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The New Year Pipeline Problem

It's January, and your quota just reset, and leadership/the board wants to see how you're going to hit your number this year.

So what do most reps do? They pull up the same account list from last year, blast out generic emails, and hope something sticks.

Meanwhile, the reps who consistently crush their numbers are doing something different. They're running signal based campaigns that identify the right accounts at the right time with the right message.

Setting up these campaigns isn't as complicated as it seems. With tools like Exa Websets for sourcing, Clay for enrichment and research, and LLMs for messaging, you can build always on campaigns that generate pipeline while you focus on closing deals.

Let me show you 27 campaigns you can implement right now, plus the exact workflow to make them run automatically.

You may want to bookmark this post so you can come back to it later for inspiration!

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PART 1: Company and Hiring Signals

These campaigns use job postings and company activity as your entry point. Job descriptions are goldmines of information about a company's priorities, tech stack, and pain points.

1. Tech Stack

Signal: Job postings that mention specific instruments, software, or techniques your product integrates with or replaces.

How to find it: Use Exa Websets to search for job postings containing terms like "flow cytometry," "HPLC," "single cell sequencing," or whatever technology relates to your product. Export to Clay for enrichment.

Message angle: "I noticed you're hiring someone with [specific technique] experience. Are you looking to scale that capability or replace your current workflow?"

Why it works: You're addressing something they're actively investing in. The job posting proves they have budget and urgency.

2. Scaling Signal

Signal: Companies hiring multiple roles in the same department (3+ openings in R&D, manufacturing, etc.).

How to find it: Monitor LinkedIn Jobs or use Exa to find companies with multiple similar postings. Track the quantity, not just the presence, of openings.

Message angle: "Looks like your [department] is growing quickly. When teams scale that fast, they often need [your solution type] to maintain quality/speed/consistency."

Why it works: Rapid hiring signals budget, growth, and likely pain points around standardization and onboarding.

3. Geographic Expansion

Signal: Companies posting jobs in new locations or regions they haven't operated in before.

How to find it: Track job posting locations against company HQ. When a Boston based company starts posting roles in San Diego, that's your signal.

Message angle: "Congrats on the expansion to [new location]. We've helped other companies setting up new sites standardize their [relevant workflow] from day one."

Why it works: New sites mean new purchasing decisions. You're not competing with incumbent relationships.

4. Pain Point Mining

Signal: Job descriptions that explicitly mention challenges or goals your product solves.

How to find it: Use Claude or another LLM to analyze job descriptions for language like "optimize," "streamline," "reduce turnaround time," "improve throughput," or "troubleshoot [specific issue]."

Message angle: "Your job posting mentions [specific challenge from JD]. That's exactly what we helped [similar company] solve. They reduced [metric] by [number]."

Why it works: You're using their exact words to describe their problem. It shows you actually read and understood their situation.

5. Leadership Change

Signal: New VP, Director, or Head of [relevant department] hired within the last 90 days.

How to find it: LinkedIn Sales Navigator alerts, or use Clay's job change detection. Filter for titles and tenure under 90 days.

Message angle: "Congrats on the new role at [company]. When new leaders come in, they often want to evaluate the current tech stack. Happy to share how others in your position have approached [relevant area]."

Why it works: New leaders have a mandate to make changes and prove their impact. They're not married to existing vendor relationships.

6. Champion Job Change

Signal: A current customer contact moves to a new company.

How to find it: Export your customer contact list and monitor for job changes using LinkedIn or tools like Clay. Set up automated tracking.

Message angle: "Saw you landed at [new company]. Congrats! If it would be helpful, I'd love to show you how we've evolved since we last worked together. Might be relevant for your new team."

Why it works: This is the highest converting signal. They already know and trust you. They want to replicate their success.

7. Layoffs

Signal: Company announces workforce reduction or restructuring.

How to find it: Monitor Fierce Biotech, Endpoints News, BioPharma Dive, and WARN Act filings. Set up Google Alerts for "[company name] layoffs" or "[company name] restructuring."

Message angle: "I know your team is going through changes. We've helped other companies in similar situations do more with smaller teams by [specific efficiency gain]. Would it be useful to share how they approached it?"

Why it works: Layoffs create pressure to maintain output with fewer resources. Solutions that improve efficiency or reduce manual work become more attractive. Approach with empathy, not opportunism.

8. Site Closures

Signal: Company announces facility shutdown, consolidation, or relocation.

How to find it: Track biotech news outlets and local business journals. WARN Act notices are public records that announce closures 60+ days in advance.

Message angle: "I saw the announcement about [site]. When companies consolidate operations, they often take the opportunity to standardize [workflows/equipment/processes] across remaining sites. Is that something you're thinking about?"

