Issue 02 · Research basis: 2024 buyer research. Historical sources are interpreted for current GTM decisions.
The decision
A new revenue leader is a reason to investigate an account. It is not a budget, a buying committee or proof that the company wants to replace its current setup.
Keep fit and timing separate. Fit asks whether the company has the problem you solve and can realistically buy. Timing asks whether a verified change makes that problem more relevant now. A high signal score should never cancel an exclusion rule.
What the research helps explain
The 6sense 2024 Buyer Experience Report describes substantial research before buyers contact sellers. That supports making useful evidence available early. It does not establish that a particular company's hiring announcement is an invitation to pitch.
Our practical interpretation: treat a signal as a hypothesis about a company's priorities. Verify that hypothesis before using it to justify a conversation.
A small example that changes the decision
These are illustrative accounts, not campaign results.
| Account | Fit | Verified event | CRM check | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Supported | New sales leader | No active relationship | Research the likely operating problem |
| B | Outside the ICP | Funding announcement | No active relationship | Exclude despite the interesting event |
| C | Supported | New market launch | Open opportunity | Give the insight to the deal owner |
Account C may be the most commercially useful signal in the batch. Its correct destination is the current conversation. Starting another sequence could damage that opportunity.
What to check this fortnight
Inspect one eligible campaign cohort. For each account, record the fit rule, source URL, actual event date, date discovered and commercial hypothesis. An old event discovered today is still an old event.
Then reconcile existing customers, open deals, opt-outs and current owners. Keep unknown fit in a research queue. Do not turn unknown into eligible simply because the event is recent.
Before any first touch, ask what useful observation you can offer beyond repeating the news. If the message only says congratulations and asks for a meeting, the signal has not yet become an insight.
One workflow
Signal to sequence takes the account through verification, ownership, suppression and review. Change the inputs in its worked example and inspect why an account proceeds or is held.
The output worth keeping is a campaign receipt: who qualified, why now, what was excluded, who owns replies and what would pause the work. That receipt makes the next campaign easier to improve.
Use this next
Before buying another enrichment package, run the TAM mapping workflow and write the inclusion rule in one sentence. Use the buying-group guide to identify the decision each role needs to make.
Take this question into your next outbound review: would this account still deserve attention if the interesting news disappeared?
Publication and source record
Published on GTMhub: . Last reviewed: .