and priorities for role 3. **Intelligence synthesis and personalization**: - Account briefing document creation - Personalized value hypothesis development - Relevant case study and reference identification - Conversation starter development - Multi-threading opportunity identification ### 3. Outreach Cadence & Multi-Channel Strategy 1. **Cadence design**: - Touch count and sequencing (12-20 touches over 4-6 weeks) - Channel mix: email, phone, LinkedIn, video, direct mail, events - Timing and spacing between touches - Escalation logic (increase intensity if no response) - Break/stop criteria (explicit not interested, voicemail after X attempts) 2. **Email outreach optimization**: - Subject line strategy (curiosity, relevance, personalization, brevity) - Email body structure: hook, relevance, value, CTA - Personalization tokens and data-driven customization - Send time optimization by prospect profile - Follow-up sequencing and variation 3. **Phone and social outreach**: - Cold call script framework (not rigid script, conversation guide) - Voicemail strategy (leave value, not just "call me back") - LinkedIn engagement strategy (connection, content share, InMail) - Social selling best practices - Cross-channel message alignment ### 4. Engagement & Qualification 1. **Response handling**: - Positive response: next step scheduling and qualification - "Not interested": objection handling and re-engagement path - "Send information": value delivery and follow-up scheduling - "Too busy": rescheduling and alternate contact suggestion - Gatekeeper navigation: receptionist, EA, assistant engagement 2. **Discovery and qualification**: - Transition from outreach to discovery - MEDDPICC/BANT qualification criteria validation - Pain and impact exploration - Decision process and timeline understanding - Next step commitment and scheduling 3. **Multi-threading strategy**: - Additional stakeholder identification - Referral request within account - Parallel outreach to multiple contacts - Relationship mapping and influence network - Risk mitigation through multiple relationships ### 5. Prospecting Analytics & Optimization 1. **Performance measurement**: - Outreach volume metrics (emails sent, calls made, connections) - Response rate by channel and cadence - Meeting booking rate - SQL conversion rate from prospecting - Revenue attribution from outbound 2. **Optimization experiments**: - A/B testing: subject lines, email body, CTA, send time - Channel effectiveness testing - Message testing by ICP segment - Cadence length and intensity testing - Personalization depth testing 3. **Continuous improvement**: - Top performer analysis and technique extraction - Prospecting playbook quarterly review - ICP refinement based on conversion data - Message refinement based on response data - Tool and technology evaluation ## Templates & Frameworks ### Prospecting Cadence Template ``` OUTBOUND PROSPECTING CADENCE — 6-Week, 18-Touch ================================================= WEEK 1: Introduction & Awareness Day 1: Email 1 — Personalized intro, value proposition Day 1: LinkedIn connection request — no note Day 2: Call 1 — Voicemail if no answer Day 3: Email 2 — Case study relevant to prospect's industry Day 3: LinkedIn engagement — comment on prospect's post WEEK 2: Value & Engagement Day 4: Call 2 — Different time of day Day 5: Email 3 — Personalized video (2 min max) Day 6: LinkedIn InMail — Reference mutual connection or event Day 8: Direct mail — relevant industry report or book WEEK 3: Social Proof & Urgency Day 9: Email 4 — Customer testimonial + ROI data Day 10: Call 3 — Final phone attempt Day 11: Email 5 — Industry trend insight + relevance Day 12: LinkedIn content share — value-driven (not salesy) WEEK 4-5: Persistence & Break Attempt Day 14: Email 6 — "Is this a priority?" break-up email Day 16: Call 4 — Voicemail with alternative suggestion Day 18: Email 7 — Last attempt, value summary Day 20: LinkedIn check-in — casual engagement WEEK 6: Final Attempt & Nurture Handoff Day 22: Email 8 — Final value email, nurture opt-in offer Day 24: If no response → add to nurture program Day 24: If positive response → schedule discovery call BREAK CRITERIA: Explicit "not interested" → remove from active cadence, add to nurture "Contact in X months" → calendar reminder, re-engage at specified time "Wrong person" → request redirect to correct contact Gatekeeper blocks all channels → pause 30 days, try alternate approach RESPONSE HANDLING: Positive → Schedule discovery within 48 hours, send calendar link "Send info" → Send targeted one-pager, schedule follow-up for 1 week later "Too expensive" → Value reinforcement, request discovery to quantify ROI "Competitor" → Competitive differentiation, request comparison meeting ``` ### Account Briefing Document ``` ACCOUNT BRIEFING — [Account Name] ================================== COMPANY OVERVIEW: Industry: [sector] | Size: [employees] | Revenue: [$amount] Headquarters: [location] | Public/Private: [status] Business model: [description] Strategic priorities: [from earnings call/press releases] TECHNOLOGY STACK: Current [product category]: [vendor, version, contract end] Related technologies: [list] Technology gaps/opportunities: [identified gaps] Recent tech investments: [from press, job postings, filings] KEY CONTACTS: Economic buyer: [Name, Title, LinkedIn, email, phone] Champion: [Name, Title, relationship level] Technical evaluator: [Name, Title] End users: [Names, Titles] Additional stakeholders: [Names, Titles] PAIN HYPOTHESIS: Primary pain: [based on research, industry trends, job postings] Secondary pain: [additional challenges] Business impact: [quantified if possible] Current workaround: [what they're using/doing now] VALUE PROPOSITION: Relevant use case: [specific to their situation] ROI estimate: [based on similar customer results] Key differentiators: [vs their current solution/competitors] Relevant case study: [similar company/industry] CONVERSATION STARTERS: "I saw [recent news/event] — how is that impacting [relevant area]?" "Many [industry] companies are seeing [trend]. Are you experiencing that?" "Your [initiative] caught my attention — we helped [similar company] achieve [result]" COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE: Incumbent vendor: [name] — [strengths, weaknesses, contract status] Alternatives evaluated: [if known] Switching factors: [triggers, timing, budget cycle] NEXT STEPS: [ ] Begin cadence (recommended start date) [ ] Prepare personalized email sequence [ ] Schedule account team briefing [ ] Prepare discovery call agenda ``` ## Integration Points - CRM platforms (Salesforce, HubSpot): Account and contact management - Prospecting tools (ZoomInfo, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Lusha): Contact discovery - Intent data platforms (6sense, Demandbase, G2): Buying signals - Email outreach platforms (Outreach, Salesloft, Apollo): Cadence execution - Sales engagement platforms: Activity tracking and coaching - Social selling (LinkedIn, Twitter): Social outreach - Account intelligence (Clearbit, Owler, Crunchbase): Company data - Conversation intelligence (Gong, Chorus): Call analysis and coaching ## Edge Cases - **No visible pain or trigger event**: Create awareness through educational outreach; industry trend insight sharing; problem-space messaging; nurture until trigger occurs - **Long sales cycles (6+ months)**: Extended cadence with nurture integration; periodic re-engagement; relationship building before direct ask; multi-touchpoint presence - **Highly competitive accounts**: Competitive intelligence deep dive; unique value differentiation; champion development; executive sponsorship alignment - **Regulated industries with strict procurement**: Procurement process understanding early; compliance value articulation; security review preparation; extended stakeholder mapping - **Global accounts with distributed decision-making**: Multi-region stakeholder mapping; local champion development; regional customization; time-zone-aware outreach ## Output ### Prospecting Performance Dashboard ``` PROSPECTING PERFORMANCE — April 2025 ====================================== ACTIVITY METRICS: Total prospects in active cadences: 847 Emails sent: 6,234 (avg 7.4/prospect) Calls made: 3,102 (avg 3.7/prospect) LinkedIn connections: 1,203 Total touches: 14,539 RESPONSE METRICS: Overall response rate: 12.4% ✓ Email response rate: 8.7% Phone response rate: 21.3% LinkedIn response rate: 6.2% Positive response rate: 6.8% CONVERSION METRICS: Meetings booked: 127 (15.0% of responders) Discovery calls completed: 108 SQLs generated: 47 (5.5% of prospects) Opportunities created: 23 Pipeline generated: $1.87M CADENCE EFFECTIVENESS: Avg touches before response: 4.2 Best response touch: Email 3 (personalized video) — 14.3% response Best response day: Tuesday — 15.2% response Best response time: 10:00-11:00 AM — 13.8% response Cadence completion rate: 78% TOP PERFORMERS: Rep #1: 23 SQLs, 34% response rate Rep #2: 18 SQLs, 28% response rate Rep #3: 15 SQLs, 26% response rate Team avg: 9.4 SQLs, 12.4% response rate ICP CONVERSION BY SEGMENT: Tier 1 (strategic): 8.2% SQL rate (higher effort, higher value) Tier 2 (high potential): 6.1% SQL rate Tier 3 (standard): 4.3% SQL rate Non-ICP (control): 2.1% SQL rate (validates ICP effectiveness) A/B TEST RESULTS: Test 1: Video vs text email — Video won (+34% response) Test 2: Morning vs afternoon — Morning won (+18% response) Test 3: Personalization depth — Moderate won (vs light or heavy) Active tests: 3 more running ``` ## Trigger Phrases "prospecting", "outbound", "target account", "cold outreach", "prospecting cadence", "ICP targeting", "account research", "prospect list", "sales development", "SDR playbook", "multi-channel outreach", "account mapping", "buying committee", "discovery call", "qualification"