[Starter Kit] Step 3: Build Your Outbound Stack + Launch my First 200 Accounts
3 AI Prompts + 1 Case Study
Alright, so Step 1? You locked in your ICP, broke it into mini-segments, and mapped out your personas (missed it? go check it out here).
Step 2? You wrote problem-first messages that actually make people want to reply (missed that one too? it’s right here).
Now? Time to put it all in motion and actually launch your outbound.
Your tech stack will make or break your outbound strategy.
When you implement the right tools in the right order, you create a system that lets you test messaging across segments with clear data, automate repetitive tasks that drain your team's energy, and scale your outreach efforts without losing relevancy. The GTM teams who nail this phase see 3-5x higher conversion rates than competitors and can iterate on campaigns in days rather than weeks, while maintaining a single source of truth as their company grows.
Most companies get the strategy right but fumble on execution.
They overcomplicate what should be simple:
You oscillate between "we don't need fancy tools yet" and "let's buy every shiny new AI platform" without a clear implementation roadmap
You invest in advanced automation before establishing basic tracking and measurement systems that tell you what's actually working
You chase vanity metrics like "email opens" instead of designing systems that connect outbound efforts to actual revenue
You copy competitors' tech stacks without understanding if their use cases match your specific ICP and segmentation strategy
You underestimate the compounding problems of poor data hygiene until you're drowning in conflicting information across multiple platforms
Something that I changed my mind on is the tech stack. Before I thought we could perform without tools. But the reality in 2025 is different. You need a strong outbound stack for execution speed.
Today's menu:
The Lean-but-Scalable Outbound Tech Stack - Essential tools without the bloat
Case Study: The Precision Launch Method - How I roll out my first 200 accounts from one mini-segment for Eleven Labs
Let's get cooking!
P.S. Something I changed my mind on: the tech stack (tools and AI). I used to think you didn’t need that many tools to run good outbound, just good reps and a bit of hustle. But in 2025, that’s not true anymore. You need a solid stack to move fast. Without it, you’re just wasting time and falling behind.
Part 1: The Lean-but-Scalable Outbound Tech Stack
Your technology choices should follow one guiding principle: make your reps more effective by removing friction. Every minute spent on manual data entry or task switching is a minute not spent on meaningful prospect conversations.
The perfect early-stage stack gives you 3 essentials:
Minimal manual steps - automate everything that doesn't require human judgment
Rapid testing cycles - deploy, measure, and iterate in days, not weeks
Learning capture - automatically collect signals that show what's working
You have two distinct approaches to building your outbound “kitchen”:
Option 1: The Modular Kitchen: Best-in-class components for each function.
Option 2: The All-in-One Kitchen: Integrated platforms that combine multiple functions
Option 1: The Modular Kitchen (Best-in-Class Components)
This approach involves selecting specialized tools for each function and integrating them into a cohesive system:
CRM & Marketing Automation
Sales Engagement Platform
Data Orchestration
Contac Data
Meeting scheduler
Think of it as building a professional kitchen where you select the best stovetop, oven, and refrigerator separately.
1. CRM & Marketing Automation
What it does: Serves as your central customer database and the foundation of your system.
Rep-centric implementation:
Auto-create records from enrichment data (e.g., via Clay).
Auto-populate fields from engagement tools.
Set up automatic task creation for follow-ups.
Problems it solves:
Prevents leads from falling through cracks
Creates institutional memory of all prospect interactions
Enables automated nurture for prospects not ready to buy
Bootstrapped options:
HubSpot Free CRM – 100% free with up to 1,000 contacts and no expiration date.
Pipedrive Essential – $14/user/month (billed annually).
Funded options
HubSpot Starter: $20/user/month or $15/user/month with annual commitment.
Salesforce Starter Suite: $25/user/month
95%+ of scaling companies pick Salesforce or Hubspot.
Key implementation tip: Start with the simplest CRM that integrates natively and/or supports API connections to your other tools. You need data flow more than advanced features at this stage.
2. Engagement Platforms
What it does: Executes outreach across multiple channels with minimal clicks.
Problems it solves:
Eliminates manual tracking of who needs what follow-up when
Standardizes messaging across team members
Provides analytics on what messaging works
For Large TAM (Email-First Approach):
Email Platforms:
Bootstrapped:
Instantly – $37–$97/month depending on plan.
Lemlist – $69/month for Email Pro plan.
SmartLead – $39/month for Basic Plan.
Supporting Call Tools:
Aircall – Plans start at $30/user/month.
