Outreach

Outreach

Outreach is our sales outbound engagement platform which helps Sales and Sales Dev team members efficiently and effectively engage prospects and customers to drive more pipeline and increase deal closure.

Support

Outreach is a tool co-owned by the Marketing Operations and Sales Operations teams. If you require further assistance outside of the contents of this handbook page and Highspot page, please reach out in the appropriate Slack channels based on your role:

• Marketing or Sales Development requests, please contact #mktgops on Slack.
• Sales requests, please contact #sales-tools-support on Slack.

Access

Outreach access is dependent on your role. Below is a list of roles that will receive access within the first week of onboarding. Role-Based Entitlement

• Sales Development
• Business Development Representatives
• Managers, SDR or BDR
• Account Executives
• Area Sales Managers
• SMB Advocates
• Managers, SMB Advocates
• Renewals Managers
• Managers, Renewals Managers

Once you have access please take the following steps:

• Download and install the Outreach Chrome extension.
• Connect your calendar and email.
• Connect your LinkedIn Sales Navigator account (if applicable)

Outreach Sequence Creation and Best Practices

Best Practices

Sequence Naming Convention

All Sales Dev Team Members must use this naming convention in their Sequences

PLease take note of the following naming convention. Your sequences should be easy to distinguish using the following format:

Department, Inbound or Outbound, High Touch or Low Touch, Region, Description/Motion, Language

• Department
  • Sales
  • SD
  • RM
  • All Field
• Inbound or Outbound
  • IB
  • OB
• High Touch or Low Touch
  • HT
  • LT
• Region
  • Global
  • AMER
  • APJ
  • EMEA
  • PubSec
• Team
  • EAST
  • SEUR
  • META
  • LATAM
• Description/Motion
  • Trial
  • Contact Request
  • Overage
  • Google Cloud Follow Up
  • GitHub Takeout
• Language
  • ESP
  • FR
  • GER
  • JP
  • KOR
  • PT

Examples:

• SD IB LT EMEA Content GER
• SD OB HT Global CE User
• Sales Global PIpeGen Day #PGDay

Sequence Settings to Check

• Make sure email tracking is enabled on all email steps
• Interval Type = Schedule Days
• Make sure the sequence has all tags and is part of a collection
• Throttle Settings = “Max active prospects per user = 1000” and “Max adds per user every 24 hours = 75”

Tags

• Outreach tags are labels you can add to sequences or prospects. They help you quickly categorize and search for the information you need. Due to reporting needs please do not create your own tags and instead reach out to Sales Ops or Sales Dev Ops to create the tag.

Tag Categories and Examples (Not Exhaustive)

• Team/Group
  • SD
  • AE
  • RNWL
  • SMB
• Inbound or Outbound
  • IB
  • OB
• High Touch vs Low Touch
  • HT
  • LT
• Geo
  • AMER
  • EMEA
  • APJ
• Team Specific
  • East
  • NEUR
  • DACH
• Sequence Type
  • Competitor
  • GitHub
  • Jenkins
  • Atlassian
  • Closed Lost
  • Event
  • Free to Paid
• Language
  • ESP
  • FR
  • KOR
  • JP
  • GER

High touch Vs Low touch

• A high touch sequence is a sequence that contains multiple forms of communication (Phone, LinkedIn, and Email) and are usually over two weeks long with at least ten steps. High Touch sequences should be the standard
• Low Touch sequences are usually four or less automated email steps. These sequences should only be used when a phone number cannot be found or for certain situations like event invites

Outreach Variables

• Outreach variables are placeholders that automatically pull in details about a prospect or sender, so emails feel personalized at scale. The only exception is for personalized variables which you can see an example of below

Examples of variables

• {{first_name}} – Inserts the prospect’s first name.
• {{company}} – Inserts the prospect’s company name.
• {{!personalization}} – Lets the XDR add a custom note. Anything written after the “!” becomes the internal note ex. {{!Event Name}} {{Personalize this based off recent account news}} {{!Your AEs Name}}.
• {{sender.first_name}} – Inserts the sender’s name.
• {{sender.calendar_url}} - Inserts sender’s calendar link.

