B2B Outreach — Sequences That Start Conversations

TL;DR: Design a multi-touch B2B outreach sequence — cold intro to follow-up — with persona-specific hooks, channel strategy, and a ready-to-deploy CSV tracking template.

Principio Rector: Personalization at scale beats volume. One relevant message outperforms ten generic ones.

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When to Activate

Activate when:

• User says "outreach sequence", "cold email", "B2B outreach", "prospecting messages"
• User says "contact X company", "sales sequence", "follow-up cadence"
• User needs to reach a specific persona or company with a product/service offer [EXPLICIT]
• User is launching a new sales motion and needs templates [INFERRED]

Do NOT activate when:

• User needs a single one-off email (use a writing skill instead)
• User needs legal/compliance review of outreach (consult legal counsel)
• User is targeting consumers (B2C) — this skill is B2B-specific [EXPLICIT]

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S1 — Prospect Qualification

Before writing a single message, qualify the prospect and identify buying signals. [EXPLICIT]

1a. ICP Fit Check

Score the prospect against the Ideal Customer Profile before investing in outreach: [INFERRED]

Dimension	Questions to Answer
Firmographic fit	Industry? Company size? Revenue range? Geography?
Technographic fit	Do they use tech we integrate with or replace?
Behavioral fit	Are they hiring for roles that signal the pain we solve?
Timing fit	Recent trigger event? (funding, launch, exec change, expansion)
Budget signals	Series B+? PE-backed? Public company?

Qualification Score (1-5 per dimension):

• 20-25: Priority target — invest full personalization effort [INFERRED]
• 14-19: Mid-tier — use semi-personalized templates [INFERRED]
• Below 14: Low fit — exclude or use lowest-cost channel only [INFERRED]

1b. Buying Signals (Trigger Events)

Trigger events dramatically increase response rates. Look for: [INFERRED]

Signal	What It Means	Outreach Angle
Series A/B funding	New budget, new initiatives	"Congrats on the raise — scaling challenges are next..."
New C-suite hire	New priorities, open to evaluation	"Fresh eyes often see what has been missing..."
Job postings in pain area	Budget allocated to solve this problem	"You are hiring for X — that usually means..."
Product launch	Expansion mode, new use cases	"Your launch creates an interesting opportunity..."
Competitor win in their space	Fear of missing out	"Your competitor just achieved X..."
Conference attendance	Warmer context for connection	"I saw you were at [event] last week..."

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S2 — Outreach Sequence Design

The 5-Touch Model: structured cadence across multiple channels. [EXPLICIT]

5-Touch Sequence Framework

Touch 1 (Day 1):   LinkedIn connection request + short personal note
Touch 2 (Day 3):   Cold email — value hook + one relevant insight + soft CTA
Touch 3 (Day 7):   LinkedIn InMail or email follow-up — add a new piece of value
Touch 4 (Day 12):  Email — case study or social proof + direct ask
Touch 5 (Day 18):  Break-up message — low pressure, keep the door open

Timing Principles:

• Never send Touch 1 and Touch 2 on the same day [EXPLICIT]
• Tuesday-Thursday, 7-9am or 1-3pm local time yields highest open rates [INFERRED]
• Avoid Mondays (inbox chaos) and Fridays (disengaged) [INFERRED]
• If any touch gets a response, pause the sequence immediately [EXPLICIT]

Channel Mix by Persona

Persona	Best Primary	Best Secondary	Avoid
Founder / CEO	Email (direct)	LinkedIn	Mass sequences
VP / Director	LinkedIn InMail	Email	Cold calls without context
Manager	Email	LinkedIn
Technical Lead	LinkedIn (content comment)	Email	Generic business pitch
Enterprise Procurement	Formal email	Phone	Social messages

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S3 — Personalization Framework

Personalization must be real — not just inserting a first name into a template. [EXPLICIT]

Personalization Layers

Layer 1 — Company Specificity (mandatory for all touches):

• Reference a specific product, news item, or milestone of their company [EXPLICIT]
• Mention a competitor or industry trend directly relevant to them [INFERRED]
• Do NOT use: "I was checking out your website and noticed..." (overused, signals automation)

Layer 2 — Role Specificity (for Touches 1-3):

• Map your value to their specific KPIs and responsibilities [INFERRED]
• VP Sales cares about: pipeline, conversion rates, rep ramp time
• VP Engineering cares about: velocity, technical debt, incident rate
• CFO cares about: unit economics, burn rate, cost of capital
• CHRO cares about: retention, time-to-hire, L&D ROI

Layer 3 — Person Specificity (for high-priority targets):

• Reference their LinkedIn post, podcast appearance, or published article [EXPLICIT]
• Note a shared connection, alumni network, or event [EXPLICIT]
• Never fabricate a personal detail — only use publicly confirmed information [EXPLICIT]

Personalization Efficiency

For high-volume sequences (50+ targets), use a semi-personalized approach: [INFERRED]

[FIXED]        Generic value proposition paragraph
[PERSONALIZED] Company-specific hook (1 sentence, researched per target)
[FIXED]        CTA and sign-off

This allows 80% of the message to be reused while the key hook remains specific. [INFERRED]

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S4 — Message Templates by Persona

Template A: Founder / CEO (Concise, peer-level)

Touch 1 — LinkedIn note:

Hi [Name], saw [Company] just [trigger event]. Building something in the [space] as well — would love to connect.

Touch 2 — Cold email:

Subject: [Company] + [Your Company] — quick thought

[Name],

[1-sentence company-specific hook based on trigger event].