Why it works: Site closures force decisions about which vendors and processes to keep. Consolidation often means new purchasing decisions at the remaining sites.

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PART 2: News and Event Signals

Stay ahead of your competition by monitoring what's happening in the public domain: funding, publications, conferences, and company announcements.

9. Funding Round

Signal: Company announces Series A, B, C, or later funding.

How to find it: Set up Google Alerts, monitor Crunchbase, BioSpace, or Fierce Biotech. Use Exa to pull recent funding announcements in your target space.

Message angle: "Congrats on the [Series X] raise. Based on the announcement, it sounds like you're scaling [relevant activity]. We've helped similar stage companies accelerate that timeline."

Why it works: Fresh capital means budget. Press releases often reveal strategic priorities you can address.

10. Pipeline Advancement

Signal: Company advances an asset to the next clinical phase (IND filing, Phase 1 initiation, Phase 2, etc.).

How to find it: Monitor ClinicalTrials.gov, company press releases, and biotech news outlets. Set up automated tracking for "Phase 1," "IND," "clinical trial" + your target therapeutic areas.

Message angle: "Saw the news about [asset] advancing to Phase [X]. As you scale up [manufacturing/clinical ops/relevant area], are you finding your current [workflow] keeping pace?"

Why it works: Phase advancement creates new requirements and bottlenecks. It's a natural moment to evaluate vendors.

11. Publication Trigger

Signal: Key researchers at target accounts publish papers in high impact journals.

How to find it: Set up PubMed or SciLeads alerts for relevant keywords, author names, or institutions. Use Exa Websets to find recent publications in your therapeutic area.

Message angle: "Just read your paper in [Journal] on [topic]. The finding about [specific detail] was fascinating. I work with researchers in similar areas and would love to discuss how they're approaching [related challenge]."

Why it works: Scientists love discussing their research. This shows genuine interest and positions you as someone who understands their work.

12. Conference Presenter

Signal: Researchers presenting posters or oral presentations at upcoming conferences (AACR, ASCO, ASH, JPM, etc.).

How to find it: Download conference abstract books (usually published 2 to 4 weeks before the event). Search for relevant topics, affiliations, or keywords.

Message angle (pre conference): "Saw your abstract on [topic] got accepted for [conference]. I'll be there and would love to see your poster. Any chance you have 15 minutes to chat about [related area]?"

Why it works: You've done your homework. You're offering a legitimate reason to meet. Conference context makes meetings easier to secure.

13. Regulatory Milestone

Signal: FDA breakthrough designation, fast track status, orphan drug designation, or approval.

How to find it: Monitor FDA announcements, Endpoints News, BioPharma Dive, and company press releases.

Message angle: "Congratulations on the [designation/approval] for [asset]. As you prepare for [next phase: commercialization, expanded trials, etc.], how are you thinking about [relevant challenge]?"

Why it works: Regulatory wins create urgency and new requirements. The company is highly visible and likely receiving investor attention.

14. Partnership Announcement

Signal: Company announces a partnership, collaboration, or licensing deal.

How to find it: Press release monitoring, biotech news outlets, SEC filings for deal terms.

Message angle: "Saw the announcement about your partnership with [Company]. That sounds like it will significantly expand your [research/manufacturing/commercial] capacity. We've helped similar companies navigate that kind of scale up."

Why it works: Partnerships often come with milestones, timelines, and new budget. The partnership terms reveal priorities.

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PART 3: Engagement and Intent Signals

These campaigns leverage direct engagement signals: people who have shown interest in you or topics related to your solution.

15. LinkedIn Post Engager

Signal: Someone likes, comments on, or shares your LinkedIn content.

How to find it: Export post engagement data from LinkedIn, manually or through tools like PhantomBuster. Segment by job title and company.

Message angle: "Thanks for engaging with my post on [topic]. Based on your background at [company], I'd guess this is something you're dealing with directly. Want to compare notes?"

Why it works: They've already shown interest in the topic. You're not cold. You're following up on their explicit engagement.

16. Competitor Engager

Signal: Prospects engaging with competitor content on LinkedIn (liking posts, commenting).

How to find it: Monitor competitor LinkedIn posts and export their engagers. Filter for ICP job titles.

Message angle: "I noticed you're following the [category] space closely. Curious if you've evaluated different approaches. Happy to share a comparison I put together."

Why it works: They're actively researching solutions. Don't mention the competitor directly. Focus on being helpful with category education.

17. Webinar or Event Attendee

Signal: Someone registers for or attends your webinar, workshop, or event.

How to find it: Export registration and attendance lists from your webinar platform. Segment by engagement level (registered, attended, asked questions).

Message angle: "Thanks for joining [webinar topic]. Based on your question about [X], I thought you might find this case study relevant. Would you be open to a quick call to discuss how [similar company] approached it?"

