karlraf/gtm-starter-kit/signal-to-sequence

Skill: Signal to Sequence

Duration: 2–4 hours per campaign Output: outputs/campaigns/[date]-[campaign-name]/

Quick Start

Read skills/signal-to-sequence/SKILL.md.
Build a Tier 2 campaign for accounts triggering the [signal name] signal.
Target the [persona title] persona.

For a complete example of what this produces, see: examples/sample-company/outputs/campaigns/2024-03-01-series-b-revops-tier2/

Purpose

Turn a signal — or a set of accounts sharing a signal — into a live outreach campaign. This skill connects the signal library to actual sequences. It answers the question: "We know who to target and why. Now what do we actually say?"

The output of this skill is not a rough draft. It is a sequence ready to load into your outbound tool.

When to Run This Skill

• A new signal fires across multiple accounts simultaneously (e.g., batch of Series B announcements)
• You're launching a new campaign segment
• An existing campaign is underperforming and needs a full rebuild
• A new ICP tier needs to be activated for the first time

Inputs

• Target signal(s) from context/signal-library.md
• ICP tier for this campaign from context/icp-definition.md
• Persona(s) being targeted from context/personas/
• Competitive context from context/competitor-radar.md (if relevant)
• Company profile from context/profile.md

Step 1: Define the Trigger Logic (20 min)

Before writing a word, be precise about what fires this campaign.

Single-signal trigger: One signal alone justifies outreach.

• Which signal? [From signal library]
• Minimum score threshold to activate?
• Recency window: signal must have fired in last [X] days?

Multi-signal trigger: Two or more signals in combination.

• Signal A + Signal B = activate
• What does the combination tell you that neither signal alone tells you?

Suppression conditions: Accounts that match the signal but should NOT receive this campaign.

• Active opportunity in CRM
• Existing customer
• Contacted in last [X] days
• [Any other suppression rules from signal library]

Document the trigger logic in plain language before moving to Step 2. Ambiguous triggers produce wasted outreach.

Step 2: Segment the Target List (20 min)

Pull all accounts matching the trigger logic. Segment by:

• ICP tier (Tier 1 vs. Tier 2 vs. Tier 3 gets different sequence intensity)
• Persona (different message for each role)
• Account status (cold prospect vs. previously contacted vs. dark opportunity)

Output: a clean list per segment with contact information and signal data attached.

Step 3: Design the Sequence (45 min)

Build the sequence structure before writing copy. Define:

Tier guidance:

• Tier 1: 6–8 touches, all channels, manual personalization on touches 1–3
• Tier 2: 5–7 touches, email + LinkedIn, semi-automated
• Tier 3: 4–5 touches, email-first, templated with signal variable

Step 4: Write the Copy (60–90 min)

Write each touch. Apply the PVP standard to Tier 1 and Tier 2 email 1.

The PVP Standard (Permissionless Value Prop)

A message passes PVP if the prospect would find it valuable even if they never buy from you. It delivers market intelligence, not a sales pitch.

Test: Remove your CTA. If the message still has value, it passes. If it's pointless without the CTA, it's a pitch — rewrite it.

Four questions every Tier 1 first touch must answer yes to:

1. Does this contain an insight the prospect doesn't already have?
2. Would they forward this to a colleague?
3. Would they find this useful even if they never buy?
4. Is this market intelligence, not just personalization?

Touch 1 — Email (Signal Hook)

Subject line options (write 3, A/B test 2):

• [Option A — curiosity-based]
• [Option B — direct/insight-based]
• [Option C — question-based]

Body structure:

[Signal hook — one specific, datable observation]
 
[Insight — what that signal means in context, something they may not know]
 
[Connection — how that maps to what you do, in one sentence]
 
[CTA — one ask, frictionless]
 
[Signature]

Example:

Subject: [Company]'s RevOps hire
 
[First name],
 
[Company] just posted for a Senior RevOps Manager — third ops hire in 90 days.
Teams at that growth rate typically hit the same wall: the tooling that worked at
50 people breaks at 150.
 
