The Free-Work Opener
The Free-Work Opener is a four-step outbound and ABM play for email and LinkedIn, from “Pick accounts worth real effort” to “Lead with the work”. It uses Explorium, TheirStack, Crunchbase, Clay, Apollo and seven more tools.
Ashwanth S, Founder- Motion
- Outbound, ABM
- Channel
- Email, LinkedIn
- Steps
- 4
- Tools
- 12
The workflow
The Free-Work Opener
Target accounts with a live signalTop 50 a monthExplorium
TheirStack
CrunchbaseA short list of companies that look like their best customers, with the reason each fits.
Clay
ApolloTheir own outbound email or landing page, rewritten line by line.
ClaudeWhich of their target accounts changed this month, and how.
Explorium
ApifyWrong facts about their business end the conversation.
Apollo
Findymail
BounceBanTwo lines and a question. The asset is sent on reply, not attached.
SmartleadA connection note that names the asset, nothing else.
HeyReach
ExploriumTheirStackCrunchbaseClayApolloClaudeApifyFindymailBounceBanSmartleadHeyReachHubSpot
The diagram as text
- 1
Pick accounts worth real effort
Target accounts with a live signal (top 50 a month): Tool: Explorium.
Why this account, why now: New sales leader, Hiring SDRs, Funding round and New market. Signals: Explorium, TheirStack and Crunchbase.
- 2
Build something they can use
Their next 50 accounts: A short list of companies that look like their best customers, with the reason each fits. Build: Clay and Apollo.
A teardown: Their own outbound email or landing page, rewritten line by line. Draft: Claude.
A signal report: Which of their target accounts changed this month, and how. Pull: Explorium and Apify.
Gate 1: A human checks every asset. Wrong facts about their business end the conversation. Rejected: Not specific enough, rebuild or drop the account.
- 3
Find and verify the buyer
The person who owns the problem: Head of Sales, VP Growth and Founder. Find: Apollo. Email: Findymail. Verify: BounceBan.
- 4
Lead with the work, not a pitch
“Made you a list of 50 accounts that look like your best customers. Want it?”
Email (day 0): Two lines and a question. The asset is sent on reply, not attached. Send: Smartlead.
LinkedIn (day 3): A connection note that names the asset, nothing else. Send: HeyReach.
Labeled connection: 3-day delay.
Outcome: Replies that start with "yes, send it". Tools: HubSpot.
The stack: Explorium, TheirStack, Crunchbase, Clay, Apollo, Claude, Apify, Findymail, BounceBan, Smartlead, HeyReach and HubSpot.
Open the diagram full size (1180 px wide)
The play in four steps
- 01
Step 1: Pick accounts worth real effort
This play costs real work per account, so it only pays on accounts that can become large deals.
- Choose up to 50 accounts a month that fit the ICP and show a live signal: a new sales leader, SDR hiring, a funding round.
- Write one line per account on why now.
- Skip accounts without a signal. Without a reason to talk now, the free work is just a nice gesture.
- 02
Step 2: Build something they can use today
An offer to help is easy to ignore. Finished work is hard to ignore.
- Pick one asset per account:
- Their next 50 target accounts, with the reason each fits
- A line-by-line rewrite of their own outbound email or landing page
- A short report on what changed at their target accounts this month
- Build lists in Clay with Apollo, drafts with Claude, signal pulls with Explorium or Apify.
- A person checks every asset before it is offered. One wrong fact about their business ends the thread.
- Pick one asset per account:
- 03
Step 3: Find and verify the buyer
The asset has to land with the person who owns the problem it solves.
- Find the head of sales, growth lead or founder with Apollo.
- Get a verified email from Findymail and re-check it with BounceBan on send day.
- Confirm they are still in the seat on LinkedIn before sending.
- 04
Step 4: Lead with the work
Offering the asset, rather than attaching it, turns the first reply into a yes.
- Day 0: a two-line email through Smartlead that names the asset and asks if they want it.
- Day 3: a LinkedIn connection note through HeyReach that names the same asset.
- Send the asset only on reply, then ask one question about how they use it.
- Track replies per asset type and keep making the type that gets answered.
Tools used
The twelve tools this play names. Each links to the other plays that use it.
Related plays
Signal Activation
Warmly
Webflow
Amplitude
Mixpanel
Luma
Trigify
Sales NavigatorTheirStackExplorium
PerplexitySignal tableClean firstDomains, LinkedIn URLs and titles are normalized before anything else, then duplicates are removed.
Clay
BetterContactFindymail
LinkedInBounceBanAccount matched by domain, contact by email, current owner and open deals noted.
HubSpot
SalesforceClaude checks the company and the person behind each signal against the ICP.
Fit, tech stack and signal strength set Tier 1, 2 or 3.
Each signal written as its own CRM event, many per accountHubSpot or Salesforce
Same-day human playNowA rep works the account today with a short custom pitch.
SlackHubSpot
Nooks
GammaSequencesAutoEmail plus a LinkedIn connection and DM, opening on the signal topic.
SmartleadHeyReach
RetargetingAutoThe same accounts see you in their feed and in search while the sequence runs.
LinkedIn Ads
Google AdsWarmlyWebflowAmplitudeMixpanelLumaTrigifySales NavigatorTheirStackExploriumPerplexityClayBetterContactFindymailLinkedInBounceBanClaudeHubSpotSalesforcen8nSlackNooksGammaSmartleadHeyReachLinkedIn AdsGoogle AdsSignal Activation
11 steps · Website, LinkedIn, Email, CRM, Call, Ads
+20 moreTarget-Account Exec Posts
Leaders at your top accountsThe rosterEvery column travels with each post. A row with no profile URL is skipped and counted.
Morning post sweepLast 24 hoursRuns across the whole roster every morning, plus a one-off 7-day backfill at go-live.
ApifyTrigifyClayThe post itself must carry the theme. Congrats, hiring and award posts are dropped. Fails closed and retries next run.
Post card to the account ownerLeader, account, type, themeEngage firstDay 0The owner comments on the post the same day, written by a human.
LinkedInReach outDay 2Picks up the point they made in the post.
HeyReachSmartleadHubSpotApifyTrigifyClayClaudeSlackLinkedInHeyReachSmartleadTarget-Account Exec Posts
6 steps · LinkedIn, Email, CRM
+3 morePain-Qualified Segments from Calls
Sales callsBuyer sideWhat was true for the buyer when they chose to talk.
FathomClosed won and lostBacktest setThe customers every segment is checked against.
HubSpotOne schema per callEvery situation is counted across calls. The buyers' exact phrases go into a language bank.
ClaudeFree counts, with the query and the date recorded.
Open the evidence. Two of five wrong means the test is wrong.
Customers in the 90 days before they bought, against a TAM sample.
Discover on one filter, score on the rest. Unknown never passes. Emails re-verified on every refresh.
Explorium
ExaClayBounceBanNames the situation, says where you saw it, asks if the read is right.
SmartleadHeyReachFathomHubSpotClaudeExploriumExaClayBounceBanSmartleadHeyReachPain-Qualified Segments from Calls
6 steps · Email, LinkedIn
+3 more