When not to create a sequence

• One time edits to current messaging
• Keep in mind that you can edit email steps while adding prospects to sequences.
• When the messaging can be incorporated in an A/B Test
• A/B Testing can be done on any sequence’s email step

Time Based Sequences (Events)

• If a hyper personalized sequence needs to be created for a one time event please put the date of the event in the title of the sequence so the Ops team will know when to archive it.

When to create a net new sequence

• Filling a gap in messaging we currently do not have
• A/B Test iteration won’t suffice due to need for: Different step ordering, different timeframe, different channels to be used

Sharing Policies

Collection Policies

• Sales Dev
  • Inbound Collections
    • All inbound MQLs should be actioned with sequences from the Inbound collections

Team Collection Policy

• Each Sales Dev Team has their own team collection where they can test messaging for their particular regions. Globally applicable versions of these sequences can be created for the Good Collection as well.

Testing and Good Collection

• When a new sequence request is globally applicable it will go to the “Testing Collection” instead of a team collection.

Sales

AE to BDR Sharing

• If an AE wants to share a sequence with a BDR, they can share the sequence with the BDRs manager. BDR managers will have access to all of the globally approved sales collections as well as their regions collections. The BDR Manager then can follow the process below to have a clone of the sequence created.

Sales Dev Sequence Creation Process

• Request – XDR Managers submit a new sequence request issue on behalf of their XDRs when messaging gaps can’t be filled with a simple A/B test.
• Manager Review – The XDR Manager checks the sequence setup (naming, tags, settings, tracking, applicability) and approves it.
• Director Approval & Activation – The Director double-checks, launches the sequence, and sets a 60-day review date.
• Performance Review – After 60 days, the Director , Ops, and/or the Manager review results to decide whether to keep, expand, or retire the sequence.

Full Process Details → BDR Sequence Creation Request Issue Template

Signature

Sales Development will be set by Terminus Email Experiences. The integration is live so you will just need to sync your gmail for it to come through. It can take 24-48 hours for you to see the signature populate. If you make any changes to your signature, it will take about 24 hours to see it live.

Email Sending limits

We have set email sending limits to protect our organisation sending score. This score affects our placement within the inbox so it’s very important we don’t abuse these limits. If you need to send to a larger amount than these limits, please work with your field marketer who have tools that can send to larger amounts.

• 500 emails a day can be sent from within Outreach. This is the number of emails each User can send using Outreach in a single day.

• 1000 emails a day can be sent from within GitLab. Total number of email deliveries that can be sent by Outreach Users each day.

• 25 emails a day can be sent to one email domain. This is the total number of emails that can be sent to one email domain per days. We don’t limit to the following domain:

  • gmail.com
  • microsoft.com
  • Outlook.com

If you would like to add to this list, please contact Marketing Ops.

Rulesets

Rulesets in Outreach apply to sequences and control the status of the prospect. If you or a prospect performs a certain action while active in a sequence, it will move the status of the prospect, which will sync back to SFDC. The purpose of this is to manage the lifecycle of a prospect better.

Follow Up Ruleset

• Once the first task of a sequence is completed, it will move the status to Qualifying.
• If a prospect replies, then it will move the status to Qualifying.
• If a meeting is booked, then it will mark the sequence as finished and the status will be Qualifying.
• If the prospect opts out during the sequence, it will move the status to Disqualified.
• If the prospect does not reply during the sequence and reaches the end of the sequence, it will move the status to Recycle.
• If a user manually marks the prospect as finished within the sequence, we will move it to Recycle.
• If Outreach detects that the prospect is OOO, then it will pause the sequence for 1 week OR if the date of return is in the OOO notification, Outreach will pause until that date.

Support Ruleset

• Once the first task of a sequence is completed, it will move the status to Ineligible.
• If the prospect opts out during the sequence, it will move the status to Disqualified.
• If the prospect does not reply during the sequence and reaches the end of the sequence, it will move the status to Ineligible.
• If a user manually marks the prospect as finished within the sequence, we will move it to Ineligible.
• If Outreach detects that the prospect is OOO, then it will pause the sequence for 1 week OR if the date of return is in the OOO notification, Outreach will pause until that date.

Phone Numbers

Due to global phone number regulations, at this time, we can only purchase a local/mobile phone number where GitLab has an entity. Below are the countries that we can currently purchase for:

• US
• Canada
• United Kingdom
• Ireland
• Germany
• France
• Spain
• Netherlands
• Singapore
• Australia

We are also investigating countries where we can purchase toll free numbers we can outbound prospect with. More to come soon.