Why it works: High intent signal. They invested time to learn about topics you're an expert in.

18. Content Download

Signal: Someone downloads a whitepaper, guide, or other gated content.

How to find it: Your marketing automation platform (HubSpot, Marketo, etc.) tracks these. Create automated workflows based on download topic.

Message angle: "Saw you grabbed our guide on [topic]. That's typically something people look at when they're dealing with [related challenge]. Is that what prompted the download?"

Why it works: Specific content interest reveals specific pain points. Match your follow up to the content topic.

19. Website Visitor

Signal: Target account visits your website, especially high intent pages (pricing, case studies, product pages).

How to find it: Use website visitor identification tools (Clearbit, RB2B, Warmly, etc.) to de anonymize company level traffic.

Message angle: "I work with a few [similar companies] and noticed [your company] has been exploring [solution category]. Curious what prompted the research. Is there a specific challenge you're trying to solve?"

Why it works: Don't say "I saw you visited our website." It's creepy. Use the signal to prioritize and time outreach, then lead with value.

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PART 4: Persona Segmentation

Not all prospects are the same. These campaigns slice your market by specific attributes to deliver hyper relevant messaging.

20. Therapeutic Area

Segmentation: Oncology, neurology, immunology, rare disease, cardiovascular, etc.

How to segment: Use Exa Websets or Gosset to find companies by therapeutic area. Cross reference with pipeline databases to identify active programs.

Message angle: Reference TA specific challenges, recent regulatory developments, or competitive landscape. "In oncology, we're seeing [trend]. How is [company] thinking about [related challenge]?"

Why it works: TA specific messaging shows you understand their unique context, not just their industry.

21. Modality

Segmentation: Small molecule, antibody, cell therapy, gene therapy, ADC, mRNA, etc.

How to segment: Scrape job postings for modality specific keywords. Use databases like Cortellis or PitchBook to identify companies by technology platform.

Message angle: Address modality specific manufacturing, analytical, or development challenges. "Cell therapy companies we work with consistently struggle with [specific challenge]. Is that something on your radar?"

Why it works: Modality drives entirely different workflows. Antibody developers have different pain points than gene therapy companies.

22. Stage of Development

Segmentation: Preclinical, Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, Commercial.

How to segment: Use ClinicalTrials.gov data or Gosset. Match company stage to messaging about their current challenges.

Message angle: "Companies entering Phase 2 often realize their [process/system] from earlier stages doesn't scale. We specialize in that transition."

Why it works: Stage determines priorities, urgency, and budget. Early stage companies care about validation. Late stage cares about scale and compliance.

23. Job Function

Segmentation: R&D, Manufacturing, QA/QC, Regulatory, Commercial, Procurement.

How to segment: Use LinkedIn job titles. Create different messaging tracks for different functions, even within the same account.

Message angle: Speak to function specific KPIs. R&D cares about innovation. QA cares about compliance. Procurement cares about cost and vendor management.

Why it works: The same product solves different problems for different stakeholders. Your message should reflect their lens.

24. Academic vs. Industry

Segmentation: Academic research labs vs. industry R&D.

How to segment: Email domain (.edu vs. .com), company type in LinkedIn, affiliation in publications. Use tools like SciLeads to find the right people publishing on the topics you care about

Message angle: Academic: Focus on publications, grants, training. Industry: Focus on timelines, scale, compliance.

Why it works: Completely different buying processes, decision criteria, and timelines. Don't treat them the same.

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PART 5: Creative Signals

These are less common signals that can differentiate you from every other rep hitting the same accounts.

25. Grant Award

Signal: Researchers receive NIH, SBIR/STTR, or other significant grant funding.

How to find it: Monitor NIH Reporter, NSF Awards, or your country's equivalent grant databases. Set up alerts for relevant keywords.

Message angle: "Congratulations on the [grant] funding for [project]. We've worked with other grant funded labs on similar projects. Happy to share how they stretched their budget while meeting their aims."

Why it works: Grant = budget. Grant abstracts reveal exactly what they're trying to accomplish.

26. Facility Expansion

Signal: Company announces new facility construction, lab expansion, or manufacturing build out.

How to find it: Monitor local business journals, construction permits, and company announcements for "new facility," "expansion," or "investment in [location]."

Message angle: "Saw the announcement about your new [facility type] in [location]. When companies build new sites, they often take the opportunity to upgrade [relevant systems]. Is that part of the plan?"

Why it works: New facilities mean new equipment budgets. You're getting in early, before decisions are finalized.

27. M&A Integration

Signal: Company is acquired or completes an acquisition (3 to 12 months post close).

How to find it: Track M&A announcements in your space. Target the acquired company 3 to 6 months after close, when integration decisions are being made.