Kixie – Plans start at $35/user/month.
Supporting LinkedIn Tools:
Sales Navigator Core: $99.99/user/mo
For Small TAM (Call-First Approach):
Calling Platforms:
Bootstrap:
Aircall – Plans start at $30/user/month.
Kixie – Plans start at $35/user/month.
Trellus - Plans start at $59.99/user/month
Funded:
FrontSpin: $122.50 per user per month
Nooks: Approximately $2,500–$4,000/user/year.
Orum: Minimum requirement: 3 or more seats ($750/month minimum) and annual commitment.
Calling + Email Platforms:
Funded:
Outreach: $125-150/user/month
Salesloft: $125/user/mo
Supporting LinkedIn Tools:
Sales Navigator Core ($99.99/user/mo)
Email Warmup & Infrastructure:
Email Warmup:
Warmbox – Plans start at $15/month.
Lemwarm – Included with Lemlist plans.
Domain & Email:
Google Workspace – $6–$12/user/month.
GoDaddy domains – $12–$20/year per domain.
DMARC Setup:
Postmark – $20/month.
dmarcian – $12/month.
Key implementation tip:
Choose platforms that offer open APIs and direct integrations with your data orchestration layer. For email domains, invest in at least 2-3 separate sending domains to mitigate deliverability risks. Don't use your main domain.
3. Contact Data Sources
What it does: Provides accurate phone numbers and email addresses for your target audience.
Problems it solves:
Eliminates manual research time
Improves deliverability through verified contacts
Enables precise targeting of specific buyer personas
B2B Contact Data:
Bootstrapped:
FullEnrich: 29 €/user/month
Leadmagic: $99.99/month
Apollo.io $49/user/month
Funded:
ZoomInfo Starter ($1,000+/month)
Cognism ($1250+/month),
TitanX ($1,667+/month)
Sales Navigator: Useful for LinkedIn connections: employees, your connections, VC portfolios, etc.
Verification Layer (for Email):
Neverbounce ($0.003/email),
Captain Verify ($0.01/email)
Clay Integration Options:
Direct webhook connections to Clay for real-time data flow (Explorer Plan $349/month)
Custom API connections using Zapier/Make as middleware
Key implementation tip: Budget for both discovery AND verification. A smaller list of highly-verified contacts outperforms a large list of questionable ones.
4. Data Orchestration
Clay, still the category king for early-stage teams.
What it does: Acts as the command center for all account and prospect data.
Rep-centric implementation:
Automatic list refreshes based on engagement signals
Pre-built enrichment workflows for one-click execution
Automated data cleansing to ensure accuracy
Problems it solves:
Creates a single source of truth for target accounts
Eliminates duplicate data entry across systems
Enables sophisticated targeting and segmentation
Core Platform: Clay (Starts at $149/mo)
Functions as your central data command center
Connects to 100+ data sources
Provides AI-enhanced list building and enrichment
Offers webhook automation to trigger actions
Clay Capabilities for outbound:
Account Scoring: Build custom scoring models based on fit, intent, and engagement signals
Contact Enrichment: get verified data (email/phone, social profiles, and contact details
Waterfall Data: Create sequential enrichment workflows that try multiple sources
Account Data & Research: Use ClayAgents to automate account prospect research at scale and serve it to your reps
Signal Collection: Aggregate buying intent data from multiple sources
Complementary Tools:
Apify – Starter plan at $39/month, providing $39 in platform credits. Offers web scraping and automation tools.
Firecrawl – Pricing starts at $16/month. An AI-powered web scraping tool that converts websites into structured, LLM-ready data.
OpenAI API – For text processing, GPT-4o is priced at $5 per 1 million input tokens and $20 per 1 million output tokens.
Tips to Reduce Clay Credits:
Build multi-stage tables with preliminary filtering before enrichment.
Use basic enrichment for initial qualification; apply deep enrichment only for qualified prospects.
Cache common lookups in separate tables.
Implement weekly cleanup automations to archive processed records.
Pre-filter domains with free tools before running expensive Clay enrichments.
Key implementation tip: Establish Clay as your central data hub from the outset. Ensure all other systems reference Clay as the primary source of truth to maintain data consistency and integrity.
5. Automation Connectors
What it does: Eliminates manual data transfer between systems, enabling seamless automation across your sales and marketing tools.