Reps can also upload their personal numbers to use if it’s preferred.

EMEA & APJ XDRS

All xDRs will receive a number for each entity in the region they are covering. EG if you are in EMEA, you will receive a number for Germany, France, Spain, Netherlands, Ireland( coming soon).

AMER XDRs

All XDRs will be able to leverage the local dial feature. Outreach will automatically assign you a number based on the area you are calling into to make it appear as though you are calling from that area.

Call Dispositions

Call Disposition Name	Description	Signal	Sequence Status	Lead/Contact Status
CC: Answered: Info Gathered: Create Stage 0 Opp	Some qualification questioned were answered and a Stage 0 opp should be created	Positive signal	Ends Sequence	Qualifying
CC: Answered: Create follow up task	Needs follow up in order to gain qualification/no current use case/not the right time	Positive signal	Ends Sequence	Recycle
CC: Answered: Not Interested	Have stated on the call they are not interested	Negative signal	Ends Sequence	Recycle
CC: Answered: Personal Use	They are using GitLab for personal reasons	Negative signal	Ends Sequence	Recycle
CC: Answered: Asked for Call Back	Caught them at a bad moment and they asked for a call back OR they are still evaluating tool, call back in a few weeks. A generic task will be created giving you the option to move the lead to recycle or add them to a pre made Call Back Sequence	Positive signal	Ends Sequence	Qualifying
CC: Answered: Using Competition	They are using competition. A generic task will be created giving you the option to move the lead to recycle or add them to a pre made Competition Objection Follow Up Sequence	Negative signal	Ends Sequence	Qualifying
Automated Switchboard	You reached the automated switchboard and there was no option forward	Neutral signal	Sequence Continues	Stays Accepted
Main Company Line - Can’t Transfer Line	There’s no way to contact your prospect through this company number	Neutral signal	Sequence Continues	Stays Accepted
IQM Set	You were able to schedule an IQM while on the phone call. Note that a trigger exists in SFDC to automatically change lead status to Qualifying when this option is selected	Positive signal	Ends Sequence	Qualifying
Correct Contact: Left Message	You were able to reach the voicemail for the correct contact and you left a message on their machine or with their Personal Assistant	Neutral signal	Sequence Continues	Stays Accepted
Correct Contact: Not Answered/Other	You were able to reach the correct contact through a company directory but it kept ringing. You reached the contacts voicemail but their voicemail was not set up so you could not leave a message	Neutral signal	Sequence Continues	Stays Accepted
Incorrect Contact: Answered	The wrong person answered the phone number that you had for this contact and it is the wrong persons phone number (They were not a personal assistant) A generic task will be created giving you the option to move the lead to recycle or add them to a pre made Referral Sequence. They didn’t take a message for the correct person or give helpful information	Neutral signal	Ends Sequence	Stays Accepted
Incorrect Contact: Left Message	The wrong person answered the phone and it is the wrong persons phone number (They were not a personal assistant). They took a message for the correct person/gave you the correct number for the contact	Neutral signal	Ends Sequence	Stays Accepted
Incorrect Contact: Not Answered/Other	You got through to the voicemail but the voicemail was for someone other than the person who you were trying to contact. Or the person was not listed in the company directory and you were calling the companies main number	Neutral signal	Ends Sequence	Stays Accepted
Incorrect Contact: Answered: Gave Referral	It was the wrong person but they gave a referral to speak to. Please record in notes who the referral is.	Positive signal	Ends Sequence	Qualifying
Incorrect Contact: No Authority	The person who answered the phone number has no authority nor decision to move forward with a purchase.	Negative signal	Ends Sequence	Stays Accepted
Correct Contact: Discovery Call Set	You were able to schedule a discovery call while on the phone call. Note that a trigger exists in SFDC to automatically change lead status to Qualifying when this option is selected	Positive Signal	Ends Sequence	Qualifying

Call Troubleshooting

• Call Audio Troubleshooting- If you are experiencing any issues with the call audio after the call is connected. Please follow the steps as outlined in the linked page.

• Call Connection Troubleshooting - If you are experiencing any issues with the call not connecting. Please follow the steps as outlined in the linked page.

