Contact companies the moment they show they are ready to buy: a hire, a raise, an expansion, a key contact changing job.
Mimecast, the email security company, set up automatic alerts for one signal: a past customer or champion changing jobs. When one moved to a prospect company, a new record was created there and the person went straight to the sales development team as a lead, with the earlier relationship attached and the right sequence lined up. When a key contact left an existing customer, customer success was told to build ties with others in that account.
In eight months the programme produced more than $18 million of new pipeline across 276 opportunities, and became Mimecast's second-highest converting channel after demo requests (UserGems case study, 23 March 2023). The case study, published by the software vendor, gives no closed revenue figure.
B2B services and SaaS with a clear ideal customer and a repeatable offer.
A signal is a reason to write that is about the prospect, not about you. Cold email averages 3.4 to 5.1% replies in 2026 (Overloop, a sales software company, June 2026), so a message needs a reason to exist. Four signals earn their keep: a job posting for the role you replace, fresh funding, an expansion into a new office, market or product, and a happy customer contact moving to a new company.
Vendor. Mimecast's figures from a UserGems case study (23 March 2023). Overloop's 2026 benchmarks put the average cold email reply rate at 3.4 to 5.1% (June 2026).
Cost to test. Data and sending tools at a few hundred dollars a month, and two weeks to set up.
Kill a signal if after 200 sends it does not beat the reply rate of your ordinary list.
Not every signal beats the control, so test one at a time. Stale database signals lose the timing edge, so go to the source. Check the outreach rules in each country you send to.
Engager Mining, Built For You, The Nine-Word Email
A 30-minute call first. If it fits, two calls in one week and a written growth plan you keep.