Innovative Outbound Marketing Strategies and the Power of Personalization with Clay - an Interview with Mark Colgan
Nicholas Page
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3 minute read
In this episode of Tech Marketing Trends, Mark Colgan is interviewed by Jakob Löwenbrand to explore the next generation of outbound strategies—highlighting how data, signals, and tools like Clay are reshaping modern GTM motions.
Why traditional outbound is struggling
According to Colgan, outbound email is facing dual threats: technical deliverability issues and audience fatigue.
“Deliverability has become a cat-and-mouse game. Even opted-in prospects can be flagged as spam by algorithms.” – Mark Colgan
Add to that the glut of low-quality outreach and it’s easy to understand why inboxes are becoming harder to penetrate. But Colgan makes it clear: email isn’t dead—it just needs smarter, more segmented execution.
Redefining your ICP with real segmentation
One of the biggest mistakes companies make is defining their ideal customer profile (ICP) too broadly. Colgan urges marketers to segment by industry, company size, and internal structure, even going so far as to stack signals that indicate timing and intent.
“You can't use the same message for a 1,000-person FinTech company and a 10,000-person oil and gas firm. You need to slice deeper.”
Brightvision's ABM strategies help B2B marketers get that segmentation right by building data-driven, signal-based campaigns.
Signals and triggers: the future of timing
Not every company in your TAM is ready to buy. Colgan highlights the use of buying signals and trigger events—like new hires, funding rounds, or job postings—to time outreach when prospects are most receptive.
“Only 3% of your market is buying right now. Use signals to find them, and stack those signals for laser targeting.”
Modern platforms like Clay let marketers automate and enrich their data with these signals in real time.
Painkillers, not vitamins: get to the point
Another mistake in outbound messaging? Being vague, broad, or overly feature-focused. Instead, Colgan recommends positioning your offer as a solution to a specific, painful problem—the kind a prospect would complain about over beers with a friend.
“Relevance trumps personalization. Talk to the pain they’re actually feeling, not just where they went to school.”
Brightvision’s content and messaging services help brands cut through the noise with precision storytelling that speaks to real buyer pain.
Multichannel is back—and stronger than ever
Colgan advocates for a mix of channels in outbound strategies: LinkedIn, cold calling, and even in-person events. With email effectiveness declining, these alternatives help sustain engagement and trust.
“Cold calling is on the rise again. So are meetups and events. People want to connect—and compare notes—in real life.”
Clay: a revolution in outbound data and automation
Clay isn’t just a spreadsheet—it’s a live data workspace that pulls in enrichments from dozens of sources. Colgan explains how companies can use it to:
- Enrich CRM records
- Validate and score leads
- Personalize outreach based on real signals
- Automate tedious research tasks
- Recover old contacts who’ve switched jobs
“Clay is like a spreadsheet that talks to the internet. You can build smart automations that clean and enrich your CRM or tailor outreach in seconds.”
Beginners can check out Clay’s template library or Colgan’s own tutorials for quick-start use cases.
What to focus on in 2025: signal stacking and logic trees
Looking ahead, Colgan predicts 2025 will be all about stacking signals—using multiple triggers to identify precise buying moments—and building logic trees that adapt messages to specific combinations of signals.
“Think: if this, then that. If they just hired a VP and are hiring five people, you send message A. If funding just closed, it’s message B.”
By planning messaging early—before building your lead lists—you avoid missed opportunities and make each campaign smarter from the start.
Data trust and revenue assumptions: proceed with caution
Finally, a warning: don’t blindly trust revenue data for private companies. Colgan demonstrates how the same company (Clay) had wildly different revenue estimates across major data platforms—ranging from $0 to $36M.
“If your lead scoring relies on revenue data, you might be excluding your best prospects. Trust only what you can verify.”
Learn more from Mark Colgan
To dive deeper into Mark’s insights on Clay, outbound automation, and data workflows:
- Visit yellowo.co.uk/clay for beginner-friendly Clay tutorials and use cases
- Connect with Mark Colgan on LinkedIn
- Explore his new list-building course via Triple Session
- Or browse his consulting services and outbound strategy resources
For more expert interviews like this, explore the Brightvision podcast archive or contact us to discuss your outbound marketing plans.