Inbound Calls

If you have been assigned a number, if a prospect calls you back, it will come through to you.

For local presence (AMER) :

Outreach will route inbound calls with local presence in the following order:

• If the incoming phone number matches a single Prospect, route the call to the last active user that called this number using the local Presence number the Prospect called.
• If the incoming phone number matches a single Prospect, route to the owner of the Prospect.
• If the phone number matches a single Prospect, route the last active user that called this number using ANY local presence phone number.
• If the phone number matches a call (to/outgoing or from/incoming), route to the user that was on that call.
• If the local number has never been used by Outreach (ex: the local number was recently purchased but never used), Outreach routes the call to the most recent active Outreach user.

Sync to/ From CRM Process

The sync from Outreach to SFDC and vice versa will happen every 10 mins automatically. If you need to force a sync, then there is an option to hit the little cloud on the side panel within outreach on prospect/accounts and force a push sync to CRM or a pull sync into Outreach.

Available Integrations

• Highspot
• 6Sense
• Terminus
• Qualified
  • With Qualified for Outreach, sales reps have a modern tool in their toolkit to help them meet with their most valuable prospects. They no longer need to wait for an email reply to get a meeting on the books. Instead, sales reps can capitalize on that “magic moment” when a prospect arrives on your website from an email sequence to instantly start a conversation that’s consistent across channels. This results in more web conversions, more pipeline, and more closed/won business. Plus, it provides a seamless buying experience, helping you move from click to close faster than ever before. In short, sales teams use Outreach to prospect into target accounts and Qualified to close them.
  • Qualified Signals is an AI-based product that combines first and third-party website engagement, including Outreach email click-throughs, with Salesforce data to predict the buying intent of a B2B company’s target accounts. Qualified’s integration with Outreach surfaces Signals data within the Outreach platform, where outbound sales reps spend their day. This is beneficial because it gives sales reps quick access and clear direction on which accounts they should be prospecting into to generate more pipeline and crush their quota. From here, sales reps can quickly craft and send VIP buyers a personalized outbound Outreach email, driving them back to your site. This approach helps you accelerate your sales cycle and drive more pipeline, more efficiently.
• LISN
  • The Sales Navigator for Outreach integration provides an enhanced experience by interacting with the rich professional data in Sales Navigator, right where you’re selling. With Outreach for Sales Navigator, you’ll gain access to LinkedIn Sales Navigator intelligence tiles: Lead information and Account, while being able to execute LinkedIn Sales Navigator tasks directly from the Outreach Platform.
  • How to add LinkedIn Sales Navigator to an Outreach Profile

Triggers

Triggers in Outreach automate actions and workflows based on specific prospect/account/task conditions. The following triggers are active in Outreach

