id: sales-and-growth/cold-email-icp-signal-design
slug: cold-email-icp-signal-design
title: "Cold Email ICP And Signal Design: An Agent Skill For Right-Person Outreach"
description: A source-lineaged child skill for defining the right person, right
  moment, segment, buying signal, timing thesis, buying committee map, and
  disqualifiers before cold outreach.
public_url: https://build-os.com/agent-skills/cold-email-icp-signal-design
raw_skill_url: https://build-os.com/agent-skills/cold-email-icp-signal-design/skill.md
portable_skill_url: https://build-os.com/agent-skills/cold-email-icp-signal-design/portable/SKILL.md
bundle_url: https://build-os.com/agent-skills/cold-email-icp-signal-design/bundle.zip
runtime_skill_id: cold_email_icp_signal_design
skill_type: child
skill_category: sales-and-growth
providers:
  - BuildOS runtime skill
  - BuildOS YouTube library
  - source analysis corpus
compatible_agents:
  - BuildOS-compatible agents
  - Claude Code
  - Codex
  - portable Agent Skills
stack_with:
  - cold-email-engagement-first-outreach
  - cold-email-offer-lab
  - cold-email-outreach-compiler
lineage_people:
  - Ash Maurya
  - Craig Elias
  - Becc Holland
  - Lincoln Murphy
  - Mark Roberge
  - Michael Skok
  - Nick Cegelski
  - Armand Farrokh
  - Brent Adamson
  - John McMahon
lineage_profiles: []
lineage_sources:
  - title: Minimum Viable Segment
    creator: Underscore VC / Michael Skok
    creatorType: Organization
    url: https://underscore.vc/
    sourceType: framework
  - title: Trigger Event Selling
    creator: Craig Elias
    creatorType: Person
    sourceType: framework
  - title: Personalization To Relevance
    creator: Becc Holland
    creatorType: Person
    sourceType: framework
  - title: Ideal Customer Profile Framework
    creator: Lincoln Murphy
    creatorType: Person
    sourceType: framework
  - title: The Science Of Scaling
    creator: Mark Roberge
    creatorType: Person
    sourceType: framework
  - title: How to Multithread and Get to Power in Sales
    creator: 30 Minutes to President's Club
    creatorType: Organization
    url: https://www.30mpc.com/newsletter/how-to-multithread-and-get-to-power-in-sales
    sourceType: newsletter
lineage_stats:
  sources: 6
  primitives: 9
  sourceClaims: 12
  edges: 22
  referenceModules: 4
gallery:
  display_title: Cold Email ICP And Signal Design
  family: Cold Outreach
  domain_id: sales-and-growth
  output_shapes:
    - segment map
    - signal thesis
    - disqualifiers
  workflow:
    - Define the segment and disqualifiers.
    - Name the buying signal and timing thesis.
    - Map the committee and right-person path.
    - Approve or reject the segment before outreach.
  use_cases:
    - Turn a broad target list into a usable ICP segment.
    - Find buying signals before drafting outreach.
    - Reject weak or mixed segments before a campaign ships.
  guardrails: &a1
    - Do not send outreach automatically.
    - Do not mix personas or segments in one campaign.
    - Do not use this for opted-in newsletter or lifecycle email.
  starter_prompts:
    - Help me define the ICP, buying signal, and disqualifiers for this outbound
      campaign.
    - Audit this target segment before I write cold outreach.
  source:
    curated: true
    runtime: true
    blog: true
    fallback: false
  trust:
    eval_status: not-covered
    last_updated: 2026-06-01
    safety_notes: *a1
references:
  - id: cold_email_icp_signal_design.public_campaign_gate
    path: references/public-campaign-gate.md
    summary: Portable public checklist for approving or rejecting a cold-outreach
      segment before any email is written.
    when_to_load:
      - When using the portable bundle outside BuildOS.
      - When a target segment, timing signal, or buying committee map needs a
        fast public-facing approval gate.
