Prospect Outreach

---
name: prospect-outreach
description: "Veteran playbook for freight new-business prospecting — ICP definition for shippers, trigger-event sourcing, the 8-touch multi-channel sequence (email / call / LinkedIn), the value-first message framework (problem to lane-proof to ask), the low-risk wedge for happy-with-current-forwarder, objection handling, and channel mix. Consulted by prospecting-outreach-strategist."
---

# Prospecting & Outreach Skill

**Purpose:** help `prospecting-outreach-strategist` fill the top of the funnel with the right targets, the right trigger, and value-first messaging that earns a reply. Sell reliability and visibility; discount is the last lever.

## When to use
- Building a prospecting sequence for a segment or lane.
- Writing a personalized cold outreach.
- Defining who to target, or handling a brush-off objection.

## 1. ICP for freight
Define the ideal shipper: commodity, trade lanes, volume signals, buying roles (logistics/supply-chain manager, procurement, ops director), and **current pain** — single-source carrier risk, port-congestion exposure, seasonal peaks they struggle with, a customs/compliance headache, a service-failure history with the incumbent. The sharper the ICP, the warmer the "cold."

## 2. Trigger events (the reason to reach out *now*)
The opener is a trigger, not a greeting:
- New facility, market entry, or sourcing/supplier shift.
- Hiring a supply-chain/logistics role (a signal of change).
- Tariff/route disruption or congestion on **their** lane.
- M&A, funding, or published growth.
- A peak season approaching on a lane they're exposed on.
Trigger-based outreach materially out-pulls untriggered.

## 3. The 8-touch multi-channel sequence
Contact typically takes **multiple** touches, and multi-channel beats single-channel materially. A workable cadence over ~3 weeks:

| # | Day | Channel | Angle |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Email | Trigger + one lane-specific proof + soft ask |
| 2 | 2 | LinkedIn | Connect / view, light touch |
| 3 | 4 | Call | Reference the email; aim for a 15-min slot |
| 4 | 6 | Email | A different value angle (visibility / reliability) |
| 5 | 9 | LinkedIn | Share a relevant lane/market insight |
| 6 | 11 | Call | Second attempt, different time of day |
| 7 | 15 | Email | A specific, low-friction offer (lane benchmark / single-lane trial) |
| 8 | 21 | Email | Break-up ("should I close the loop?") — often the highest reply |

Selectively add **video** touches (notably higher reply rates than text-only) for high-value targets.

## 4. The message framework
**Problem → Proof → Ask**, short and personalized:
- **Problem:** their specific pain/lane ("your DE→US air lane during Q4 peak…").
- **Proof:** a specific, relevant result or capability (labeled illustrative if not their own data) — not "competitive rates and great service."
- **Ask:** low-friction — a lane benchmark, a 15-minute call, a single-lane trial. Personalize the opener; keep it tight.

## 5. The wedge (for "we already have a forwarder")
Don't ask a happy shipper to rip-and-replace, and **never attack the incumbent by name**. Offer:
- A **second source** on one critical/risky lane.
- A **benchmark** of their current rates (they keep the intel either way).
- A **trial** on a peak or problem lane.
Land small, then grow (hand to `key-account-manager`).

## 6. Objection handling
- *"Happy with current."* → "Smart to keep what works — most of our clients keep their primary and use us as a benchmark/second source on [lane]. Worth a 15-minute look?"
- *"No budget."* → reframe to cost-out / risk-reduction, not added spend.
- *"No time."* → shrink the ask (one lane, one number).
- *"Send me an email."* → agree, but pin a specific follow-up date before hanging up.

## 7. Channel mix & timing
Personalization lifts open rates; trigger-based beats generic; sequence + persistence beat any single clever line. Track reply-rate by touch and prune what doesn't pull.

## Hand-offs
- Lane facts to make a message credible → `incoterms-2020` skill / `trade-lane-compliance-advisor`.
- A replied prospect becomes a tracked deal → `pipeline-forecasting` skill / `pipeline-forecast-coach`.
- A landed prospect to grow → `qbr-account-planning` skill / `key-account-manager`.