Trigger Name	Description
Add Timezone to Prospect	Adds timezone to a prospect located outside of North America.
Bad Data - Bad Phone Number/Bounced Email - Stop Sequence	Stops a prospect in sequence when a call is marked bad number and Bad Data Reason is Bounced Email.
Bad Data - Email Bounced/Bad Phone number - Disqualified	Marks prospect status as Disqualified when an email bounces and Bad Data Reason is Bad Phone Number.
Campaign - White Glove Sequence	Adds prospect to SD IB HT Global EVT White Glove Task Step 1 when HP Reason is White Glove and HP is true and status is MQL.
Campaign- Uncheck High Priority	Removes HP check when HP is true and Actively Being Sequenced is true.
New Task - CC: Answered: Asked for Call Back	Creates a new task on the prospect when a call disposition is set to CC: Answered: Asked for Call Back
New Task - CC:Answered: Using Competition	Creates a new task on the prospect when a call disposition is set to CC: Answered: Using Competition
New Task - Incorrect Contact: Answered: Gave Referral	Creates a new task on the prospect when a call disposition is set to Incorrect Contact: Gave Referral
New Task - PTP Score Updated	Creates a new task on the prospect when a PTP Score is updated to 4 or 5 and the prospect is Actively Being Sequenced.
Operational - Attempting to Contact - Bounce - Bad Data	Sets Bad Data Reason as Bounced Email a mailing task is marked as Bounced.
Operational - Bad Data - Stop Sequences	Stops all sequences when a prospect is Actively Being Sequenced and status is Disqualified and Disqualified reason is Bad Data.
Operational - Ineligible - Support	Sets Ineligible Reason as Support when a prospect status is Ineligible and current sequence name contains Support or Support/Technical Related
Operational - LinkedIn/Task 1st Step- Accepted	Sets status as Accepted after a LinkedIn step is completed as a first step in a sequence.
Operational - Meeting Booked - Move to Qualifying	Sets status as Qualifying when a meeting is booked.
Operational - Not Interested - Unsubscribe - Disqualified	Sets Disqualified Reason as Unsubscribe when status is Disqualified and Disqualified Reason is blank and Date opted out is not blank.
Operational - Recycle- Set No Response	Sets Recycle Reason to No Response when status is Recycle and Recycle Reason is empty.
Operational - Remove Status Reason when updated	Removes all status reasons when status is MQL, Inquiry, Accepted, Raw, Qualifying, or Qualified
Operational - Set qualifying stage when IQM set	Sets status to Qualifying when an IQM is booked.
Operational- Bad Phone Number - Bad Data Reason	Sets Bad Data Reason to Bad Phone Number when call disposition is Bad Phone Number
Set Disqualified Reason - Call Disposition: Incorrect Contact: Answered	Sets status to Disqualified when a call disposition is set to Incorrect Contact: Answered
Set Disqualified Reason - Call Disposition: Personal Use	Sets status to Disqualified and Reason to Personal Use when a call disposition is set to CC: Answered: Personal Use
Set Nurture Reason - Call Disposition: Competition	Sets status to Recycle and Recycle Reason to Evaluating when a call disposition is set to CC: Answered: Using Competition
Set Nurture Reason - Call Disposition: Not Interested	Sets status to Recycle and Recycle Reason to No Interest when a call disposition is set to CC: Answered: Not Interested
Set Nurture Reason - Call Disposition: Not Opp yet	Sets status to Recycle and Recycle Reason to Evaluating when a call disposition is set to CC: Answered: Info Gathered: Not Opp yet
Set Recycle Reason - Call Disposition: Gave referral	Sets status to Recycle and Recycle Reason to Evaluating when a call disposition is set to CC: Incorrect Contact: Answered: Gave Referral
Set to Qualifying - Call Disposition: Answered: Asked for Call Back	Sets status to Qualifying when a call disposition is set to CC: Answered: Asked for Call Back

Resources

Call Coaching Best Practices

Permission and Selection Guidelines

1. For Group/Public Sessions:

• Team members must either self-nominate their calls OR provide explicit written permission before their call is shared
• Never surprise someone by playing their call in front of others
• Give the person at least 24-48 hours notice before the session
• Allow them to preview the specific segments that will be discussed
• Offer an opt-out option without requiring justification

2. For One-on-One Sessions:

• Manager and rep should jointly select calls to review
• Balance challenging calls with successful ones (aim for 2:1 ratio of wins to improvement areas)
• Frame difficult calls as learning opportunities, not failures

Feedback Delivery Standards

Do	Don’t
Start with what went well—always identify specific strengths first	Use sarcasm or mocking language
Focus on behaviors and techniques, not personal attributes (“The question could have been more open-ended” vs. “You’re not a good listener”)	Compare team members to each other negatively
Provide specific, actionable alternatives (“Try asking X instead” or “Here’s a framework for handling that objection”)	Pile on multiple criticisms without breaks for discussion
Normalize mistakes as part of learning (“This is a tough objection we all struggle with”)	Revisit the same calls repeatedly unless specifically requested
Ask the rep what they noticed first—self-assessment builds awareness	Share call snippets in Slack or other channels without explicit permission

Session Structure Recommendations

1. Group Sessions (30-45 minutes)

Step	Description
1. Set ground rules	Set psychological safety ground rules at the start
2. Review clips	Review 2-3 short clips (2-3 minutes each maximum)
3. Apply framework	Use the “What went well / Even better if” framework
4. Invite observations	Invite peer observations, not judgments (“I noticed…” vs. “They should have…”)
5. Close with action	End with key takeaways and role-play practice

2. One-on-One Sessions (Weekly/Bi-weekly)

Step	Description
1. Review calls	Review 1-2 full calls or 3-4 key moments
2. Rep-led assessment	Let the rep lead with their observations first
3. Co-create plan	Co-create an action plan with 1-2 specific focus areas
4. Follow-up	Schedule follow-up to track progress

