search-strategy

Search Strategy Skill

Purpose

Turn an ideal customer profile into portable prospect-search filters the user can run in any list tool (Apollo, Sales Navigator, Clay, ZoomInfo, LinkedIn, or a hand-built list). Do not bind the work to a single vendor. Write the result to search-strategy.md so the rest of the campaign workflow has a clear, reusable targeting brief.

Inputs

1. Read research.md from the campaign workspace when it exists. Pull ICP details, buyer roles, company attributes, competitors, and any named example prospects.
2. Read the offer / ICP from plan.md or the user's brief when present (who you sell to, what you sell, and the problem the offer solves).
3. If either is missing, ask the user for:
   • Target role (title or function + seniority)
   • Company type (industry, size, and business model)
   • The problem the offer solves (used to choose intent signals and exclusions)

Do not invent an ICP. Prefer short clarifying questions over guessing.

Define filters

Work through every category below. For each, pick concrete values tied to the ICP and keep 1-2 examples in mind as calibration. Use a checklist and fill only the categories that apply; leave a category blank rather than force a weak filter.

• Job titles and seniority
  • Prefer a short primary title list plus seniority when the role is clear.
  • Examples: VP Marketing, Head of Growth; seniority Director, VP, C-level.
• Departments / functions
  • Use function when titles vary a lot across companies.
  • Examples: Marketing, Revenue Operations, Engineering.
• Industries / verticals
  • Name the verticals that actually buy; avoid overly broad buckets unless volume is too low.
  • Examples: B2B SaaS, healthcare software, commercial real estate.
• Company size (headcount bands) and revenue bands
  • Pick headcount and/or revenue ranges that match buying power and sales motion.
  • Examples: headcount 51-200, 201-500; revenue $10M-$50M.
• Geography
  • Person location and/or company HQ, depending on how the offer is sold.
  • Examples: United States, United Kingdom, DACH, remote-US only.
• Technographics (tools they use)
  • Include stack signals only when they change fit or the pitch.
  • Examples: uses Salesforce, uses HubSpot, runs on AWS.
• Intent / timing signals
  • Hire, funding, launches, expansion, and similar triggers that make outreach timely.
  • Examples: hiring for SDRs, raised Series A/B in last 12 months, opened a new market.
• Keywords (positive)
  • Phrase or profile keywords that pull the right people in when title alone is weak.
  • Examples: "demand gen", "plg", "outbound".
• Exclusions (negative filters)
  • Competitors, current customers, agencies-as-end-customers, wrong business models, and other bad-fit segments.
  • Examples: exclude competitor brands; exclude consulting / agency when selling to product companies; exclude companies already on the customer list.