The expression “trigger event” refers to a precise change in the life of an account: someone arrives, the company raises money, a new team forms, a market opens. This change alters the priorities of the people involved and opens a window during which outreach is more likely to be read.
What makes a trigger event
Three criteria separate it from ordinary news.
- It changes the situation of the account or the person, and so their priorities.
- It is dated: you know when it happened and can estimate how long its effects last.
- It involves an identifiable person, who will have to make decisions because of it.
The most useful events
- The new role of a decision-maker within your scope.
- The hire that creates or grows a team concerned by your offer.
- The funding round, especially when the announced use touches your topic.
- The opening of a country or a customer segment.
- The departure of a vendor or the end of a contract, more rarely public.
How to turn it into a message
The event provides the reason for the message, and it’s up to you to find the question: look for the decision the event forces on the person, then ask them about that decision. Instead of “You just arrived”, ask something like “who prepares the account lists for this new market today?”
Example
A company announces a new office in Lyon. For a recruitment provider, the event implies a decision: who will build the local team? The message goes to the person appointed for that office and asks that question, without assuming the company is looking for an agency.
See also: Buying signal, Signal-based selling, and Signal decay.