Updated
Why a new HR leader is a buying moment
A new Head of People arrives with a mandate and a short honeymoon. In the first months they map what they inherited: the HR system, payroll, performance reviews, engagement surveys, how onboarding works. Much of it was chosen by someone else, and some of it will probably be replaced.
They also bring experience of tools they used before, and a window in which changing things is expected rather than questioned. A vendor who reaches them during that review is weighed alongside the incumbents; one who arrives a year later meets tools the new leader has made their own.
Who to contact
With this signal, the person who changed jobs is the lead. Add the titles you sell to as your ICP's job titles:
- CHRO or Chief People Officer, in larger companies.
- Head of People, VP People or HR Director: the usual buyer in mid-sized companies.
- People Operations or HR Operations Manager: owns the systems day to day.
- Head of Talent, if you sell recruiting or onboarding tools.
What to say
Acknowledge the new role without flattery, and offer something that helps the review they are doing anyway: a checklist for assessing an HR stack, a short comparison with tools they may have used before, or how teams like theirs handle the problem your product solves.
Do not push for a decision in the first weeks. Ask to be part of the review, and let the sequence follow up as they settle in.
How Coolie finds them
Put HR leaders in your ICP
The signal looks for your ICP's job titles: Head of People, HR Director, CHRO, or whichever titles you sell to.
Coolie finds the ones who just started
Among people with those titles, it keeps the ones whose current role began in the last few months, scores each one and dates the start.
It keeps the companies that fit your ICP
Your ideal customer profile (industry, company size, location) filters the companies before anyone is contacted.
It researches the leads you pick
For the leads you choose, Coolie writes a research brief (the company's news, the person, the reason to write now) and a personalized email and LinkedIn sequence.
It writes and sends from your own accounts
Email and LinkedIn steps go out from your own mailbox and LinkedIn account, spread over your working hours. You approve each message, or let the agent run on autopilot.
Signals to pair it with
Add Competitor Renewal to reach companies whose HR or payroll contract with a competitor is likely to come up soon, and Hiring to find companies recruiting their first HR leader. See all signals.
Example (fictional)
You sell performance review software and put Head of People and HR Director in your ICP, for companies of 201 to 1,000 employees in the Nordics.
Coolie finds Signe Larsen, who became Head of People at Skarvik Software, 450 employees in Norway, two months ago.
Coolie scores her as a lead; picked, she gets a drafted LinkedIn invitation and an email offering a short review of how performance cycles run at companies like Skarvik.
Every company and person in this example is invented.
Frequently asked questions
How recent is a recent job change?
Within the last few months: the lead says in which month the new role started.
Does Coolie find the new leader or other people at the company?
The new leader: with this signal, the person who moved is the lead. Other signals find several contacts at each company.
What if they were promoted internally?
A new role at the same company counts too, and it often comes with the same review of tools and processes.