Protection Mechanisms

• Establish a “learning zone” culture where sharing struggles is encouraged
• Rotate whose calls are reviewed so no one feels targeted
• Never tie call reviews directly to performance improvement plans (PIPs) or disciplinary action
• If a call reveals a significant performance issue, address it privately first
• Document that feedback is confidential between participants unless the rep agrees to share
• Group call coaching sessions should be recorded

If you notice these patterns, intervention is needed:

Red Flag
Team members actively avoiding having their calls reviewed
Defensive or withdrawn behavior during sessions
Decrease in call volume (avoiding being recorded)
Only the same “safe” calls being volunteered

Call Recording Access & Commenting Policy

Viewing Access

All employees in the org can view recorded calls for self-learning and professional development purposes.

Commenting Permissions

Role	Permission Level	Guidelines
Rep’s direct manager	May comment	Must follow quality standards
Directors and VP within Sales Dev	May comment	Must follow quality standards
Sales Dev Enablement	May comment	Must follow quality standards
All other team members	View only	Can share feedback through rep’s manager

Rationale

While transparency in learning is valuable, unrestricted commenting can lead to:

• Inconsistent or conflicting feedback that confuses the rep
• Pile-on criticism from multiple sources
• Junior team members providing guidance beyond their expertise
• Comments becoming a forum for venting rather than coaching

All Other Team Members

• Can view calls to learn from peer examples
• If someone has valuable feedback on a call, they should:
  • Share it with the rep’s manager
  • The manager evaluates and decides whether to add it as a comment (attributing the source if appropriate)
  • Or the manager facilitates a direct conversation between the team members if more appropriate

Sales Development Spot Checking Call Views

The table below shows calls placed in the last 7 days, per Sales Development team, with views for positive outcomes and objections for spot-checking and coaching purposes.

Team	Positive Outcomes	Objections
BDR AMER COMM	View Positive Calls	View Objections
BDR AMER EAST-WEST	View Positive Calls	View Objections
BDR AMER FINS-LATAM	View Positive Calls	View Objections
BDR AMER PUBSEC	View Positive Calls	View Objections
BDR BASE TEAM	View Positive Calls	View Objections
BDR EMEA DACH	View Positive Calls	View Objections
BDR EMEA TELCO EGC	View Positive Calls	View Objections
BDR EMEA NEUR UKI	View Positive Calls	View Objections
BDR EMEA SEUR	View Positive Calls	View Objections
XDR APJ	View Positive Calls	View Objections
SDR AMER	View Positive Calls	View Objections
SDR EMEA	View Positive Calls	View Objections

Sales Development Kaia Playlists

The playlists below showcase calls that are showing great potential. We use our Claude call rank prompt on our outbound prospecting project to sort through all calls that have more than 2’ duration on Outreach, and then manually screen as a second step.

Please find the full list on Outreach Kaia here, and a quick description of their ranking below.

Category	Score	Description
BENCHMARK PERFORMANCE	75-100	Deep discovery, Purposeful use of our sales methodologies, differentiated AI positioning, consultative approach, and strong pipeline quality. Minor gaps only.
GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES	50-74	Surface-level discovery, generic positioning, single-threaded. Solid foundation with specific refinement needs.
DEVELOPMENT FOCUS	0-49	Skill-building opportunities. Elements like research, pattern interrupts, discovery or trap-setting questions and differentiatiors are present and can be improved upon.

Comment Quality Standards

All authorized commenters must follow these guidelines:

Standard	Description
Constructive	Focus on what can be improved and how
Specific	Reference exact timestamps and provide clear examples
Balanced	Note strengths as well as improvement areas
Actionable	Include alternative approaches or techniques
Respectful	Professional tone that assumes positive intent

Comment Review

• Managers should review comments left by others on their direct reports’ calls weekly
• Directors/Enablement should coordinate to avoid redundant or conflicting feedback on the same call
• If a comment violates the quality standards above, the rep’s manager should flag it for removal

Violations

Instance	Action
First instance	Verbal coaching on the policy
Second instance	Written warning
Continued violations	Loss of commenting privileges and potential escalation