Signal-based outbound
Signal-based outbound is outreach triggered by something a prospect just did, or something that just happened to them. That gives every message a reason to exist.
The short answer
Traditional outbound sends the same sequence to a list on a fixed schedule, whether or not the recipient has any reason to care that day. Signal-based outbound waits for a reason, then acts quickly, on the channel that suits the moment.
First-party signals
Things people do with you.
- A return to the pricing page
- Several service pages in one session
- An email opened, then a site visit
- A LinkedIn connection accepted
- A reply
Market signals
Things that happen to them.
- Hiring for a relevant role
- A funding round
- A new regulation
- A new registration or licence
- A framework renewal
- A change of tools
First-party signals come from visitor identification. Market signals come from the research engine. Both feed the same record, so a single prospect can carry both kinds at once.
From signal to message
A signal becomes a message in four steps, and a person sits at the end of every one.
The flow
How a signal turns into a message
- 1
Trigger
The signal fires
DeliChat or a market signal flags the contact and raises their intent score.
- 2
Channel
The right channel is chosen
A LinkedIn note, a same-day email, or a call for the hottest moments.
- 3
Context
The message uses the context
“You were reading about X” beats “I hope this finds you well”.
- 4
Review
A human checks it
High-value touches and every reply are reviewed by a person.
Worked example: the AI visibility call hook
For our own cold-call campaigns we turn a raw call list into a specific, provable opening line for each prospect, and a person spot-checks every batch.
The pipeline
From call list to caller-ready line
- 1
Classify
Work out each company’s category from its homepage.
- 2
Search
Run a live AI search for that category and location.
- 3
Record
Note whether the company appeared and which competitors did.
- 4
Write
Put a caller-ready line into the dialler.
- 5
Check
A person spot-checks every batch before callers use it.
One row from a prepared call list
Illustrative exampleNorthbridge Advisory
Category
Live AI search
Result
Caller-ready line
If a company cannot be classified confidently, it is flagged for manual review rather than guessed. The opening line is provable because it describes something we actually observed. The same research thinking sits behind the AI visibility checker, and the calling channel is described on the cold calling services page.
ICP and lookalike prospecting
Once we know who engages, we define the ideal customer profile (ICP) and find more organisations like them. That is how outbound scales beyond the people who have already visited.
Define the profile from real behaviour
Who visits, replies and buys, and what they share: industry, size, region, roles, tools and the triggers that came before their interest.Build the lookalike list
Accounts that match the profile, drawn from B2B data providers and filtered to the right decision-makers.Enrich and verify
Firmographic detail is added and emails are verified before sending. Records are matched on email address or LinkedIn URL, never on name alone.Segment by industry
Copy is written for that sector’s problems and language, not one generic sequence with the company name swapped. See the industries we work with.Feed it back
Every lookalike who later visits is recognised by DeliChat, so outbound and inbound keep sharpening the same profile.
Why we match on email or LinkedIn URL
Matching by name alone is how replies fall through the cracks. Two people share a name, one record is updated, and the other never is.
Matched on name alone
Illustrative exampleAlex Morgan
Northbridge Advisory
Alex Morgan
Harbourview Partners
A reply arrives from one Alex Morgan. The system finds a name match and updates one record, and the other never learns anything happened.
Result: a reply falls through the cracks.
Matched on email or LinkedIn URL
Illustrative exampleAlex Morgan
Harbourview Partners
linkedin.com/in/example-profile
Each record is keyed to something unique to that person. The reply lands on the one it belongs to.
Result: every reply reaches the right record.
The lookalike step is where the cost of getting it wrong grows with volume, so we keep it tight. A smaller list of accounts that fit the profile beats a long list of near misses. The pillar page for the whole discipline is B2B lead generation services.
Outbound channels and infrastructure
Every channel runs from the same record DeliChat is scoring, on infrastructure built to protect your brand.