Rep-centric implementation:
Bi-directional data flows between all tools where you need it
Trigger-based workflows that activate automatically
Error notification systems to prevent data loss
Options:
Zapier – Offers plans ranging from $19.99 to $49 per month, facilitating integrations between thousands of apps.
Make.com – Provides plans starting at $9 per month, offering a visual platform to design and automate workflows.
Pros of the Modular Approach
Best-in-class capabilities - Each tool excels at its specific function
Greater flexibility - Swap individual components as needs change
Granular control - Precise customization of each workflow
Scalability - Add specialized tools as you grow without rebuilding
Cons of the Modular Approach
Integration complexity - Requires technical skills to connect systems
More vendors to manage - Multiple contracts, support channels
Higher initial setup time - 2-3 weeks for full implementation
Potential data sync issues - Multiple integration points to maintain
Option 2: The All-in-One Kitchen (Integrated Platforms)
This approach uses comprehensive platforms that combine multiple outbound functions in a pre-integrated system on top your CRM and Marketing Automation Platform. Think of it as buying a complete kitchen setup where everything is designed to work together out of the box.
Leading All-in-One Platforms
1. Apollo.io (Starts at $49/user/month)
Core capabilities:
Contact and account database (150M+ contacts)
Email sequencing and automation
Built-in phone dialer
LinkedIn integration
Basic CRM functionality
Analytics and reporting
Rep-centric features:
One-click prospect list building
Integrated sequencing across channels
Automated task management
Native meeting scheduling
2. Amplemarket ($600/mo for 2 users)
Core capabilities:
AI-powered prospect identification
Multi-channel sequences (email, phone, LinkedIn)
Email deliverability optimization
Meeting scheduling
Analytics dashboard
Rep-centric features:
AI writing assistance for personalization
Single-interface workflow for all channels
Auto-capture of buyer signals
One-click meeting booking
Pros of the All-in-One Approach
Speed to launch - Fully operational in 7-10 days vs. 2-3 weeks
Simplified workflow - Single interface for all outbound activities
Reduced integration headaches - Pre-built connections between functions
One support channel - Single vendor for troubleshooting
Predictable pricing - Usually per-user pricing with all features included
Cons of the All-in-One Approach
Jack-of-all-trades syndrome - Features may be less powerful than specialized tools
Less customization - Workflows follow platform's design, not your ideal ICP, and process
Potential vendor lock-in - Harder to switch if you outgrow the platform
Data limitations - May have less robust data enrichment than specialized providers
Scaling challenges - May need to migrate to specialized tools at scale
Choosing Your Approach
When to Go Modular:
You have technical resources to handle integrations
Your ICP requires specialized targeting
You plan to scale quickly
You need granular control over your data
When to Go All-in-One:
You need to launch outbound ASAP
You have limited technical resources
You're a solo founder
You're testing outbound before committing
Example of Early stack (After 2022):
Owner.com (Launched outbound in 2022) VC backed company
CRM Salesforce
SEP: Salesloft
Data: they built their own ML system to find data online then added Datalane. 3% connect rate → 16%-20% with decision makers
Hockeystack (Launched outbound in 2024) VC Backed company
The full tech stack:
Salesforce
Clay
ZoomInfo
Outreach
Nooks
Hockeytstack.
The Most Common Stack Mistakes
Overbuying Automation: At this stage, you need manual control to test and learn
Underbuying Data: Good data is worth every penny. Bad data poisons everything
Tool Fragmentation: Using too many disconnected tools creates visibility issues
No Single Source of Truth: When data lives in multiple places, chaos ensues
Ignoring Documentation: Without capturing learnings, you'll repeat mistakes
Here are 2 quick prompts you can use to connect Clay with Salesforce or HubSpot, and avoid the usual headaches that happen with bad CRM setups (API limits, etc):
🤖 AI Prompt: Clay-to-Salesforce Integration Specialist
Act as a Salesforce integration architect specializing in outbound sales operations. Create a comprehensive technical blueprint for an optimized bi-directional data flow between Clay and Salesforce that maximizes our outbound effectiveness.
## My Salesforce Environment
- Salesforce Edition: [e.g., Enterprise, Professional, etc.]