We help [ICP description] [specific result] — [Reference Company] went from [before state] to [after state] in [timeframe].

Worth a 20-minute call to see if there is a fit?

[Your Name]

Touch 4 — Social proof follow-up:

[Name], following up from my earlier note.

We just published a case study on how [Similar Company] [achieved result]. Thought it might be relevant given [company-specific reason].

Still happy to show you how it applies to [Company] specifically.

Touch 5 — Break-up:

[Name], I will stop reaching out after this. If [pain point] becomes a priority, I am one message away.

Best of luck with [specific initiative].

Template B: VP / Director (Results-oriented)

Touch 2 — Cold email:

Subject: [Specific metric] for [their company name]

Hi [Name],

[Company-specific hook: what you noticed about their situation].

[Your company] helps [role title] at [company type] [achieve metric outcome]. One example: [Reference Company] reduced [metric] by [X]% in [timeframe].

I have 3 ideas specific to [Company] that might help. 15 minutes this week?

[Your Name]

Template C: Technical Lead (Credibility-first)

Touch 2 — Cold email:

Subject: [Their tech stack tool] + [your product] integration

Hi [Name],

I saw [Company] is using [specific tool from their stack] — we built a native integration that [specific technical outcome].

Happy to share the integration docs if useful. No pitch — just the technical context.

[Your Name]

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S5 — Output — Scripts + CSV Tracker Template

Sequence Output Format

For each sequence, deliver:

1. Sequence brief — ICP fit score, trigger event used, personalization notes [EXPLICIT]
2. Touch 1-5 scripts — complete message text, ready to copy-paste [EXPLICIT]
3. Subject line variants — 3 options per email touch for A/B testing [EXPLICIT]
4. Response handlers — what to say if they respond positively, negatively, or ask for more info [INFERRED]

CSV Tracker Template

Prospect,Company,Title,LinkedIn,Email,ICP Score,Trigger Event,T1 Date,T1 Status,T2 Date,T2 Status,T3 Date,T3 Status,T4 Date,T4 Status,T5 Date,T5 Status,Response,Response Date,Next Step,Notes
[Name],[Co],[VP Role],linkedin.com/in/...,[email],22,Series B funding,2024-01-15,Sent,2024-01-17,Opened,,,,,,,Positive,2024-01-18,Discovery call booked,[note]

Status values: Sent / Opened / Clicked / Replied / Bounced / Not sent Response values: Positive / Negative / Neutral / No response Next Step values: Discovery call / Follow-up in 30d / Disqualified / Closed

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Trade-off Matrix

Mode	Personalization	Sequence Length	Volume	Output
High-touch	Full 3-layer	5 touches	5-10 targets/week	Custom scripts per person
Semi-personalized	Company hook only	5 touches	20-50/week	Template + variable fields
Volume play	Name + industry only	3 touches	100+/week	Pure template + A/B variants

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Assumptions & Limits

• Message content must be truthful — no fabricated social proof, case studies, or metrics [EXPLICIT]
• GDPR/CAN-SPAM compliance: include unsubscribe mechanism in all email sequences [EXPLICIT]
• LinkedIn has connection and InMail limits — respect platform rules [EXPLICIT]
• Response rate benchmarks are indicative — actual results vary by industry [INFERRED]
• This skill produces scripts — actual sending is the user's responsibility [EXPLICIT]
• Email patterns are inferred and labeled with confidence level [EXPLICIT]

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Edge Cases

Scenario	Handling
Target is a sole founder with no public contact	Use LinkedIn DM as primary; note limited scalability
Company has stated no-cold-email policy	Respect it; use LinkedIn or warm intro only
Target replied negatively to Touch 2	Pause sequence; log for 90-day re-engage window
Target works at a direct competitor	Flag to user; proceed only if user confirms specific use case
No trigger event found for prospect	Use industry-level hook instead; lower personalization layer

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Good vs Bad Example

BAD Touch 2 email:

"Hi [Name], I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to introduce our solution which helps companies improve their processes. Would you like to schedule a call?"

GOOD Touch 2 email:

Subject: Rappi's churn fix — relevant for Pedidos Ya?

Hi Maria,

Pedidos Ya just expanded into 3 new LatAm markets — that usually surfaces retention challenges not visible at smaller scale.

We helped Rappi reduce early churn by 34% in 6 months by instrumenting the activation funnel they could not measure before.

20 minutes to walk through whether the same approach fits your situation?

Javier

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Validation Gate

• ICP fit score calculated before writing the sequence
• Trigger event identified and used in Touch 1 and Touch 2 hooks
• 5-touch sequence complete with dates and channels specified
• Touch 1 and Touch 2 fully written (complete text, not just described)
• 3 subject line variants provided for email touches
• Personalization layer declared (full / company-hook / name-only)
• Break-up message (Touch 5) included
• Response handlers written for positive, negative, and no-response outcomes
• CSV tracker template delivered alongside scripts
• GDPR/CAN-SPAM compliance acknowledged (unsubscribe mechanism noted)

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Reference Files

• knowledge/body-of-knowledge.md — Sales methodology and outreach frameworks
• knowledge/knowledge-graph.md — Persona-to-pain-to-message mapping
• evals/ — Scored sequence examples

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Related Skills

• client-dossier — Research the target before writing the sequence
• client-prospecting — Build the lead list that feeds this skill
• market-intelligence — Identify trigger events and company signals for personalization
• executive-pitch — Extend the sequence into a full pitch for qualified leads