Write a cold sequence from a trigger event
Images on this page are for illustrative purposes only. Example outputs are based on Lusha data, with personal details masked or abbreviated for privacy.
This Claude prompt writes a 4-touch cold sequence built from a specific trigger — a new exec hire, a funding round, a headcount spike — not a generic cadence. Lusha validates the contact before anything gets written. Gmail checks for prior threads so the sequence doesn’t land on top of an existing conversation. Every touch references the trigger. Word limits are enforced.
The prompt
<context>
I have a prospect I want to reach out to cold. A specific trigger event happened at their company that makes this the right moment to reach out. I want a multi-touch sequence — email and LinkedIn — written from the trigger, not from a generic template.
My prospect:
- Company: [COMPANY NAME]
- Contact name and title: [NAME, TITLE]
- Trigger event: [WHAT HAPPENED — e.g. "new CRO hired 3 weeks ago", "Series B closed last month", "sales team headcount up 40% in 90 days"]
- What I sell: [PRODUCT / SOLUTION]
- Why this trigger matters for us: [ONE SENTENCE]
- Any prior contact or context: [YES / NO — if yes, describe]
</context>
<task>
1. Use Lusha to validate the contact before writing anything:
- Confirm their current title and that they're still at the company
- Pull verified work email and direct phone
- Note their tenure in the role — someone 3 weeks in gets a different sequence than someone 6 months in
2. Check Gmail for any prior thread with this contact or company:
- If there's a prior thread, the sequence is a re-engagement, not a cold outreach — flag this and adjust accordingly
- If there's no prior thread, proceed with cold sequence
3. Write a 4-touch sequence: 3 emails + 1 LinkedIn message, in send order:
Touch 1 — Email (Day 1)
- Subject line: specific to the trigger, not clickbait
- Body: under 80 words. Name the trigger in the first line. Connect it to one specific problem we solve. One question or ask at the end.
- No "I hope this finds you well", no "I wanted to reach out", no "just checking in"
Touch 2 — LinkedIn message (Day 4)
- Under 50 words
- Different angle from Touch 1 — same trigger, different lens
- Connection request note or InMail depending on connection status
Touch 3 — Email (Day 8)
- Under 60 words
- Add one new piece of information or angle — a relevant data point, a customer example in the same industry, or a specific question about their situation
- Don't repeat Touch 1
Touch 4 — Email (Day 14)
- The break-up email — under 40 words
- Direct, no guilt, leaves the door open
- One final specific question
4. For each touch, note:
- The sending channel (email or LinkedIn)
- The day to send relative to Touch 1
- The primary angle being used
5. Flag if the trigger is older than 60 days — the sequence tone shifts when the moment has passed. A 90-day-old funding round needs a different frame than a 2-week-old one.
</task>
<constraints>
- Every touch must reference the trigger. A sequence that could be sent to any prospect at any time is not acceptable output.
- Word limits are hard. Touch 1 under 80 words, Touch 2 under 50, Touch 3 under 60, Touch 4 under 40. Count them.
- Do not invent company details, product claims, or customer references. If a customer example is used in Touch 3, note it as a placeholder for the rep to fill in.
- If Gmail shows a prior thread, stop and flag it before writing the sequence.
</constraints>What you'll get back
The situation: An SDR at a sales intelligence platform runs the prompt for Jamie K., a CRO who joined Halcyon Ventures 18 days ago — pulled from the prospect list built in Play 09. No prior Gmail thread. Lusha confirms the title and returns a verified email and mobile.
Output: 4-touch sequence, all under word limits, every touch referencing the same trigger from a different angle.
Contact validation (Lusha)
- Jamie K., Chief Revenue Officer, Halcyon Ventures — confirmed active, 18 days in role
- Work email: j.k@[halcyon].com ✓ verified
- Direct mobile: available (masked for privacy)
- Gmail check: no prior thread with this contact or domain
The sequence
Touch 1 — Email · Day 1 Angle: the audit window
Subject: 18 days in — what does the current stack look like?
