When this topic matters
You sell HR tech (ATS, HRIS, payroll...) or recruiting services. Market is crowded and HR managers are bombarded with offers.
Differentiation is key, timing on hiring cycles is critical.
What happens in practice
Specifics: 1) High competition — HR manager gets dozens of cold emails daily. 2) Timing — hiring spikes are opportunity windows. 3) Pain-driven — solving concrete pains (turnover, onboarding, compliance). 4) Budget cycles — often tied to annual planning.
What works: ultra-specific messaging on concrete pain, timing on signals (job postings, funding).
Why it fails
Generic messaging: "We help with recruiting" everyone says. No differentiation.
Bad timing: you call company that is currently not hiring.
Wrong stakeholder: HR vs CEO vs Finance — who decides on HR tool purchase depends on company.
How to think about it
Signals: watch job postings (hiring signal), funding rounds (growth = hiring), leadership changes.
Messaging: ultra-specific on concrete pain. Not "help with recruiting", but "I see you are looking for 15 developers — how are you handling sourcing?"
Stakeholders: in SMB often CEO decides, in enterprise HR + procurement.
- Signals: job postings, funding, leadership changes
- Messaging: ultra-specific pain
- Timing: hiring spikes as window
- Stakeholders: SMB = CEO, enterprise = HR + procurement
What you gain and what you lose
Signal-based targeting: higher relevance, better timing. But requires monitoring and smaller pool.
Ultra-specific messaging: higher engagement, differentiation. But requires research per contact.
When to apply
For all HR tech and recruiting sales.
Adapt by product: ATS vs HRIS vs payroll have different stakeholders and buying triggers.
HR tech outbound = signal-based timing, ultra-specific messaging on pain, differentiation. Generic "help with HR" does not work — it is a crowded market.