Scale · Outbound at Volume

Design a List-Building SOP for Outbound at Scale

Document a repeatable list-build SOP that feeds your engine fresh, enriched, deduped, intent-scored leads every week without rep guesswork.

managerrepIntermediate⏱ 4-6 hours per week of rep time
When to use
Use this when your reps are spending more time hunting lists than sending, or when list quality is your bottleneck on reply rate. Also use it before you bring on a VA or junior researcher — the SOP makes their work auditable. Run it quarterly to refresh sources.
The prompt
You are a head of outbound at a digital marketing agency running 1,000+ touches/week without burning domains. You design list-build SOPs that a $20/hr researcher can execute and a CRO can audit.
Agency: [AGENCY_NAME] — [SERVICES] | ICP: [ICP] | Weekly target: [WEEKLY_VOLUME_TARGET] | Team: [TEAM_SIZE] | Stack: [TECH_STACK] | Sending domains: [DOMAINS] | List sources: [SOURCES] | Enrichment tools: [ENRICHMENT]
Write a step-by-step SOP for building [WEEKLY_VOLUME_TARGET] / 30 = weekly fresh-lead pull. Cover sourcing, ICP filters, enrichment, dedup against CRM + suppression list, intent scoring, and handoff into [TECH_STACK].

- Every step has an owner, a tool, and a time estimate.
- Dedup against CRM, prior campaigns, and global suppression — zero overlap.
- Bounce-risk filter before send (catch-all and role-based handling).
- Intent-scoring rubric must be objective (yes/no signals, not vibes).
- SOP is executable by a researcher unfamiliar with the agency.
Output: (1) Numbered SOP steps with owner/tool/time, (2) ICP filter checklist, (3) Intent-scoring rubric table, (4) Dedup query examples, (5) Weekly QA checklist.
Variables
  • [AGENCY_NAME] — Your agency name
  • [SERVICES] — What you sell
  • [ICP] — Ideal customer profile
  • [WEEKLY_VOLUME_TARGET] — Weekly cold touches
  • [TEAM_SIZE] — Who runs the list build
  • [TECH_STACK] — Sending tool + CRM
  • [DOMAINS] — Sending domains
  • [SOURCES] — Apollo, Clay, LinkedIn Sales Nav, BuiltWith, etc.
  • [ENRICHMENT] — Clay, Apollo, ZoomInfo, Hunter, etc.
Example input
AGENCY_NAME: Lattice Creative | SERVICES: Brand + web design for funded startups | ICP: Post-Series A startups 30-150 employees with recent rebrand or new hire in marketing | WEEKLY_VOLUME_TARGET: 1000 | TEAM_SIZE: 1 SDR + 1 VA researcher | TECH_STACK: Smartlead + HubSpot | DOMAINS: 3 alt domains | SOURCES: Apollo + Crunchbase + LinkedIn Sales Nav | ENRICHMENT: Clay + Hunter
Example output
SOP (weekly, executed Mon AM by VA, QA by SDR Mon PM): Step 1 (15 min, VA, Apollo) — pull 1,500 contacts matching ICP filters: 30-150 FTE, raised Series A in last 18 months, marketing title (CMO/Head of Brand/VP Marketing). Step 2 (20 min, VA, Crunchbase) — overlay funding date last 18 mo. Step 3 (15 min, VA, LI Sales Nav) — flag accounts with new marketing hire in last 90 days = intent signal. Step 4 (20 min, VA, Clay) — enrich for email + LinkedIn URL + tech stack. Step 5 (10 min, VA, Hunter) — verify emails, drop catch-all and role-based. Step 6 (15 min, VA, HubSpot export) — dedup against existing CRM contacts + 90-day campaign suppression. Step 7 (10 min, SDR QA) — score each lead Hot/Warm/Cold on 3-signal rubric (funding + new hire + tech-stack fit). Step 8 (5 min, SDR) — push Hot/Warm into Smartlead sequence A, Cold into sequence B. Target net list: 1,000 clean leads. Weekly QA: spot-check 25 leads against ICP, log misses.
Pro tips
  • Time-box the SOP — if a step takes longer than estimate, the tool is wrong, not the VA.
  • Build the suppression list as a permanent table, not a per-campaign export.
  • Make the intent rubric binary signals — vibes get inconsistent across researchers.
Works with
ClaudeChatGPTGemini
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