We've helped [anonymized: a developer platform at similar scale] cut their
pipeline-to-close variance in half by rebuilding the ops layer before it became
a bottleneck.
 
Worth 20 minutes to compare notes?
 
[Name]

Touch 2 — LinkedIn Connection Request

[First name] — sent you an email [X] days ago about [one-sentence context]. Would be good to connect here too.

The connection note should be 1–2 sentences max. Reference something specific: the email you already sent, a recent post they published, or their new role. "Following your work" and "building something adjacent" read as spray-and-pray. LinkedIn accepts correlate with personalization quality — use the signal context you already have.

Touch 3 — Email (Value Prop + Proof)

Shift the angle. Don't repeat touch 1. Lead with a different dimension of value or a proof point.

[First name],
 
Following up from last week. Wanted to share something relevant.
 
[Specific outcome or data point from a reference customer in a similar situation]
 
[One sentence connecting that to their current situation]
 
Happy to walk through how we approach it — [CTA].
 
[Name]

Touch 4 — Email (Asset or Different Angle)

Offer something concrete: a framework, a benchmark, a piece of content, a question worth thinking about.

Touch 5 — Phone / Voicemail

Talk track:
"[Name], [Your name] from [Company]. Reached out a couple times over email — not trying to be persistent,
just think the timing might be right given [specific signal/context]. If I'm wrong, happy to hear it.
Call me back at [number] or reply to my email — either works."

Touch 6 — Break-up Email

Subject: Closing the loop
 
[First name],
 
I've reached out a few times — not going to keep at it.
 
If the timing isn't right or this isn't relevant, totally understood.
 
If something changes — [specific trigger that would make this relevant again] — feel free to reach out.
 
[Name]

Step 5: Measurement Plan (15 min)

Define success before launch. Set targets by tier:

What to track:

• Reply rate by touch number (where are people responding?)
• Meeting rate by signal type (which signals convert best?)
• Signal-triggered vs. generic performance lift

Review cadence: First review at 2 weeks (enough volume to see patterns). Full review at 6 weeks.

Step 6: Variant Tracking (10 min)

If you're testing different versions of any element (subject line, body copy, CTA, send time), document the variants before launch. Without structured tracking, you'll know something worked better but not why.

Variant Tracking Table

Add this to brief.md for every campaign that runs variants:

## Variants
 
| Variant | Element tested | Version A | Version B | Split |
|---------|---------------|-----------|-----------|-------|
| V1 | Subject line | "[Company]'s RevOps stack" | "First 90 days" | 50/50 |
| V2 | CTA | "Worth 20 min to compare notes?" | "Want to see how [Reference] handled it?" | 50/50 |
 
### Variant Results (updated weekly)
 
| Variant | Metric | Version A | Version B | Winner | Confidence | Decision |
|---------|--------|-----------|-----------|--------|------------|----------|
| V1 | Open rate | 52% (n=36) | 41% (n=35) | A | Medium (n < 50/arm) | Continue A, retest at n=100 |
| V2 | Reply rate | 5.6% (n=36) | 3.4% (n=35) | A | Low | Keep testing |

Rules for variant testing:

• Test one element at a time. Testing subject line AND body copy simultaneously means you can't attribute the difference.
• Minimum sample size per variant: 50 sends before declaring a winner. Below 50, the result is noise.
• "Winner" means >=30% relative improvement with at least 50 sends per arm. A 10% difference at n=40 is not a winner; it's a signal to keep testing.
• Document the decision: keep winner, keep testing, or retire both and try something new.
• After declaring a winner, update the sequence to use only the winning version. Don't let both run indefinitely.

Output Structure

outputs/campaigns/[date]-[campaign-name]/
├── brief.md          ← Trigger logic, segments, objectives, variant tracking
├── sequences/
│   ├── tier1.md      ← Full sequence copy, Tier 1
│   ├── tier2.md      ← Full sequence copy, Tier 2
│   └── tier3.md      ← Full sequence copy, Tier 3
├── metrics.md        ← Targets and measurement plan
└── results.md        ← Updated as campaign runs