--- name: "pre-conference-outreach" title: "Pre-conference outreach" description: "Use this skill when you have a conference attendee list and the goal is meetings booked before or during the event, not generic warm-up. Every row is researched first, routed to the teammate whose lens matches the contact's real job, and staged as a tight 4-step sequence: a sub-250-character email that names the conference plus one verified angle, a blank connection request, a verbatim side-door offer (exec dinner or a hands-on session), and a short LinkedIn nudge. Scoring tier never skips anyone. Nothing auto-sends." category: Events --- # Pre-conference outreach ## Template placeholders Replace every `{{...}}` before enabling. See the setup checklist reference for the full setup list. - `{{EVENT_NAME}}` - The conference as people say it in a DM (e.g. "GTM2026", "SaaStr") - `{{EVENT_CITY}}` - Host city, used to pick "hitting the conf?" vs "Making the trip?" - `{{EVENT_DATES}}` - Date range, used to pick "this week" vs "next week" at send time - `{{EXEC_SIDE_EVENT}}` - Your executive side-door offer, as it reads in a sentence (e.g. "an exec dinner on Tuesday night") - `{{PRACTITIONER_SIDE_EVENT}}` - Your hands-on side-door offer (e.g. "a skills hackathon during the conference", "a build session") - `{{EXEC_SENDER}}` - Teammate with the authority lens: talks to whoever owns the problem and its budget - `{{SALES_LEADER_SENDER}}` - Teammate with the seller-management lens: talks to people who manage sellers - `{{PRACTITIONER_SENDER}}` - Teammate with the practitioner lens: talks to hands-on operators of the GTM stack - `{{EXEC_SENDER_MIN_ORG_SIZE}}` - Employee count above which {{EXEC_SENDER}} may send (default: 100) - `{{CRM}}` - Your CRM (e.g. HubSpot, Attio, Salesforce) - `{{SIGNAL_LIBRARY}}` - Optional: your list of verified third-party angles and how to verify each (funding, hiring, product launches, stack changes) - `{{ATTENDEE_TAG}}` - The tag or memory line you use to record "this person attended {{EVENT_NAME}}" - `{{M1_CHAR_CAP}}` - Hard character cap on the first email body (default: 250) - `{{VOICE_GUIDE}}` - Optional: a sender's voice guide to load when they are the sender --- ### When to use this page An attendee list for {{EVENT_NAME}} (or an explicit "run pre-conference outreach on these people") needs sequences that drive a **meeting before or during the conference**, plus a side-door CTA: {{EXEC_SIDE_EVENT}} for the exec and sales-leader senders, {{PRACTITIONER_SIDE_EVENT}} for the practitioner sender. This is a reusable play. Swap the event fill-ins when the next conference is the instance. Sequence **everyone on the file**. Score or scoring tier does **not** route or skip anyone. **Do not use this play when:** - They registered for or attended an event and the ask is generic warm-up or post-event follow-up with no side-door CTA. That is a generic event-registrant play (a separate play, not included here). - The list is booth or badge scans after the conference. That is post-conference outreach. - You already sat with them at an in-person dinner. That is a dinner follow-up (a separate play, not included here). - {{CRM}} shows the account is a current customer or closed-won (including alias or sibling domains). Existing-customer hard stop. Do not sequence. Approval is always queued for a human. There is no auto-send carve-out on this play. --- ### Event fill-ins | Fill-in | Value | |---|---| | `{{EVENT_NAME}}` | e.g. GTM2026 | | `{{EVENT_CITY}}` | e.g. NYC | | `{{EVENT_DATES}}` | e.g. September 28 - October 1 | | `{{EXEC_SIDE_EVENT}}` | e.g. an exec dinner on Tuesday night | | `{{PRACTITIONER_SIDE_EVENT}}` | e.g. a skills hackathon during the conference | Phrasing that depends on timing and location is decided at send time, not hardcoded: "this week" vs "next week"; "hitting the conf?" if they are based in {{EVENT_CITY}} vs "Making the trip?" if they are traveling in. --- ### HARD STOP - research every account on the upload, without exception This is not optional and it is not only a first-party signal scan. Do not draft M1, assign a sender, or stage a sequence for a row until research has run on that domain. Skipping research because "they're probably cold", "no CRM match", or "it's a list upload" is a failure. For every row, read **both**: 1. **Account memory** for the company (the contact's domain, plus any alias or sibling domain already on the account). 