For context: I’m Ilya co-founder of Growth.band - we help in-house lead gen level-up results with:

1. 99% inbox rate = we fully manage your cold email infra, so you don’t worry about SPAM;

2. 24/7 outreach expert = campaign, copy and result monitoring with proactive fixes;

3. 3x better results = we build a strategy + implement RevOps & automations for you.

👀 Watch the video first 👇

now check the guide + templates below 👇

95% of Outbound & GTM teams use Clay the wrong way.

They think Clay is just a fancy database.

• They use it for basic search.

• They use it for AI-personalization.

• They pull lists and start blasting.

Then they wonder why their reply rates suck.

Clay isn’t just a data tool- it’s an execution engine.

But most teams fail to use it for what really moves the needle:

• ✅ Multi-layered enrichment (not just scraping emails).

• ✅ Tiered prioritization (not every lead is equal).

• ✅ Signal-based outreach (not generic messaging).

Let’s fix that. 👇

The 3-Tier Prospecting System (and How to Adjust Your Outreach)

Top outbound teams don’t just prioritize leads—they adapt their messaging and strategy for each tier.

Here’s how:

🚀 Tier 1 (High-Priority) – Maximum Effort

✅ Matches 3+ high-intent signals (e.g., just hired a CTO, raised Series A, hiring in Eastern Europe).

✅ Strong business alignment (right industry, right team size).

✅ Likely to move fast if the offer fits.

📌 Outreach Strategy:

• → Multi-channel (Email + LinkedIn + Video).

• → Hyper-personalized messaging based on their MAIN SIGNAL.

• → Every touchpoint is tailored to their immediate priority.

💡 Example:

• If they just raised a Series A, they need to scale fast → focus all messaging on speed + efficiency.

• If they just hired a new CTO, they’re under pressure to deliver → emphasize quick wins & de-risking decisions.

📈 Tier 2 (Medium-Priority) – Scalable Outreach

✅ Matches 1-2 relevance criteria (e.g., recently posted dev jobs but no other strong signals).

✅ Could be a fit, but needs further validation.

📌 Outreach Strategy:

• → Focus messaging on their strongest signal (not just generic personalization).

• → Semi-personalized email + LinkedIn connection.

• → Engagement-based filtering: If they interact, move them to Tier 1.

💡 Example:

• If they hired a new Head of Sales, highlight how they can hit targets faster.

• If they just started hiring in Eastern Europe, tailor messaging around scaling distributed teams.

📉 Tier 3 (Low-Priority) – Nurture & Automate

✅ Only meets basic ICP criteria (e.g., industry + revenue size).

✅ No strong indicators of urgency.

📌 Outreach Strategy:

• → Cold email only, no LinkedIn or manual work.

• → Use industry-based problem messaging, not specific personalization.

• → Automated follow-up sequence.

💡 Example:

• If targeting B2B SaaS, talk about common dev scaling challenges.

• If reaching out to VC-backed startups, focus on avoiding costly tech debt early.

• If the company is e-commerce, highlight checkout speed & conversion rate optimization.

Instead of treating all contacts the same, use tiering + strategic messaging to reach the right people with the right offer.

Example: Finding the Real Trigger

We once analyzed a lead working on a travel tech platform.

The initial relevance guess?

• → “They raised funding”

• → “They’re hiring”

But neither mattered.

After a 10 - minute deep dive, here’s what we found:

• → Their product relied on real - time data sync

• → They lacked a large internal engineering team

• → Their website hinted at tech pain (“we simplify complex integrations”)

That was the signal.

We pivoted messaging around technical complexity and external partnerships - and replies shot up.

Lesson: Real relevance isn’t always obvious. You have to dig for it.

Build Your Own Relevance Engine (in 30 Minutes)

STEP 1: Do a 10 - Minute Deep Dive

Pick any prospect from your CRM.

Set a timer for 10 minutes and research them from scratch:

• → Check their website: Look for product complexity, pricing, pain points

• → Look at their LinkedIn: Job changes, posts, hiring

• → Search funding announcements

• → Check job boards (Indeed, Glassdoor) for team size and skill gaps

• List every potential signal that could tie into your value proposition.

STEP 2: Score Signals by Impact

For each signal, ask:

• Does it consistently correlate with replies?

• Is it still underused by the market?

• Does it align with our ideal customer journey?

Then prioritize the top 3–5 and drop the rest.

STEP 3: Tier Your Prospect List

Use those top signals to split your list:

→ Tier 1: Gets video outreach, personalized emails, and multichannel flow

→ Tier 2: Gets semi - custom emails with LinkedIn follow - ups

→ Tier 3: Gets templated cold email campaigns at scale

You can use tools like Clay to enrich and automate this structure.

Why Tiering Drives ROI

• You focus manual effort where it has the highest payoff

• You save time and SDR bandwidth

• You stop guessing - and start optimizing

Instead of 1,000 generic emails, send:

• 10 Tier 1s with max effort

• 50 Tier 2s with strategic effort

• 500 Tier 3s with scalable effort

Same time. Better results.

Template

We built a full Google Sheet Relevance Criteria Tracker that shows:

→ How to brainstorm signals

→ How to run tiered scoring

→ How to build your own Relevance Engine in Clay

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Connect with me on LinkedIn

Ilya Azovtsev