PK d*]1%[Content_Types].xml PK d*]_rels/PK d*]Dq** _rels/.rels PK d*]word/PK d*]]Q^CCword/document.xml GTM Activation PlaybookDIVYAKAUSHIK.INGet your first customers before the runway runs out.For bootstrapped founders who are founder-selling — no sales team, no ad budget, revenue is oxygen.FREE VERSION: STARTING POSITION · ICP · CHANNEL LOGIC · 30-DAY ACTIVATION · 4-WEEK TRACKERWork through in sequence: Starting Position → ICP → Channel → Activation. Do not begin outreach before the first two sections are complete. Founders who skip straight to activation get conversations with the wrong people.Click each shaded input box and type. Replace the placeholder text.01STARTING POSITIONEstablish what you have before day one of outreach.1. Who is suffering right now, and what specifically are they suffering from?Name the person, name the daily frustration — not the category. The more uncomfortable it sounds, the closer you are to the real answer. 2. What is your proof that it works?One customer, one result, one data point. If zero proof: what observation makes you confident? 3. What does “closed” look like exactly?Cash received? Signed contract? First delivery made? Be specific — this is your north star metric. 4. Who is your ideal first customer — not a segment, but a person?Role, company size, and the trigger event that makes them need this now — not eventually. 02ICP DEFINITIONSituational and behavioural — not demographic. If it also describes a competitor’s customer, it is not sharp enough.1. Think of your best existing customer. What happened in the 30 days before they first contacted you?If you have customers: name the specific thing that changed in their world before they reached out. If pre-customer: Milestone · Crisis · Change. Name the specific version, not the category. 2. Who can say yes without four approvals?Name the role and the company size where that decision lives. 3. Where do they spend time and what do they trust?WhatsApp groups, specific LinkedIn voices, peer referrals, events — where does your ICP hear about new solutions? Your answer to Q3 is your channel signal. If they trust peer referrals → warm introductions is your primary channel. If they trust LinkedIn voices → cold targeted. If they are active in communities → channel 04. The breakdown below maps directly to what you just wrote.03CHANNEL BREAKDOWNIn order of deployment. Read-only — the sequence is not optional.01 WARM NETWORK Weeks 1–2How: Personal messages to people who already know you. Ask for a conversation, not a sale. Reference shared history.Works because: Trust already exists. Response rate 30–50%. Fastest path to a real conversation.Fits this case: Start here — no exceptions. Weeks 1 and 2 entirely.02 WARM INTROS Weeks 2–4How: From every conversation, ask for one specific introduction. Name the type of person — not a broad ask.Works because: Borrowed trust. You arrive with implicit endorsement. Response rate 20–35%.Fits this case: Overlaps warm network from week 2. By week 4 this should drive most new conversations.03 COLD TARGETED Weeks 3–6How: LinkedIn or WhatsApp (India). 20–30 per batch. Each message references something specific to that person. Generic: “We help operations teams.” Specific: “I noticed you recently expanded to a second location — how are you managing visibility across sites?”Works because: Scalable once message is proven by warm channels. 10–20% response rate with a sharp message; under 5% with a generic one.Fits this case: Do not start before week 3. Warm channels validate the message first. Cold amplifies what already works.04 EVENTS & COMMUNITY Weeks 2+ ongoingHow: Industry WhatsApp groups, founder meetups, LinkedIn communities. Contribute before you ask.Works because: Builds referral relationships over 30–60 days. Turns into inbound pipeline over time.Fits this case: Run alongside other channels from week 2. Do not expect revenue from this in the first 30 days.0430-DAY ACTIVATION SEQUENCEWhat you do, week by week.WEEK 1TARGET20 outreach4 replies2 conversationsMap your network. Build a list of 30–40 contacts — former colleagues, classmates, early clients, anyone who knows your ICP.Send 15–20 personalised messages. Not bulk. Reference shared history. Ask for a conversation, not a sale.Follow up once by day 5. One line. Not a pitch. “Still worth a conversation?”Goal: 3–5 replies that open a real conversation.WEEK 2TARGET4 conversations1 intro per callRun discovery calls. Diagnose before pitching. Three questions that work better than any pitch: What are you doing today? What is it costing? Why has it not been fixed yet?Do not pitch until you have heard the problem in their words. If you are not sure what to say next or how to handle a deflection — that is the Conversation Guide.Ask for one introduction per conversation. Name the type of person: “Do you know anyone who runs ops at a company like X?”Goal: 2–3 conversations completed. 