Hi Jamie,
Saw you joined Halcyon as CRO earlier this month. Most new CROs I talk to do a full tech stack audit in the first 60 days — contact data and enrichment is usually one of the first things that surfaces as a gap.
Worth a 15-minute call to show you what the team is working with and where we’d fit?
[Name]
71 words.
Touch 2 — LinkedIn · Day 4 Angle: the team inheriting the problem
Hi Jamie — noticed you’re a few weeks into Halcyon. Curious whether the sales team’s data setup was something you inherited or something you’re rebuilding. Happy to share what similar-sized teams are doing. [Name]
39 words. Send as connection request note if not connected; InMail if connected.
Touch 3 — Email · Day 8 Angle: what other new CROs found
Subject: What the first 30 days usually surfaces
Hi Jamie,
A CRO at [similar-sized SaaS company — rep to fill in] told us their biggest surprise in the first month was how much time reps spent manually searching for contact data. Turned out to be 40 minutes a day per rep.
Is that something you’re seeing at Halcyon?
[Name]
54 words. Replace the bracketed customer reference with a real one before sending.
Touch 4 — Email · Day 14 Angle: close the loop cleanly
Subject: Closing the loop
Hi Jamie,
Not hearing back — either the timing’s off or it’s not a fit right now, both are fine. If the data setup becomes something you want to look at this quarter, happy to pick this up then.
[Name]
38 words.
Sequence summary
| Touch | Channel | Day | Angle | Words |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | The audit window | 71 | |
| 2 | 4 | The inherited problem | 39 | |
| 3 | 8 | What peers found | 54 | |
| 4 | 14 | Clean close | 38 |
No trigger older than 60 days — sequence tone is current and urgent.
Contact validated via Lusha connector, May 21. Gmail checked — no prior thread found. Sequence written from live signal data.
Why use Lusha in Claude
A generic cold sequence gets ignored because it could have been sent to anyone. A sequence built from a specific trigger — 18 days into a new CRO role — gets read because it’s about something that’s actually happening. Lusha in Claude validates the contact and their tenure before writing a word, because a sequence written for a 3-week-in CRO is different from one written for a 6-month-in one. Gmail checks for prior threads so the outreach doesn’t land on top of an existing conversation the rep forgot about. The word limits are enforced in the prompt, not left to judgment — because shorter sequences get replied to more than long ones.
Data drawn from 300M+ verified contacts under GDPR, CCPA, SOC 2, ISO 27701, ISO 31700, and TRUSTe.
FAQ
Can I run this for multiple contacts from the same prospect list?
Yes — run it once per contact. The sequence adjusts based on the contact’s specific tenure and the exact signal date, so two CROs hired at different companies on different dates get different sequences even if the trigger type is the same.
What if Gmail shows a prior thread?
The prompt stops and flags it before writing anything. A prior thread changes the play — it’s a re-engagement, not a cold outreach. Run the re-engage a dead outbound thread play instead.
The word limits feel tight — can I loosen them?
You can, but the defaults are there for a reason. Touch 1 at 80 words performs better than Touch 1 at 200 words for cold outreach — the constraint forces a sharper point. If you need more room, add it to Touch 3, not Touch 1.
What if the trigger is older than 60 days?
The prompt flags it and the sequence shifts. A 90-day-old funding round isn’t news anymore — the angle changes from “this just happened” to “you’re three months into your growth phase.” The urgency is different, the framing is different.
What goes in the customer reference placeholder in Touch 3?
A real customer in a similar industry or at a similar stage — one you’re allowed to name in outreach. If you don’t have one, replace it with a data point instead: “companies at your stage typically find X.” Don’t leave the placeholder in.
Can I use this for inbound leads too?
The prompt is built for cold outreach from a signal. For inbound leads, the context is already there — you don’t need a trigger-based sequence, you need a follow-up. This play is specifically for cold.
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