What you'll get
- 5 copy-ready blocks
- Spreadsheet-ready
- 1 table
- 6 min read
- Part 1: Pick the motionA two-question check: volume or accounts
- Part 2: Build the listAn ICP card and a capped list sheet
- Part 3: Choose channelsFive channels and when each works
- Part 4: Run 90 daysA week-by-week calendar
- Part 5: Count accountsFive lines that count accounts, not sends
How to use it
- Step 1: Answer the two questions in Part 1 to pick your motion.
- Step 2: Build the list in Part 2 before anyone writes an email.
- Step 3: Match channels to your buyer with Part 3.
- Step 4: Run the 90-day calendar in Part 4 a week at a time.
- Step 5: Update the scoreboard in Part 5 every Monday.
Lead generation for SaaS companies means one of two motions: volume outreach to a broad market, or account work on a named list. Which fits depends on how many companies could buy from you and how many people approve the purchase. This plan helps you pick in two questions, then gives you 90 days of work.
Part 1: Pick the motion
The two-question check
Q1. How many companies could realistically buy from you? [thousands / a few hundred or fewer]
Q2. How many people have a say in the purchase? [one / three or more]
Thousands, one person: volume motion. Broad list, sequenced outreach, a trial or demo early.
A few hundred, three or more: account motion. A named list, research, several people per account.
Mixed answers: split by tier. Account motion on your largest prospects, volume below.Deal size follows the same line. A product one manager can expense suits volume. A platform that needs budget, a security review and a migration is a committee sale, and committee sales reward the account motion. The rest of this plan works for either, with the detail on the account side, because that is where plans usually go missing.
Part 2: Build the list
ICP card (fill it in before the list)
Our three best customers: [names, for your own wall]
What they share: [sector, size band, stack, trigger]
Who signs: [role]
Who runs the evaluation: [role]
Who uses it weekly: [role]
Knock-outs: [on a rival's contract, too small to buy, region you cannot serve]List sheet (tab-separated, paste into row 1)
Company Segment Tier Trigger (with date) Roles named Owner Status Next step DueA list your team cannot work is a spreadsheet, not a plan. The Account Coverage Calculator caps it from the hours you actually have.
Part 3: Choose the channels
Pick the two you can do well, not the five you can start.
| Channel | Works when | First touch |
|---|---|---|
| You can say something specific about the company | A two-line note on their trigger, no deck | |
| Your buyers post and reply there | A plain connection note, then one question | |
| Phone | The role picks up and the market expects it | One reason for the call, under a minute |
| Product | The user can try it without the committee | A sandbox or a short recorded demo |
| Content | The committee reads before it talks | One useful page sent by a person, not a mailing list |
Part 4: The 90 days
Week by week
Weeks 1 and 2 ICP card done, list built, tiered and capped. One owner per account.
Weeks 3 and 4 Research the top tier: roles named, one dated trigger per account.
Weeks 5 and 6 First touches on the top tier, two channels. Reply to anyone within a day.
Weeks 7 and 8 Follow up with something new each time. Start the second tier.
Weeks 9 and 10 Second roles in every account that replied. Ask for nothing yet.
Weeks 11 and 12 Review: scoreboard, list swaps, which message earned replies. Set the next 90.On the volume motion the same calendar applies to segments instead of tiers: build, research, send, review.
Part 5: The scoreboard
Five lines, updated every Monday
1. Outreach accounts (worked this week): [ ] of [list size]
2. Coverage rate (accounts with 3+ roles named): [ ] of [list size]
3. Active buying committees (2+ people in talks): [ ] of [list size]
4. Active conversations (a reply in the last 14 days): [ ]
5. Value of pipeline generated: [your currency]These are the five numbers we report on our own engagements. Every line counts accounts. None counts sends, opens or clicks, because those rise easily and say nothing about whether a company is listening.
Worked example (illustrative, not a real company)
Quaywise sells warehouse software. A few hundred operators could buy it and three or more people approve, so the account motion wins. Sam Carter builds a list of 40 named accounts in two tiers, caps it at the hours one seller and one marketer can give, and opens on email and LinkedIn. At the week-12 review the scoreboard reads 31 accounts worked, 22 with three roles named, 6 committees with two or more people in conversation and 9 live conversations. Two Tier 2 accounts are swapped out. All names and figures are invented.
Five mistakes to avoid
- Copying a volume playbook onto a committee sale. A hundred sends a day into a market of a few hundred buyers burns the companies you need next year.
- Buying a list instead of building one. Your competitors bought the same export.
- Writing before roles are named. "Dear decision maker" research shows in the first line.
- Changing the message weekly. Judge a message after a full tier has seen it, not after three quiet days.
- Counting leads while selling to accounts. The lead count rises while the 12 companies that matter stay silent.
Why this works on named accounts
Common questions
What is the best lead generation strategy for a SaaS company?
The one that matches your market's shape. Thousands of possible buyers and a single approver reward volume outreach and a self-serve trial. A few hundred possible buyers and a committee reward a named list worked deeply. Most SaaS companies above a small deal size sit closer to the second.
How long does outbound take to produce pipeline for SaaS?
Expect conversations before pipeline, and judge the plan at the week-12 review on account movement: roles named, committees active, conversations live. Pipeline follows at the pace of your sales cycle, and nobody honest will promise a number before seeing your market.
Should a SaaS company buy leads?
Buying contact data to research a named list is normal; audit a sample before you pay. Buying "leads", people someone else warmed with someone else's message, rarely survives the first month's quality check.
More from the Academy
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Target Account List Template
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Account Coverage Calculator
How many accounts can you really work? Enter your people, hours and tier mix and see whether your list fits. Runs in your browser.
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