1. Define a Goal and Assign Ownership (Who Acts?)

Clearly define who is responsible for taking action based on the type of signal:

SDR: Early-stage signals, new pipeline generation, light discovery outreach.
AE: Later-stage signals, expansion opportunities, exec engagements, bigger deal acceleration.
CSM/AM (if applicable): Customer usage signals, renewal risk, upsell expansions.

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Resource:Goals in Pocus

✅ Pro Tip: Make ownership explicit in your CRM to avoid dropped signals.

2. Setting Up Your Signals To Map To Your Goals

a) Choose High-Impact Signal Criteria

Relevance to Business Goal: Does this signal align with a clear goal you’ve set like pipeline creation, expansion, conversion?
Actionability: Can a rep take immediate, useful action on this signal?
Timing Sensitivity: Is the signal fresh enough to warrant fast follow-up?
Volume and Focus: Will this signal occur often enough to matter but not so much it overwhelms reps?

✅ Pro Tip: Start with 4–7 core signals. Avoid signal overload at launch.

Examples of Good Criteria:

Goal	Signal	Why
New Pipeline	New executive hire at prospect	Creates urgency to connect early
Expansion	Usage spike of a product	User buy-in hints at land-and-expand
Conversion	Trial user adds 5+ teammates	Indicates viral adoption worth sales follow-up

3. Associating Messaging Sequences, Actions, and Ownership

a) Define a Default Action Playbook Per Signal

Outbound Message Templates: Tailored emails, LinkedIn messages
Internal Actions: Assign tasks, update contact or account record
Multi-Touch Plan: Plan at least 2–3 touchpoints per signal

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Building Playbooks in Pocus

b) Set Standards and SLA Expectations

To make signal actioning scalable and predictable, set clear standards:

Element	Standard	Example
Action SLA	How fast should the owner act once the signal appears?	"SDR must send first outreach within 24 hours of signal trigger"
Escalation Path	If action isn't taken, what happens?	"If no action in 48 hours, auto-remind; 72 hours escalates to manager"

4. Playbook Launch Rep Communication

a) Create messaging for reps announcing the launch of the playbook, including:

What the playbook is (ideally record a short video of the workflow)
What goal it helps achieve
What rep actions are associated with the playbook
Which roles are implicated by the playbook
Expected SLAs
Where to go if they have questions or feedback on the playbook

5. Post-Launch: Measurement and Iteration

a) Monitor Signal Performance Regularly

Track:
- Volume of signals triggered
- Action rates (e.g.# marked dones, # enrollment invocations)
- Conversions to goal
- any other leading indicator outcome rates (e.g., meetings booked, opps created)

✅ Pro Tip: Set up a review at week 2 after launching a playbook, then monthly reviews of signal effectiveness thereafter.

6. Evaluating Whether to Edit, Replace, or Retire Signals

Analyze playbook performance, scoring them as HIGH or LOW against each of the 3 metrics below and then group playbooks in a matrix, using the below framework.

Use the recommended actions based on which group a playbook resides.

Key Metrics to review:

Signal Quality
- Metric: Surfaced → Converted
Rep Engagement
- Metric: Metric: Surfaced → Marked Done
Revenue Impact
- Metric: Metric: pipeline created or closed won

PLAYBOOK REVENUE	SIGNAL QUALITY	PLAYBOOK ENGAGEMENT	NARRATIVE & RECOMMENDATION
High	High	High	🚀 This campaign is performing exceptionally well. Scale it up and consider using it as a model for others.
High	High	Low	🎯 Strong conversion and revenue but low engagement—must make the reps engage! This is free money left on table!!
High	Low	High	🧪 Good engagement, but conversions are low—raise the bar for playbook qualifying criteria
High	Low	Low	🔍 Unlikely to occur…High volume but underperforming—probably too noisy. Revamp
Low	High	High	💎 Niche winner—consider increasing volume by widening criteria. Test more playbooks like this.
Low	High	Low	✏️ Strong conversion potential, but poor engagement—revisit the goal to see if it’s a fit
Low	Low	High	🧭 Reps spending their time on low fit Plays. Speak to reps to see what they like about the playbook before likely deprioritizing/deprecating
Low	Low	Low	❌ Underperforming across the board—stop or significantly rework this playbook.

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Note: Give a playbook the adequate amount of time to perform relative ot the goal it’s aligned with. If a goal is a closed won deal and sales cycles are 100 days+ then give it more than 100 days as a minimum to see impact of the playbook

Playbook Performance Reporting and Usage Reporting can be useful tools in reviewing the effectiveness of your playbooks.

📋 Sample Playbook Management Checklist

Before Launch

Clear goal tied to each playbooks
Specific action/messaging sequence assigned
Ownership of action on the playbooks
Success metrics defined
Launch message & enablement created for team about playbook

After Launch

Measure performance monthly
Iterate messaging based on outcomes
Audit and retire low-performing playbooks