Outreach That Actually Works | Dor Vordi’s Trigger Loop

🎤 Full Interview: Dor Vordi, Co-founder @ Samplead

Executive Snapshot

Reply rates are collapsing not because buyers hate outreach but because most outreach ignores timing and context. Dor Vordi’s answer is a trigger-based loop that contacts fewer people at the exact right moment, with founder-led credibility, and compounds into an inbound flywheel.

Context: Why the Old Playbooks Break

Mass blasting “just to get 1%” trains the market to ignore you and damages brand equity. Dor reframes the math: 10 replies out of 20 is the same count as 1% out of 2,000, except the latter burns 1,980 people you shouldn’t have pinged. The goal is to find the right 20 today not make it easier to spam 2,000.

Research Bedrock

Before writing a line of code, Dor interviewed ~1,000 outbound teams, stress-testing assumptions across industries and ICPs to find an approach that worked broadly.

The result: trigger-based outbound anchored on personal (not account-level) signals.

The Breakthrough: Trigger-Based Outbound

Instead of “company intent,” Samplead looks for person-level signals e.g., a podcast appearance, a GitHub action, a panel talk, or a fresh LinkedIn follow, then reaches out only when there’s a time-sensitive reason. If no meaningful signal exists, wait.

Quality > volume.

The Trigger Loop (System)

• Signal discovery → hunt for fresh, person-level triggers across channels.

• 1:1 context → craft a message that only makes sense for that event/person.

• Founder-led outreach → send from a credible persona (founder/CEO).

• Short cadence → max 4–5 thoughtful touches, then park.

• Monitor & re-engage when a new trigger emerges.

Scoring shorthand: Fit × Freshness × Rarity × Channel-Match. (Rarity matters: smaller-audience events often pull stronger replies.)

Founder Persona > SDR (Early Motion)

Dor reaches out as Founder/CEO, especially on LinkedIn, supported by daily value posts and community participation—this content engine creates strong inbound while boosting outbound credibility.

Cadence Discipline

No cold email. Primary channels: LinkedIn and Reddit. Keep to 4–5 thoughtful touches; if there’s no response, stop and wait until something changes (new trigger, product update, a quarter passes).

Operating Insights (Policy Changes & Constraints)

When LinkedIn slashed connection limits ~80%, volume-based shops saw results crater despite the same effort. This validated a quality-first, signal-driven system less exposed to platform throttles.

Best/Weak Fit

Best fit: B2B sales with meaningful ACV and buyers who leave visible personal signals.

Weak fit: Very low ACV, self-serve PLG (e.g., $15–$100/mo), where ROI on outbound is tough; also software development agencies where trust typically requires referrals.

What Changes When You Switch to Triggers

• Fewer messages, stronger replies: the “right 20 today” vs “spray 2,000.”

• Credibility compounds: founder persona + public content → warmer starts.

• Resilience to platform limits: quality systems don’t collapse when throttled.

Implementation Checklist

Implementation Checklist (2-Week Sprint)

Risks & How to Mitigate

• Thin signals: If your ICP leaves few public traces, invest in events/podcasts to create triggers.

• Low ACV: Consider PLG/In-product prompts before outbound.

• Agency categories: Use referrals/partner ecosystems; outbound alone underperforms.

In this episode, we cover:

00:00 – Cold open: “Outbound isn’t dead”

00:59 – Dor intro & Samplead; trigger-based outbound defined

02:53 – Founder vs SDR: who should send the first touch

07:16 – Channel–persona match: meet buyers where they live

10:03 – Reddit/community signals that spark replies

10:58 – GitHub & podcast signals: finding real intent

12:43 – Rarity in signals: why small audiences reply more

15:00 – LinkedIn signals + founder persona advantages

17:20 – Cadence & touches: the 4–5 touch rule

23:14 – Timing LinkedIn outreach to live activity

34:20 – When to stop and park until a new trigger

35:06 – Content flywheel: using clips to seed new triggers

For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email david@thehomabase.ai

Referenced in the Episode:

Tool, Framework, or Person

• Dor Vordi: Co-ounder & CEO, Samplead (LinkedIn profile)

• Samplead: Trigger-based outbound platform (samplead.co)

• Trigger Loop Framework: Signal → 1:1 context → founder-led outreach → pipeline

• Rarity-Weighted Scoring: Fit × Freshness × Rarity × Channel-Match

Company / Resource

• LinkedIn — Posts, follows, live activity → buying signals

• Reddit — Niche threads & comments → timing/context

• GitHub — Commits/issues/stars → engineer intent

• Podcasts & Panels — Fresh appearances → high-rarity triggers

• Events / News — Announcements, launches, funding → timing cues

Find Case Studies of all other episodes here.