Message angle: "Post acquisition integrations often mean re evaluating [technology/processes] to standardize across sites. Curious how that's going for [relevant area] at [company]."

Why it works: M&A disrupts vendor relationships. The acquirer often wants to standardize on their preferred vendors. The acquired company often loses their champions.

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THE ALWAYS ON WORKFLOW

How to Automate Everything

Now let's turn these campaigns into a system that runs while you sleep.

Step 1: Source Your Signals

Exa Websets: Use natural language queries to find companies, people, research papers, and job postings. Example: "Biotech companies in Phase 2 oncology trials using CAR T technology" or "Scientists who published on CRISPR in the last 6 months."

News and Alert Monitoring: Set up Google Alerts, BioSpace RSS feeds, or PubMed alerts for relevant keywords. Consider tools like Feedly for consolidating multiple sources.

LinkedIn Engagement: Export engagers from your posts, monitor competitor activity, and track job changes in your target accounts.

Clay: Monitor a list of companies or people all the time for news or job changes.

Step 2: Push to Clay for Enrichment and Research

Exa Websets exports directly to Clay via webhook. From there:

Enrich companies: Add firmographics, funding data, tech stack, employee count, and news mentions.

Find contacts: Use Clay's waterfall enrichment across 50+ data providers to find the right people with verified emails.

Research with Claygent: Use the agent to visit websites, analyze job descriptions, and extract specific information you need for personalization.

Step 3: Qualify

Build scoring criteria in Clay to automatically qualify which prospects should receive outreach:

• Company matches your ICP (stage, size, therapeutic area, modality)

• Contact is the right persona (title, function, seniority)

• Signal strength (recent, relevant, high intent)

• Not already in your CRM or recently contacted

Step 4: Generate Personalized Messaging

This is where most people go wrong. They use generic templates that sound like every other automated email.

The key is training your model on three things:

1. Your product knowledge: What you sell, who you sell to, common objections, case studies, and differentiators.

2. Your writing style: Examples of your best emails, your tone, your voice, words you use (and don't use).

3. Your messaging framework: How to structure emails, what makes a good subject line, when to use which template.

Pro tip: We use a 27 page internal document that teaches our model how to write messaging the way our team does. It covers everything from sentence structure to specific phrases that work in life sciences. This generates messages that are indistinguishable from human-written ones.

Step 5: Push to Your Sequencer

Once prospects are qualified and messages are generated, push them directly to your sequencer (Hubspot, Outreach, Salesloft, Instantly, Smartlead, etc.) for automated sending.

Option A (Review first): Messages go into a "pending" queue for human review before sending.

Option B (Send automatically): Messages send immediately.

Most teams start with Option A to build confidence, then gradually move to Option B for proven campaigns.

Step 6: Handle Replies (That's Your Only Job Now)

With this system running, your pipeline sources itself. Your job is to:

• Monitor campaign performance and optimize

• Respond to positive replies

• Take meetings

• Close deals

Imagine spending your time on conversations instead of research. That's what's possible right now.

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This Isn't As Complicated As It Seems

I know this looks like a lot. But consider:

• You don't need all 27 campaigns. Start with 2 or 3 that match your highest priority signals.

• The workflow is modular. You can add new campaigns as you go.

• Once it's built, it runs itself. The upfront investment pays dividends for months/years.

If you want help setting up these systems, we can do it for you. We've built these workflows for 85+ life science companies over the past 2.5 years. We know what signals work, what messaging converts, and how to get it all connected.

Book a call and we'll walk through which campaigns make sense for your business and how we can help you implement them.

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🛠 Actionable Task

Pick ONE campaign from this list that aligns with your ICP. Set up the signal source this week (even if it's just a Google Alert). Run it manually for 30 days to validate it works. Then automate.

Don't try to build everything at once. Start small, prove the concept, then scale.

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2026 is the year of signal based selling. The reps who figure this out will build more pipeline in less time than their competitors who are still manually researching accounts.

The tools exist. The playbooks exist. The only question is whether you'll implement them.

Apple Podcast | Spotify | YouTube

Episode 79: The NEW Way to Use AI in Life Science Sales (2026)

1. Lead Generation: We’ll build target lists, write scientifically relevant messaging, and send messages on your behalf to book qualified sales meetings with biotech and pharma companies.

2. Training for Reps: A skill development platform for life science sales reps who want to improve their sales skills, exceed their quota, and take the next step in their career.

3. Training for Teams: If you want to upskill your team around prospecting, driving to close, key account management, AI, or any other topic, we can put together a training plan specific to your organization’s needs.

4. Strategy Call: Need more than training? Want help implementing and executing your sales strategy? In a 30-minute call, we will assess your company’s current situation and identify growth opportunities.