2. **{{CRM}} activity at the company level**, not just this contact. Pull the company's engagements, notes, meetings, emails, and open or closed deals. Scan every associated contact, not only the person on the list. **If a prior deal exists (open, closed-won, or closed-lost), research the deal context the way your closed-lost re-engagement procedure does.** Run it. Do not fork the procedure here. At minimum: - {{CRM}} activity feed on the company **and every associated contact** (emails, meetings, notes, close reason, blockers named) - Call transcripts if meetings appear - Whether they ever trialed, how far it got, and any obvious setup gaps - Capture churn or loss reasons verbatim. The close-reason field is usually a one-line summary that hides the full list. Closed-won or customer (including alias domains) still hits the existing-customer hard stop: do not sequence. If research surfaces material history (open deal, booked meeting, live thread, closed-lost with a stated "not now", prior trial, another owner working it), do not pretend the account is cold. Use that history as first-party context in M1 when it is still appropriate to sequence, or **stop and flag** when a standard pre-send gate trips (live unanswered inbound thread, account already engaged, booked meeting, active owner). Empty memory plus a quiet {{CRM}} feed is still a completed research pass. Then fall through the M1 ladder below. Record what was read in the reasoning log: `research: [memory + CRM records actually read]; prior deal: none | [deal stage + one-line context]` If that line is missing, the research did not happen. Do not build. This is in addition to your standard live-thread and account-engagement gates, not a substitute for them. --- ### Sender and outcome (persona lens, not account tier) This play **overrides tier-based sender routing**. Sender is the persona owner for the contact's actual role: judgment on the real job, not a fixed title list. Titles vary wildly company to company ("VP GTM Programs", "Global Head of Revenue Strategy, Ops & Enablement", "GTM Systems & Operations" appear on no list and are exactly the right people). One contact, one sender. Use a verified employee count when available (a LinkedIn-verified count is the preferred source); otherwise the count already on the account record. State the count and the resulting sender in the reasoning log. | Sender | When | Mandate | Desired outcome | |---|---|---|---| | **{{EXEC_SENDER}}** | **Only if org > {{EXEC_SENDER_MIN_ORG_SIZE}} employees** AND the contact owns the problem or the budget (C-level or VP-equivalent who owns GTM systems and tooling decisions) | Authority lens, not hands-on-keyboard | Meeting before or during the conference, and/or {{EXEC_SIDE_EVENT}} | | **{{SALES_LEADER_SENDER}}** | People who manage sellers (VP or Head of Sales, VP of Sales Development, Head of SDR/BDR; Director of Sales only if no department head). **Also** exec-mandate contacts at **<= {{EXEC_SENDER_MIN_ORG_SIZE}} employees** | Seller-management lens, plus small-org exec fallback | Meeting before or during the conference, and/or {{EXEC_SIDE_EVENT}} | | **{{PRACTITIONER_SENDER}}** | Hands-on practitioners (GTM engineers, RevOps who run the stack, growth and funnel leads, director-level marketing ops or GTM systems owners). No employee-count gate. | Practitioner lens | Meeting before or during the conference, and/or {{PRACTITIONER_SIDE_EVENT}} | **Exec size gate (hard):** if employee count is {{EXEC_SENDER_MIN_ORG_SIZE}} or below, do not assign {{EXEC_SENDER}} even when the title is CRO, CMO, CEO, or VP RevOps. Route that contact to {{SALES_LEADER_SENDER}} and keep the exec side-door CTA (Scenario 1). If the count is unknown after a reasonable lookup, do not default to {{EXEC_SENDER}}. Use {{SALES_LEADER_SENDER}} and note the unknown count. Hard exclusions: - **{{PRACTITIONER_SENDER}} never connects with salespeople or sales managers.