What you'll get
- 1 copy-ready blocks
- 2 tables
- 3 min read
- Questions to send before a demo
How to use it
before you switch on an AI SDR, split your account list into tiers and let the tool send only where a poor message costs you little.
The hack: before you switch on an AI SDR, split your account list into tiers and let the tool send only where a poor message costs you little.
Split the list first
| Tier | Which accounts | What AI does | What a person does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | The accounts that would change your year | Researches and summarises | Writes and sends every message |
| Tier 2 | Look-alikes of your best customers | Drafts from facts you have checked | Approves each message before it goes |
| Tier 3 | The rest of the named list | Sends from templates you have approved | Reads every reply and answers it |
If your list is not tiered yet, do that before you buy anything.
Three guardrails before it sends anything
- An exclusion list. Load every Tier 1 and Tier 2 domain, every customer and every open deal as do-not-contact. Check it works by trying to add one of them.
- Approved facts only. Give the tool a short fact sheet about your company and tell it to claim nothing outside it. Read ten of its drafts against the sheet.
- A person on replies. Every reply goes to a named person the same day. A buyer who answers has earned a human.
Five questions for the vendor
Questions to send before a demo
1. Can I load an exclusion list by company domain, and does it apply to every campaign?
2. Can I require approval before sending for accounts I choose?
3. Where does the tool get the facts it uses about a company, and can I see the source for each line?
4. What does it do when a buyer replies: answer, hand over or book a meeting?
5. Whose domains and mailboxes does it send from, and who keeps them if we stop?A two-week test on your own numbers
Run it on Tier 3 only, and count four things yourself. Do not accept the tool's dashboard as the result.
| What to count | Where to find it |
|---|---|
| Messages with a wrong or unsupported fact | Read a sample of 50 sent messages against your fact sheet |
| Replies asking to stop, and complaints | Your inbox, not the tool's summary |
| Replies a person would call a real conversation | Read every reply |
| Tier 1 or Tier 2 accounts touched by mistake | Search the sent log for your exclusion list |
If the last line is anything but zero, stop and fix the exclusion list before you go on.
Three mistakes to avoid
- Pointing it at your best accounts first because that is where the money is. Start where a mistake is cheap.
- Judging it on messages sent. Sending was never the hard part.
- Leaving replies to the tool. The reply is the first moment the buyer is paying attention.
Make it a habit: each time you add accounts to the list, tier them and update the exclusion list before the tool sees them.
Why this works on named accounts
Read next
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Account Tiering Worksheet (Tier 1, 2, 3)
For teams with a scored account list and no agreement on who gets the most attention.
You leave with tier rules, a capacity sum, a worksheet, a treatment card and one list tiered.
Target Account Selection Scorecard
For founders and sales leaders who have an ICP on a slide and need a ranked list of named accounts.
You leave with a one-page ICP, an 11-point weighted scorecard and three tiers.
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