Signals Best Practice Guide

Signals Guide

A practical, copy-pasteable playbook for writing A+ signals that your team can use today.

What is a “Signal” in Coolie?

A signal is a yes/no question you ask Coolie about a specific company. Coolie then hunts across public sources (news, press releases, job postings, company websites, earnings calls/reports, etc.) and returns matches with summaries, sources, and next steps.

Golden rules

1. Include the account token in brackets → Does {account} … ?
2. Ask a yes/no question (start with Does or Is)
3. Keep it specific and observable in public sources

Anatomy of a Great Signal

Pattern: Does {account} <observable behavior or announcement> <with qualifiers> ?

Examples of good qualifiers - What (product, team, program, policy)

• Where (US, EU, APAC, specific states/countries)
• Who (roles, leadership titles)
• When (recently, newly, announced/launch/hiring now)
• Why/Impact (expansion, consolidation, pilot, migration)

Use Coolie Context to refine

“Only include results from US or Europe; prioritize junior to mid-level roles; exclude staffing agencies.”

Quick Start: 25 “Starter Pack” Signals (copy-paste)

Use these to cover the essentials. Mark priority = High for your top 5–8.

1. Does {account} have any mergers or acquisitions (M&A) in progress or recently announced?
2. Has {account} announced new venture capital or private equity funding?
3. Is {account} expanding into a new market or geography?
4. Has {account} appointed new leadership (CEO, CRO, CMO, CIO, CISO, VP Sales, VP Marketing)?
5. Has {account} launched any new products or major features?
6. Is {account} hiring multiple sales roles (AEs/SDRs) at once?
7. Is {account} hiring roles related to digital transformation or modernization?
8. Is {account} hiring data, AI/ML, or analytics roles?
9. Is {account} hiring security or compliance roles?
10. Has {account} opened a new office or facility?
11. Has {account} announced layoffs, restructuring, or a reorg?
12. Is {account} migrating to or standardizing on a specific cloud provider?
13. Does {account} mention vendor consolidation or tool rationalization?
14. Is {account} running pilots or proofs of concept (POCs)?
15. Has {account} issued an RFP or tender in our category?
16. Does {account} mention new partnerships or alliances?
17. Has {account} won government or enterprise contracts recently?
18. Is {account} pursuing certifications or audits (SOC 2, ISO 27001, FedRAMP, HIPAA)?
19. Has {account} announced a strategic initiative or transformation program?
20. Has {account} reported material changes in earnings calls related to our solution area?
21. Is {account} adopting or sunsetting relevant technologies or platforms?
22. Is {account} expanding headcount rapidly in our ICP functions?
23. Does {account} mention intent data, account research, or programmatic outbound?
24. Has {account} entered new vertical segments or customer tiers?
25. Is {account} experiencing incidents or outages that may drive urgency?

Essentials by Category (simple versions you can paste)

Funding & Corporate Actions

• Has {account} announced new funding (seed, A, B, C, D, E)?
• Does {account} have any M&A activity (acquiring or being acquired)?
• Has {account} divested a business unit or asset?

Leadership & Org Changes

• Has {account} hired a new CRO/Head of Sales?
• Has {account} hired a new CMO/VP Marketing?
• Has {account} hired a new CIO/CTO/CISO?
• Has {account} restructured or reorganized departments relevant to our solution?

Product, Program & Strategy

• Has {account} launched a new product, platform, or feature relevant to our solution?
• Is {account} running a pilot or POC in our category?
• Does {account} mention a transformation initiative (e.g., digital, data, AI, security)?

Hiring & Team Signals

• Is {account} hiring multiple sales roles (AEs/SDRs) concurrently?
• Is {account} hiring data/AI/analytics roles?
• Is {account} hiring security/compliance roles?
• Is {account} hiring revops or sales operations roles?

Market Expansion & Partnerships

• Is {account} entering a new market or region?
• Has {account} announced a partnership or alliance relevant to our solution?
• Has {account} opened a new office or facility

Tooling & Technology

• Is {account} migrating to a specific cloud (AWS/Azure/GCP)?
• Is {account} consolidating vendors or rationalizing tools?
• Has {account} adopted/replaced a core platform in our ecosystem?

Risk, Compliance & Events

• Has {account} faced a notable incident/outage with customer impact?
• Is {account} pursuing SOC 2/ISO 27001/HIPAA/FedRAMP certification?
• Has {account} announced regulatory exposure or deadlines that relate to our solution?

Frameworks for Writing Signals

A. Simple Grammar Builders

• Does {account} mention <topic/tech/initiative>?
• Is {account} hiring <roles/functions>?
• Has {account} announced <event/change>?
• Is {account} expanding into <market/region>?
• Is {account} consolidating or replacing <tool/category>?

