prospecting

Build your ICP from best existing customers backward using SPICED dimensions: Situation, Pain, Impact, Critical Event, and Decision. Validate it with three tests: a named recurring pain, a structural timing trigger, and clustering of your best customers in that segment.

Cadence length depends on segment: 5-7 touches over 14-21 days for SMB, 8-12 touches over 17-28 days for mid-market, and 10-14 touches over 30-45 days for enterprise. Multi-channel sequences outperform single-channel by 2-3x on connection rates.

Tier 1 signals requiring action within 24-48 hours include leadership hires in your buyer function, funding announcements, pricing page visits from ICP accounts, and competitor complaints. Behavioral signals outrank technographic fit, which outranks firmographic fit.

Cold calling delivers the highest ROI for mid-market and enterprise deals where deal size justifies the time cost. For high-volume SMB with sub-$5K ACV, email-led sequences are more bandwidth-efficient than phone-heavy approaches.

Third-party intent data from sources like Bombora or G2 works best as a prioritization layer on top of ICP fit, not as standalone targeting. Intent without ICP fit produces high-volume, low-conversion outreach.

Low reply rates usually stem from firmographic-only lists, treating all accounts as Tier 1, or optimizing open rates instead of positive replies. Signal-triggered outreach achieves 4-8% reply rates versus 1-3% for cold lists.