2–3 introductions requested.WEEK 3TARGET20 cold contacts3 replies1 conversationBuild your cold list. 20–30 well-researched LinkedIn or WhatsApp contacts. Research each person before writing.Each message references something specific. Their role, a recent post, a company event — not a generic pitch.Response rate below 10%: Message is wrong. Do not send 200 more of the same. Rewrite the trigger line first.Goal: 3–5 replies from cold batch. 1 new conversation.WEEK 4TARGET2 proposals out1 in negotiationSend proposals to qualified conversations. One page — not a deck. Clear problem, clear offer, clear price.Follow up every 3 days until you get a yes or a clear no. “Maybe” is not a status.No proposals by end of week 4? Wrong ICP or wrong message. Return to Section 02 before sending more outreach.Goal: 2 proposals out. 1 conversation about price or terms.054-WEEK PROGRESS TRACKEREnter actuals each Friday. Grey cells are pre-filled targets (locked). Cream cells are yours to fill each Friday.WEEKOUTREACH TARGETOUTREACH ACTUALCONVERSATIONS ACTUALPROPOSALS ACTUALWHAT STOPPED MEWK 120 WK 210 + f/up WK 320 cold WK 4Follow-up LEADING INDICATORSWhat tells you the playbook is working before revenue arrives. If response rate drops below 10% or conversations stall, change the thing named here — not the channel.Response rate on outreachBelow 10%: trigger line or channel wrong. Test a different opening on next 10 contacts before sending more.Conversation rate from responsesBelow 30%: your ask is too large. Try: “I have one question about how you handle X.”Proposal rate from conversationsBelow 25%: wrong ICP or wrong pain. Return to Section 02 before more outreach.Conversation → proposal timeMore than 3 weeks: urgency not established. Add a specific reason to decide now.WHERE THE PLAYBOOK ENDS, THE WORK BEGINSMost GTM advice is directional. It does not tell you what to do on Monday morning.It tells you what channels to use, what segment to target. What it does not give you is the week-one answer — what the founder does with no sales team, no budget, and no time. That is what I build.Divya Kaushik · www.divyakaushik.inWhat the full engagement addsFour things this free version deliberately leaves out.01 THE MESSAGEThe difference between 4% response rate and 38% is almost always the opening line. This playbook gives you the structure to find your ICP and trigger event. The message is the words — built for your specific situation, not a template.02 CONVERSATION GUIDEMost founders improvise the first discovery call. By the time they realise the conversation went wrong, the prospect has already decided. This gives you three questions, how to handle deflections, and how to close to a clear next step.03 60-DAY ACTIVATIONMonth one proves the message. Month two scales what worked and fixes what did not — built from your actual pipeline data, not a generic calendar.04 ADJUSTMENT LOGICThe leading indicators tell you something is wrong. This tells you exactly what to change — and why each specific failure pattern points to that specific fix.If you are heading into week 2 with discovery calls scheduled but no clear agenda for them — reach out before those meetings, not after.What this looks like in practiceSituation: B2B SaaS for operations tracking. 2 paying clients. Needs 8 more in 90 days to reach cash-flow positive.ICP DEFINEDOperations heads at 15–80 person manufacturing and logistics companies using Zoho or Excel, struggling with cross-department visibility. Company under ₹50Cr. Decision-maker can say yes without procurement.WEEK 1 ACTIONListed 35 contacts. Sent 18 personalised messages referencing “Excel chaos between departments” — not the product. Message referenced a specific pain moment, not a category pitch.WEEK 4 POSITION6 conversations completed. 2 proposals sent. 1 in negotiation on terms. First close at week 6. Warm outreach response rate: 38%. Cold not started until week 3 — message already proven.None of this worked because of the channel. It worked because the message referenced a specific moment the ICP recognises — not a category pitch they have heard 40 times.If your week 2 calls are scheduled and you do not know what to say in them —www.divyakaushik.in · divyakaushik1@outlook.comDIVYA KAUSHIK · DATA-GROUNDED STRATEGY · FOUNDER-LED BUSINESSES · INDIAPK d*]sxword/styles.xml PK d*]jword/settings.xml PK d*] word/_rels/PK d*]ռword/_rels/document.xml.rels PK d*]1%[Content_Types].xmlPK d*]_rels/PK d*]Dq** _rels/.relsPK d*]Xword/PK d*]]Q^CC{word/document.xmlPK d*]sxHword/styles.xmlPK d*]jJword/settings.xmlPK d*] Kword/_rels/PK d*]ռKword/_rels/document.xml.relsPK M