** AE, SDR/BDR, Account Executive, Sales Manager, Sales Director, Head of Sales, VP Sales, or any equivalent quota-carrying or seller-management title goes to {{SALES_LEADER_SENDER}} (Scenario 1). - Prefer director-level operators over manager-level RevOps for {{PRACTITIONER_SENDER}}. - Prefer VP or Head over Director of Sales for {{SALES_LEADER_SENDER}}. If the upload already names a sender, still verify the mandate **and** the exec size gate; reassign if either fails. If a row has no resolvable LinkedIn URL, skip the LinkedIn steps and flag the row. Do not invent a URL. If there is no work email after enrichment, fall back to LinkedIn-only rather than emailing a personal inbox. Load {{VOICE_GUIDE}} when it exists for the chosen sender. --- ### Two scenarios, same 4-step shape **Scenario 1 - Meetings + exec side event** ({{EXEC_SENDER}} when over the size gate, otherwise {{SALES_LEADER_SENDER}}) **Scenario 2 - Meetings + practitioner side event** ({{PRACTITIONER_SENDER}}). M1 can still ask for a meeting. **M2 is the only structural change.** | Step | Timing | Channel | Content | |---|---|---|---| | 1 / M1 | Day 0 | Email | Conference attendance is the primary hook, tied to a researched angle. Ask for a meeting. **Max {{M1_CHAR_CAP}} characters.** | | 2 | Immediate (same day as M1) | LinkedIn connection request | Blank. No note. Auto-skips if already connected. | | 3 / M2 | Day 3 | Email | Side-door offer. Verbatim. **No name in the message.** | | 4 / M3 | After M2 (next LinkedIn touch) | LinkedIn DM | Verbatim. **No name in the message.** | --- ### Scenario 1 - Meetings + exec side event **Who:** {{EXEC_SENDER}} (over the size gate + authority-lens contact) or {{SALES_LEADER_SENDER}} (seller-management lens, or exec-mandate at or under the gate). **M1:** researched email per the ladder below. Meeting ask. **Step 2:** blank connection request. **M2 - email, Day 3, verbatim (no name):** ``` We're also hosting {{EXEC_SIDE_EVENT}} if that's preferable - can shoot over the reg link if interested. Lmk! ``` Do not paste the registration link in the email. Offer to send it. **M3 - LinkedIn DM, verbatim (no name):** ``` tried you on email - in town for {{EVENT_NAME}} this week? ``` Adjust "this week" / "next week" to the actual timing of the send vs the conference. Do not add a name. --- ### Scenario 2 - Meetings + practitioner side event **Who:** {{PRACTITIONER_SENDER}}. The angle should be relevant to technical personas (GTM engineers, RevOps, marketing ops, GTM systems, as examples). Do not use a seller-management angle on this path. **M1:** researched email per the ladder below. Meeting ask is still allowed. **Step 2:** blank connection request. {{PRACTITIONER_SENDER}} never connects with salespeople or sales managers, so those contacts should not be on this scenario. **M2 - email, Day 3, verbatim (no name):** ``` We're also running {{PRACTITIONER_SIDE_EVENT}} if that's more your speed - can shoot over the details if interested. Lmk! ``` Do not paste the side-event link in the email. Offer to send details. **M3 - LinkedIn DM, verbatim (no name), same as Scenario 1:** ``` tried you on email - in town for {{EVENT_NAME}} this week? ``` --- ### M1 - research ladder and copy Conference attendance is the primary signal and **may be named**: it is a public, intentional act, the same logic that lets you name an event registration or a profile view. After the mandatory account research, pick the secondary angle with this ladder. **Stop at the first that survives.** 1. **First-party.** Material engagement found in the research: LinkedIn content engagement, website visits, prior replies, closed-lost or prior-deal context, {{CRM}} activity. If it exists, that is the secondary angle. Do not also weave in a third-party observation. 2. **Else third-party.** Load {{SIGNAL_LIBRARY}}. Run its verification protocol. Pick **one** verified angle and tie it to conference attendance. Role-to-angle mapping still applies. Scenario 2 uses technical angles only. 3. **Else conference-only.