B. Persona → Pain → Trigger

• Persona (Sales, Marketing, IT, Security)
• Pain (pipeline growth, enablement, compliance, modernization)
• Trigger (new leader, hiring burst, regulation, outage)
• Signal: Does {account} have a new CISO and mention security modernization or compliance gaps?

C. Buying Stage Ladder

• Awareness → mentions problem/opportunity
• Consideration → hiring/programs/budgets
• Decision → RFPs, pilots, platform choices
• Signals:

- Does {account} mention challenges in <problem area>?
- Is {account} hiring a leader to own <category>?
-Has {account} issued an RFP related to <category>?

D. Change-Event → Outcome

Has {account} <change_event> to achieve <desired_outcome>?

• Has {account} centralized GTM operations to grow the company?

ICP Packs (industry-flavored ideas)

SaaS / Software

• Does {account} mention product-led growth or self-serve motion?
• Is {account} hiring developer relations or solutions engineering?
• Has {account} adopted a new data stack component (dbt/Snowflake/etc.)?

Manufacturing / Industrial

• Is {account} opening or expanding a plant, warehouse, or line?
• Is {account} hiring automation/controls engineers?
• Has {account} announced supply chain modernization or traceability programs?

Healthcare / Life Sciences

• Is {account} hiring clinical informatics or compliance roles?
• Is {account} pursuing HITRUST or HIPAA initiatives?
• Has {account} partnered with payers/providers or expanded care sites?

Financial Services / Insurance

• Has {account} announced risk/compliance initiatives (AML, KYC, SOX)?
• Is {account} hiring fraud, risk, or data science roles?
• Has {account} launched a new digital banking/claims product?

Public Sector / Education

• Has {account} posted RFPs or tenders relevant to our category?
• Is {account} hiring modernization or cybersecurity roles?
• Is {account} expanding grants-funded programs (CARES/ARPA/etc.)?

Role-Specific Packs

SDR / BDR

• Is {account} hiring multiple AEs/SDRs? (signals budget & growth)
• Has {account} opened a new region?
• Does {account} mention vendor consolidation?

AE / New Business

• Has {account} hired a new CRO/VP Sales with mandate for change?
• Has {account} announced a transformation initiative overlapping our value?
• Is {account} running an RFP/POC in our category?

CSM / AM (Upsell/Cross-sell)

• Has {account} launched a new product line?
• Is {account} expanding headcount in certain teams?
• Has {account} created a center of excellence or standardization initiative?

Advanced Patterns (when you’re ready)

• Competitor displacement

Does {account} mention replacing <competitor/product category>?

• Migration

Is {account} migrating from legacy <platform> to <new platform>?

• Consolidation

Does {account} plan to consolidate <tool category> to reduce cost?

• Compliance deadline

Has {account} referenced upcoming compliance deadlines?

• Incident response

Has {account} reported incidents/outages?

• Earnings signal

Has {account} cited investments or constraints in <theme> during earnings calls?

Templates Library (fill-in-the-blanks)

General - Does {account} mention <initiative/topic> in recent announcements?

• Is {account} hiring <role/function> to drive <goal>?
• Has {account} launched <program/product> for <market/segment>?

Go-to-Market - Does {account} require reps to conduct account research or use intent data?

• Is {account} expanding outbound teams or territories?

Technology - Is {account} standardizing on <cloud/data/security> platforms?

• Has {account} deprecated or sunset <tool> in favor of <tool>?

Operations / Finance - Does {account} mention cost optimization or vendor consolidation?

• Has {account} established a center of excellence for <function>?

Risk / Compliance - Is {account} pursuing <SOC 2/ISO/FedRAMP/HIPAA> compliance?

• Has {account} cited regulatory pressure in <region/industry>?

Troubleshooting Your Signals

Too few results? - Use broader terms; remove niche jargon.

• Split one complex signal into two simpler ones.
• Add variants to Context (synonyms, brand names, acronyms).

Quality Checklist (before you hit “Add”)

• ✅ Starts with Does/Is and includes {account}
• ✅ Observable in public sources Coolie covers
• ✅ Priority matches the revenue impact
• ✅ Linked to an email template (for top signals)

Worked Examples (from rough idea → final signal)

Idea: “I care when they’re hiring lots of salespeople.”

• Draft: Is {account} hiring salespeople?
• Better: Is {account} hiring **multiple** sales roles (AEs/SDRs) at once?
• Context: “US & EU, exclude staffing agencies; prioritize postings that mention ‘new logo acquisition’ or ‘prospecting’.”

Idea: “I want to know about vendor consolidation.”

• Draft: Does {account} mention vendor consolidation?
• Better: Does {account} mention consolidating or rationalizing tools in <our category>?
• Context: “Look for terms: ‘consolidate vendors’, ‘tool rationalization’, ‘platform standardization’.”

Keep Iterating

• Review results after a week → refine wording and Context.

Need help? Text us and we’ll review your first 10–15 signals and suggest improvements tailored to your business & ICP