One record
Every channel writes to one record, and every reply comes back to one inbox
DeliChat
Identifies visitors and scores intent
DeliMail
Email on warmed sending domains
DeliReach
LinkedIn connection requests and follow-ups
DeliVoice
Inbound answering and consented follow-up
DeliHub
One record per person
Unified inbox
Every reply, from every channel, on the right contact record. A person reads it.
| Channel | Product | What it does | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeliMail | Dedicated sending domains and inboxes, warmed before use. Every open, click and reply rolls into the intent score. | Cold email agency | |
| DeliReach | Connection requests and follow-ups. A site visit can trigger a LinkedIn message, and a LinkedIn reply feeds back into the same record. | LinkedIn lead generation | |
| Calls | Our team, with DeliVoice for inbound | Outbound calls are made by our team as one channel of the managed Outbound package. DeliVoice handles inbound calls and consented follow-up calls only, and is not a cold outbound dialler. | Cold calling services, DeliVoice |
| Replies | DeliHub | Every reply from every channel in one unified inbox, on the right contact record. | DeliHub documentation |
The six-stage managed process that delivers all of this is on the how it works page. The tools themselves sit together in the Deli Suite.
Ground rules
Five rules decide how outreach is run, and they exist to protect your brand and your email reputation.
Your main domain is never used for cold email
Outreach runs from separate sending domains that resemble your own and point back to your site, so your own domain’s reputation is protected.
Warm up first, then send small
New sending domains are warmed before use, with conservative daily volumes per inbox.
Warm contacts first
Where DeliChat is running on your site, people who have visited are approached before anyone cold, and with context.
A human reviews replies
Every reply is read by a person, and a person approves every sequence before it sends.
Nothing is sent for volume’s sake
If a message has no reason to exist, it is not sent.
The first weeks
What the timeline looks like
Typical timings, not guarantees. Results depend on your market, your offer and what a customer is worth to you.
- 1About one week
Live
ICP workshop (about an hour of your time), infrastructure build, copy written and approved.
- 2Four to six weeks
Sending domains warm up
Conservative ramps while the new domains build reputation.
- 3Weeks four to six
First meetings typically arrive
Not before the domains are warm, and not guaranteed.
Source: Deligatr’s standard delivery timeline for the Outbound package.
The technical detail behind these rules, including authentication and volumes, is in infrastructure and deliverability.
Choosing a direction
Outbound suits brands with existing recognition and a specific offer to push into a defined window. Inbound suits brands that want to be found again and again over time.
A quick guide
Which direction fits first?
- 1
Do you have existing recognition and a specific offer to push into a defined window, such as a launch, a new service line or a seasonal push?
Outbound
Reach the right accounts now, on a signal, across email, LinkedIn and calls.
- 2
Do you want to be found again and again over time, by buyers who search or ask an AI assistant?
Inbound
AEO, GEO and SEO, with every visitor identified from day one.
If both, run full hybrid
Inbound and outbound as one loop on one record. The two directions feed each other.
Outbound and Inbound cost the same on purpose: they are directions, not tiers. Each is $2,500 a month on monthly billing, and Full Hybrid is $5,000. Quarterly and annual billing are paid up front and cost less. Full detail is on the pricing page.
- Outbound in depth: B2B lead generation services, appointment setting and account-based marketing.
- Inbound in depth: AEO and GEO.
- Both together: demand generation agency.
Prices from the Deligatr pricing page. Monthly billing has no long-term commitment; six months is our recommendation, but it is not required.
Common questions
The questions we hear most about how outbound is run.
Does signal-based outbound get more replies than a cold list?
We make no claim of a specific reply-rate or meeting uplift, because we have no source for one. What it changes is qualitative: each message has a reason to exist, it arrives closer to the moment that reason applies, and fewer irrelevant touches are sent.
Do you contact people cold?
People who have visited your site or engaged with you are approached first, with context. Lookalike accounts are approached only after research gives a reason to write, and a person approves every sequence before it sends.
Is DeliVoice a cold outbound dialler?
No. DeliVoice answers inbound calls and places follow-up calls to people who have asked to hear from you. Calls on outbound campaigns are one channel of the managed Outbound package, covered on the cold calling services page.
Will outreach damage our brand or email reputation?
Cold email never runs from your main domain. It runs from separate warmed sending domains at conservative volumes, warm contacts come first, and a person reviews every reply.
Back to the documentation overview, or on to the CRM that holds every record.