Design an outreach system that fills the pipeline without breaking data-protection law, platform policy or premium positioning: lawful lists, plain personal messages, a short value-adding cadence, fast responses and warm introductions.
Use When
- We want to start cold or warm outreach to businesses by email, phone, LinkedIn or WhatsApp and need the scripts and a follow-up sequence.
- Someone has proposed buying, scraping or borrowing a contact list and we need to know whether it is lawful under Uganda's DPPA 2019, Kenya's Data Protection Act or GDPR.
- Leads reply but nobody calls them back quickly, or our follow-ups rely on guilt and pressure.
- A referral or joint-venture partner could introduce us to their customers and we need the approach and the ask.
- A consultant wants to record a personalised video audit (a short screen recording, for example on Loom) of one prospect's website, Facebook Page or Instagram and send it with follow-ups to book a sales call.
Do Not Use When
playbook-social-sellingfor staff LinkedIn profiles, employee advocacy and executive social presence.07-email-marketing-strategyfor win-back of past customers or newsletters to an opted-in list.playbook-sms-whatsapp-marketingfor broadcasts to contacts who have already opted in.- Stop if any contact source has no lawful basis or no opt-out route and drop it; draft only, because sending needs explicit client authority.
Required Inputs
| Artefact | Source/provider | Required? | If absent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Target niche and ideal-customer criteria | Agency or client owner; biz-dev-positioning |
Yes | Stop; agree the niche first |
| Proposed list sources and how each was collected | Client or list owner | Yes | Treat every unknown source as unusable |
| Data-protection status (registration, lawful basis, privacy notice) | Client data-protection owner | Yes before any sending | Draft the plan only; mark compliance not assessed |
| Proof assets (verified results, case studies, content offer) | Client, with consent records | Conditional | Use the content-offer play only; no result claims |
| Sales capacity (who calls back, response window) | Delivery owner | Yes | Do not design a sequence faster than the team can answer |
Workflow
- Confirm niche, offer, markets and who approves outreach; stop if any market's data-protection position is unknown and unassessable.
- Map each list source to a lawful basis and jurisdiction using the reference checks; drop sources that fail, and stop scraping or bought-list plans.
- Clean the list through at least five fit filters; split roles so one person researches and another calls.
- Choose the play sequence (High-value-job question → One-company-per-area only if the policy is real → Content offer) and draft plain-text messages with opt-out wording.
- Set the cadence: at most three value-adding touches, across at least three of four channels where lawful, with suppression after an objection.
- Define speed-to-lead: who answers, within what window, and the screen-video fallback. For a personalised video audit of a named prospect, follow the video outreach reference: 2–3 observations, permission before WhatsApp, at most two follow-ups.
- Review drafts against the ethics filter and anti-slop gate; correct any fake scarcity, guilt or unverified claim and rerun.
- Hand over the plan, message library, suppression process and weekly tracking sheet.
Outputs
| Artefact | Consumer | Acceptance condition |
|---|---|---|
| List-governance sheet | Data-protection owner and researcher | Every source has a jurisdiction, lawful basis and keep/drop decision |
| Outreach play library | Sales or business-development lead | Plain-text messages with opt-out line; no invented results |
| Cadence and speed-to-lead plan | Delivery team | Touch limit, response window, owner and suppression rule stated |
| Weekly tracking sheet | Owner | Sends, replies, bookings, held meetings, wins, opt-outs, complaints |
Evidence Produced
| Evidence | Format | Acceptance condition |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance check record | Table per market | Cites the source-register entry or marks the item not assessed |
| Suppression and objection log | Register | Every objection actioned within the stated window |
Capability and Permission Boundaries
Read and search only; analysis is read-only. Publishing, spend, live account changes, outreach and personal-data processing need explicit, action-specific client authority. Collecting, matching or storing personal data, sending any message, placing calls or registering accounts also needs a lawful basis and, where required, data-protection registration; this skill screens and escalates and does not give legal advice.
Degraded Mode
Without a confirmed data-protection position for each target market, return the narrowest qualified result and mark the affected checks not assessed. The plan for business-address, opted-in and referral routes can still be delivered, with the checks a qualified adviser must complete listed for the rest.
Decision Rules
| Condition | Action | Failure or risk avoided |
|---|---|---|
| Plan relies on scraped or bought personal contact data | Replace with association directories, public business registries, events and referrals, subject to lawful basis | Data-protection breach and reputational damage |
| A person objects or asks to stop | Suppress immediately and confirm within the legal window | Breach of objection rights |
| "One partner per area" is proposed | Use it only if the agency truly enforces territorial exclusivity | Fake scarcity |
| Replies arrive faster than the team can call back | Slow sends or add capacity | Wasted interest and poor first impressions |
| WhatsApp is proposed for first contact | Check current WhatsApp Business policy on business-initiated messages and opt-in first | Account restriction and complaints |
| A claim cites a client result | Require a verified record and client consent | Fabricated or unauthorised proof |
Quality Standards
- Messages read like a personal note from a real person: short, specific, no HTML banners.
- Every message identifies the sender and gives a free, simple way to opt out.
- No guilt, pressure or fabricated third-party prompts.
- Legal statements cite the source register with the check date; unverified points stay as checks.
Anti-Patterns
- Scraping personal contact details and blasting them. Fix: lawful business sources, fit filters, opt-out and suppression.
- Daily "probing" follow-ups or one-word "Well?" messages. Fix: three value-adding touches, then stop.
- Claiming territorial exclusivity that is not enforced. Fix: offer it only as a real, written policy.
- Handing all research, writing and calling to one freelancer. Fix: separate researcher and caller roles.
- Sending material before a conversation. Fix: call first, then send only what helps.
- Treating Uganda's Act as requiring opt-in for all marketing. Fix: state the consent and objection rules exactly as registered.
References
- Outreach plays, cadence and scripts: read when drafting messages, sequences and partner approaches.
- Data-protection and platform checks for outreach: read before any list is used or message sent.
- Direct marketing ethics filter: read when running the release check on every message.
- Personalised video outreach: read when recording a video audit of one named prospect and writing its message and follow-ups.
- Win-back and reactivation: read when the contacts are past customers (neighbour route).
- Legal and market release gate: read when a message or plan states a legal or market-specific claim.
Acknowledgement: Shared by Peter Bamuhigire, techguypeter.com.