- Key custom objects: [list any custom Salesforce objects]
- Current lead/contact processes: [brief description]
- Lead conversion workflow: [describe your lead-to-opportunity process]
- Current API utilization: [any API limitations to consider]
## Clay-to-Salesforce Field Mapping
Please create detailed field mapping tables for:
1. Lead/Contact Object:
- Standard fields requiring Clay data
- Required custom fields unique to our process
- Lead Source and Campaign attribution structure
- Lead Status progression mapping from Clay signals
- Owner assignment rules based on Clay scoring
2. Account/Company Object:
- Company data enrichment fields from Clay
- Account scoring field calculation methodology
- Account categorization based on Clay signals
- Territory assignment using Clay geographic data
- ABM tiering fields derived from Clay scores
3. Opportunity Object:
- Initial opportunity creation triggers from Clay activities
- Opportunity amount estimation based on Clay ACV formula
- Relevant custom fields from Clay enrichment
- Competitor fields populated from Clay intelligence
## Integration Architecture
Please provide:
1. API Integration Approach:
- Salesforce API considerations (REST vs Bulk vs Composite)
- API limits management for our Salesforce tier
- Authentication method recommendations
- Batch size optimization for lead imports
2. Duplicate Management Strategy:
- Salesforce duplicate rule configurations
- External ID field implementation for Clay records
- Matching rule criteria for each object
- Merge field prioritization logic
- Handling of conflicting data between systems
3. Automation Framework:
- Process Builder/Flow recommendations
- Apex trigger considerations (if necessary)
- Workflow rule configurations
- Record type assignment automation
- Validation rules to maintain data integrity
4. Error Handling Process:
- Salesforce error logging approach
- Failed record handling procedure
- Integration monitoring dashboard
- Error notification setup
- Retry logic implementation
5. Middleware Configuration (Zapier/Make):
- Recommended middleware architecture
- Specific Salesforce connector settings
- Webhook vs polling considerations
- Error handling middleware scenarios
- Authentication and security best practices
## Salesforce-Specific Optimizations
1. How to leverage Salesforce campaign hierarchies with Clay data
2. Einstein Analytics/CRM Analytics integration possibilities
3. Salesforce report and dashboard recommendations
4. Mobile experience considerations for field data
5. Salesforce automation limits management
6. Sandbox testing approach for our integration
Include any Salesforce-specific limitations I should be aware of and how to architect around them.🤖 AI Prompt: Clay-to-HubSpot Integration Specialist
Act as a HubSpot integration architect specializing in outbound sales operations. Create a comprehensive technical blueprint for an optimized bi-directional data flow between Clay and HubSpot that maximizes our outbound effectiveness.
## My HubSpot Environment
- HubSpot Plan: [e.g., Starter, Professional, Enterprise]
- Active Hubs: [e.g., Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, etc.]
- Custom properties setup: [brief description]
- Current lifecycle stage definitions: [describe your lifecycle stages]
- Contact/company database size: [approximate record count]
- Automation workflow usage: [current workflow count/limits]
## Clay-to-HubSpot Field Mapping
Please create detailed field mapping tables for:
1. Contact Properties:
- Essential contact properties requiring Clay data
- Custom contact properties for outbound metrics
- Persona property mapping from Clay intelligence
- Lead status property progression from Clay signals
- Contact owner assignment based on Clay data
- Calculated properties derived from Clay scores
2. Company Properties:
- Essential company properties from Clay enrichment
- Industry and category properties from Clay signals
- Company scoring property methodology
- Total employee count and department size properties
- Annual revenue and growth stage properties
- Target account identification properties
3. Deal Properties:
- Deal creation trigger properties from Clay
- Deal amount calculation from Clay signals
- Deal pipeline placement based on Clay scoring
- Custom deal properties for outbound attribution
- Competitor properties populated from Clay intelligence
## Integration Architecture
Please provide:
1. API Integration Approach:
- HubSpot API specifications and endpoints
- API rate limit management for our subscription tier
- Authentication method (OAuth vs API Key)
- Batch vs. individual record processing
- Webhook implementation recommendations
2. Duplicate Management Strategy:
- HubSpot duplicate management settings
- Primary property for record matching
- Advanced deduplication logic
- HubSpot merge property prioritization
- Contact-to-company association rules
3. Automation Framework:
- Workflow recommendations for each sync direction
- Enrollment criteria for automation workflows
- Action sequencing within workflows
- Delay actions to prevent processing conflicts
- Internal property updates to track sync status
4. Error Handling Process:
- HubSpot error logging implementation
- Failed record handling procedure
- Integration health monitoring
- Error notification routing
- Automated retry logic
5. Middleware Configuration (Zapier/Make):
- Recommended middleware scenarios
- HubSpot-specific connector settings
- Custom webhook structure for HubSpot
- Multi-step zap/scenario design
- Data transformation requirements
## HubSpot-Specific Optimizations
1. Leveraging HubSpot lists with Clay data
2. HubSpot sequence integration possibilities
3. HubSpot reporting recommendations for outbound metrics
4. Meeting scheduling tool integration with Clay intelligence
5. HubSpot Sales extension optimization for Clay data
6. Timeline event creation for Clay-triggered activities
Include any HubSpot property limits, API constraints, or workflow limitations I should be aware of and how to architect around them.Part 2: The Precision Launch Method
Now let's get tactical with a real example. I'll show you exactly how I'd build an outbound system for a company like ElevenLabs (AI voice technology) targeting a very specific mini-segment: SaaS companies expanding into European markets with English-only content.