** Attendance plus a meeting ask. No invented signal. Never mention that you pulled them from a registration or attendee list. Never dump product in M1. **Hard cap: {{M1_CHAR_CAP}} characters** on the M1 email body (count the full message, including the name if used). If a draft exceeds the cap, cut before staging. Do not keep both a long observation and a long ask. Conference + one angle + one meeting ask is the whole message. Record the character count in the reasoning log. M1 **is allowed** to ask for time ("How's your sched looking?", "Making the trip?"). This play is **exempt** from your cold-outreach no-mention, no-pitch, no-CTA rules. A persona-matched pitch check is not applicable on this short cadence: there is no pitch step. **Angle examples (reference only. Write fresh, stay under the cap):** First-party (LinkedIn engagement): > You've been engaging a lot with our content on LinkedIn. Given we're both in {{EVENT_CITY}} this week for {{EVENT_NAME}}, thought it might be a great time to connect. How's your sched looking? Third-party (GTM scale-up): > Noticed you guys are in rapid GTM scale-up mode. So given we're both in {{EVENT_CITY}} this week for {{EVENT_NAME}}, thought it might be a great opportunity to connect re how AI agents are supporting the scale-up efforts. How's your sched looking? Third-party (the prospect deploys AI in their own product). Traveling in: > Given the focus on deploying AI agents into call centers, was curious if agents are also driving your own GTM motion. Happy to chat on it live if you're at {{EVENT_NAME}} next week. Making the trip? Local variant of the close: `hitting the conf?` --- ### List-upload execution - Sequence every row on the file unless a standard gate trips (customer, live thread, booked meeting, account already engaged, already-engaged owner). - **Research every row first.** No exceptions. - Check existing sequences per contact; read the full message history; edit, don't duplicate. - Blank connection requests (no note). Plain-text URLs. No unfilled merge fields left in copy. No markdown-wrapped links. - Stage queued for approval. Confirm: "Drafted a 4-step pre-conference sequence for [contact] at [company], staged for your approval. Sender: [name]. Hook: [one line]. Scenario: exec side event / practitioner side event." - **After staging:** write the person-level attendee line to account memory and apply {{ATTENDEE_TAG}} on the company. Write it for every sequenced row **and** for connection-only rows. Do not duplicate an existing person+event line. The reasoning log on every sequence must include: - Sender mandate + why (quote the role, not just the title) - Employee count + exec size gate verdict - `research:` + `prior deal:` line (see HARD STOP) - First-party vs third-party vs conference-only, and what was used - Scenario 1 vs 2 - Event instance - M1 character count - A compact pre-flight line citing this play's sender override, not tier routing --- ### Rules - MUST research every account on the upload before drafting or staging. No exceptions. - MUST run your closed-lost research procedure when a prior deal exists. Do not invent deal context. - MUST assign sender from the persona mandate + exec size gate. Do not use tier routing. - MUST keep M1 <= {{M1_CHAR_CAP}} characters. - MUST use Scenario 1 (exec side event) for {{EXEC_SENDER}} and {{SALES_LEADER_SENDER}}, and Scenario 2 (practitioner side event) for {{PRACTITIONER_SENDER}}. Do not mix CTAs. - MUST leave M2 and M3 verbatim and nameless (aside from this-week / next-week timing on M3). - MUST NOT paste side-event registration links into M2. Offer to send them. - MUST NOT mention the attendee list as the source. - NEVER auto-send on this play. - NEVER sequence a closed-won or customer account. - MUST, after staging, write the attendee line to account memory and apply {{ATTENDEE_TAG}} on the company. One line per person per event. --- ## What good looks like Every row on the file has a research line before it has a draft. Sender was chosen by what the person actually does, and the exec size gate was applied even when the title said CRO. M1 reads like a 30-second note from someone who is also going to be in the room: the conference, one real angle, one ask for time, under the cap. M2 and M3 are word-for-word the verbatim lines, with no name added and no link pasted. Everything sits queued for approval with a reasoning log a colleague could audit. Spot first: a row with no research line, an account under the size gate assigned to the exec sender, a salesperson routed to the practitioner sender, and an M1 over the cap. Mediocre looks like: "saw you're attending, want to meet?" sent to everyone with no angle; a pitch paragraph in M1; a dinner link dropped in M2; a hackathon offer sent to a VP Sales; or a closed-lost account sequenced as if it were cold because nobody opened the deal history.