skills/contact-research/references/contact-signals-guide.md

# Contact Signals — Interpretation Guide

## Contact Signal Types

### Activity Signals

| Signal | Interpretation |
|--------|---------------|
| Email open / reply | Actively aware of your org; replied = higher intent |
| Meeting attended | Relationship established; note meeting type (demo, QBR, etc.) |
| Community post or reply | Has a question, problem, or idea — high engagement signal |
| Support ticket opened | Experiencing friction — empathy opportunity |
| Documentation page visited | Researching a specific area — note which pages |
| Product login | Active user — check frequency and recency |
| Event registered/attended | Strong engagement and intent signal |

### Relationship Signals

| Signal | Interpretation |
|--------|---------------|
| No activity in 30+ days | Relationship cooling — gentle check-in appropriate |
| No activity in 90+ days | Dormant — may need re-engagement from a different angle |
| Consistent activity across multiple channels | Champion or highly engaged user — high-value contact |
| Activity spike after dormancy | Something changed — investigate why |

### Job / Professional Signals

| Signal | Interpretation |
|--------|---------------|
| Recent job change (new company) | Warm intro opportunity at new company; relationship may shift at old one |
| Promotion at same company | Growing influence — relationship becomes more valuable |
| Title change to decision-maker role | Upgrade the relationship strategy |
| Company expansion (new hires in their team) | Budget may be available; expansion opportunity |

## Spark Persona Classification

- *Champion* — daily user, advocates internally
- *Economic Buyer* — holds budget authority, may not use product directly
- *Technical Evaluator* — evaluates fit and integration, influences technical decisions
- *End User* — primary product user, influences renewal through NPS/feedback
- *Gatekeeper* — controls access, must be navigated carefully

## Conversation Starters

A strong starter references something specific, shows homework, opens a door without forcing one, and connects to value.

- "I saw your question in the community about [topic] — we just released a feature that addresses exactly that. Would it be useful to walk through it?"
- "Your team's usage of [feature] jumped last month — curious if you're running into [common blocker] at that stage."