Step 1: Mini-Segment Definition & Breadcumbs
First, we need crystal-clear targeting parameters:
Target Profile: SaaS Companies with European Expansion Signal Gaps
Company Criteria:
Business Type: SaaS companies producing regular video/audio content
Expansion Status: Recently entered or actively expanding into tier-one European markets (DACH, France, Spain, Italy)
Team Configuration: Small marketing/product teams (1-5 people)
Content Status: English-only content despite European expansion efforts
Company Size: $1M-$100M ARR (scoring higher for larger content producers)
Key Pain Point Signals:
European job postings (last 90 days)
New European office announcements (last 180 days)
High European traffic (>15%) with lower conversion rates
Recent funding for international expansion
Decision Maker Matrix:
Step 2: Building Your Scoring System & Breadcrumbs Detection System in Clay
This is where the magic happens.
The secret sauce.
We'll create a scoring system that automatically identifies and prioritizes the best accounts:
// New Clay Table: "Euro Expansion Targets"
1. Create foundational table with these primary sources:
- G2/Capterra: SaaS companies with 4+ star ratings
- Crunchbase: Filter for companies with European offices/funding
- ProductHunt: New products with global positioning
2. Enrich with essential data points:
- LinkedIn for employee count + team structure
- SimilarWeb for country-specific traffic data
- BuiltWith for technology stack (video hosting platforms)
- Company websites for content analysis (English-only status)Dual Scoring System in Clay:
Score #1: European Expansion Fit Score (0-20)
// European Expansion Score
=IF(INCLUDES([Job Postings], "Germany") OR INCLUDES([Job Postings], "France") OR
INCLUDES([Job Postings], "Spain") OR INCLUDES([Job Postings], "Italy"), 5, 0) +
IF([European Traffic %] > 15, 3, 0) +
IF([European Conversion Rate] < 10 AND [European Traffic %] > 15, 4, 0) + // Localization issue signal
IF([Content in Target Language] == "none" AND [Content Volume] > 3, 5, 0) +
IF([Team Size] < 5, 3, 0)Score #2: Potential ACV Score (0-20)
// Potential ACV Score
=IF([Content Production Volume Monthly] >= 50, 5,
IF([Content Production Volume Monthly] >= 20, 3,
IF([Content Production Volume Monthly] >= 5, 1, 0))) +
IF([Target European Markets Count] >= 3, 5,
IF([Target European Markets Count] >= 2, 3, 1)) +
IF([Annual Revenue] >= 50000000, 5,
IF([Annual Revenue] >= 10000000, 3,
IF([Annual Revenue] >= 1000000, 1, 0))) +
IF([Customer Count] >= 10000, 5,
IF([Customer Count] >= 1000, 3,
IF([Customer Count] >= 100, 1, 0)))Combined Priority Score and ACV Estimate
// Priority Combined Score
= [European Expansion Fit Score] * 0.6 + [Potential ACV Score] * 0.4
// Estimated Annual Contract Value
= SWITCH(
[Content Production Volume Monthly],
>= 50, "$75,000-100,000",
>= 20, "$40,000-75,000",
>= 10, "$20,000-40,000",
>= 5, "$10,000-20,000",
"$5,000-10,000"
)Key Data Tables Structure:
Main Account Table: Primary European expansion targets
Content Analysis Table: Video/content volume and language status
Contact Mapping Table: HQ and local team leadership
Signal Tracking Table: All detected signals with recency scoring
This scoring system doesn't just find good-fit companies, it prioritizes them based on potential deal size. This is crucial for efficient resource allocation.
Stop spending hours manually crafting formulas and testing signals that might not work.
Here's my prompt to build your scoring system in minutes, not days, giving you back precious time.
🤖 AI Prompt: Clay Scoring System Generator
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