What is signal-based outbound?
Updated
Key takeaway
Signal-based outbound means contacting a person because of something they did or something that changed at their company: a new job, a job post, a funding round or a LinkedIn post. The signal decides who you contact this week, and the first message is about that signal.
How signal-based outbound works
- Pick the signals that fit your niche. A company that sells recruiting software watches job posts, and one that sells to sales teams watches for people who just took over a sales team.
- Watch for them. Signals show up on LinkedIn, job boards, press releases, funding news and company websites.
- Find the right person. A signal at a company still needs a name: the person who owns the problem you solve.
- Decide who goes first. Fresh signals come before old ones, and people with two signals before people with one. People who are active on LinkedIn go up the list too.
- Write the first message about the signal. Name one real thing they did and ask a question they can answer in a word.
- Follow up on LinkedIn and email. Keep going until they reply or the signal is old news, and put every yes on the calendar.
Why signals beat a static list
Most companies on any list are not buying right now. Research by the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for the LinkedIn B2B Institute found that about 95% of potential B2B buyers are out of the market at any given time (LinkedIn B2B Institute). Companies change providers of services such as banking, software or legal advice about every five years, so about 20% are in the market in a given year and 5% in a given quarter (Ehrenberg-Bass Institute).
A list sorted by industry and company size can't tell that 5% from the rest, and neither can a signal on its own. What a signal gives you is a reason to write to this person this week, and something specific to say when you do.
Source: Ehrenberg-Bass Institute.
Which signals matter
| Signal | What it tells you | Where it shows up |
|---|---|---|
| Job change | A new person owns the budget and has tools and vendors to review | LinkedIn profiles |
| Hiring | The company is putting money into a team, and the job post says what the team will do | Job boards, LinkedIn jobs, careers pages |
| Funding round | The company has new money and a plan to spend it on growth | Press releases, funding news |
| Posts and comments | What the person cares about this week, in their own words | |
| Company news | A launch, a new office or a new market moves priorities | Press releases, company websites |
| Intent data | The company is reading about your category | Intent data providers |
The signals that matter most are the ones tied to the problem you solve. A job post for the team your product serves is worth more than a funding round at a company that doesn't need you. Signals also add up: a company that raised money and is hiring for the team you sell to is a stronger lead than either signal alone.
How to time outbound with job changes, hiring and funding
Reach out while the signal is still news to the person. Months later, the same message reads as an excuse to pitch.
- Job changes. Reach out in the person's first weeks in the role, while they decide what to keep and what to change. Ask about one thing they now own.
- Hiring. The job post is your window, so write while it is live. Ask about the role, or about the work the new hire will take on.
- Funding. Wait until the news is public, then tie the message to what the money is for if the company said so: hiring, a new market or a launch.
- Posts. Reply to the point they made within a few days, while the post is still on their mind.
Rank people by how fresh their signal is, and contact someone with two fresh signals before someone with one old one.
How to write the first message from a signal
The first message has one job: get a reply. A signal helps, because the message can be about the person instead of about you.
| Kind | First message |
|---|---|
| Template | "Saw you're hiring your first SDR, impressive growth! We help companies like yours 3x pipeline. Open to a quick 15-min call?" |
| Signal-based | "Hi Jordan, have you found anyone for the sales manager role you have? (came across the post)" |
The template stacks a compliment, a claim and a call ask. The second message asks one question about one real thing, and it can be answered in a word from a phone.
A good first message names one specific thing the person did and asks a question they can answer with a yes or a no. The pitch, the compliment and the call ask wait until they reply.
Never mention intent data or website visits in the message. Use that data to decide who to contact and when, and write about something the person would expect you to have seen.
Signal-based outbound vs intent data
Intent data is one kind of signal. Providers track which companies are reading about a topic across the web and sell a score for each company. A high score says a company may be in the market. It doesn't name the person to write to, and you can't mention it in a message.
Person-level signals, such as a job change, a job post or a LinkedIn post, are public and specific. They tell you who to contact and give the first message its subject. You can use both: intent data to choose companies, and person-level signals to choose people and write the message.
Never mention intent data or website visits in the message.
Running it yourself or hiring an agency
Running signal-based outbound in-house takes four things: a way to watch for signals across LinkedIn, job boards and the news, a way to find each person's contact details, tools to send on LinkedIn and email, and someone with the hours to write every message.
An agency that runs signal-based outbound does all of that for you. Before you hire one, ask:
- Which signals it would track for your niche, and why those.
- Where it finds them, and how fresh they are when it reaches out.
- What a first message built on one of them looks like in your market.
- Whether the data and the tools are in the fee.
Bavlio charges from US$3,000 a month for done-for-you outbound, with the data and the tools included.
How Bavlio runs signal-based outbound
We pick the signals that fit your niche, and they tell us who to contact this week.
- Find. We look on LinkedIn, Google search, job postings, press releases and company websites.
- Ranking. We rank the people worth reaching out to by recent LinkedIn activity.
- Reach out. On LinkedIn and by email. Each first message is about something specific to the person, so it doesn't sound like slop.
- Meeting. A reply that says yes, with a day and a time, goes on your calendar. You take the call while we find the next ones.
- Report. Every Monday: who we reached, who replied and who is next.
We cover the signal data, the contact data and the sending tools, and your only job is to take the calls. On the call, Adam shows you who we'd reach out to first.
What you get with Bavlio
- People in your niche ranked by their recent LinkedIn activity, with new ones every week.
- Every first message is written for the person it goes to.
- A reply desk in Slack, where LinkedIn replies arrive with the answer already written.
- We rewrite your LinkedIn headline and About, and make your banner images.
- Your own video sales letter script, written from our calls, with a shot list.
- We test your messages against each other on your own campaign.
- A private portal for your lists and messages.
- No outreach for your direct competitors at the same time.
- You don't pay if you're not satisfied, and if you pay after results, nothing is due until your first 3 qualified sales calls are held.
Read more about outbound lead generation, done for you, done-for-you LinkedIn outreach, done-for-you cold email and how an outbound agency compares with hiring an SDR or an AI SDR tool.
Questions
What is signal-based outbound?
Signal-based outbound is reaching out to a person because of something they did or something that changed at their company, such as a new job, a job post, a funding round or a LinkedIn post. The signal decides who to contact and when, and the first message is about it.
How do I use buying signals like job changes, hiring and funding rounds to time my outbound?
Reach out while the signal is fresh: in someone's first weeks in a new role, while a job post is live, or once a funding round is public. Contact people with more than one fresh signal first, and make the first message about the signal.
Is signal-based outbound the same as intent data?
No. Intent data shows which companies are reading about a topic, and it is one kind of signal. Signal-based outbound also uses public events about a person, such as a job change, a job post or a LinkedIn post, which tell you who to contact and what to write about.
Is there an outbound agency that uses signals to decide who to contact?
Yes. Bavlio does done-for-you outbound for B2B companies. We pick the signals that fit your niche, they tell us who to contact this week, and we reach out on LinkedIn and email. Your only job is to take the calls. See outbound lead generation, done for you.
Does signal-based outbound work on LinkedIn?
Yes. LinkedIn shows job changes, posts, comments and hiring, and you can reach the person on the same site. The first invite or message can be about the post they wrote or the role they just started.
What if it doesn't work?
You don't pay if you're not satisfied, and if you pay after results, nothing is due until your first 3 qualified sales calls are held. On prepay, if your first 3 qualified sales calls aren't held by the end of month 3, we keep going at no charge until they are, for up to 90 more days. The 3-call terms are offered when the list we show you on the call has enough people in your niche, and the agreement defines a qualified call. See the whole offer.
