# Our 7-Step Process for Building Cold Campaigns Inside Claude Code

Source: https://coldiq.com/blog/our-7-step-process-for-building-cold-campaigns-inside-claude-code
Published: 2026-06-04 | Updated: 2026-10-15

> Claude Code turns cold campaign building from a multi-hour, multi-tool slog into a single terminal session. Here is the seven-step process we use to go from a raw list to a ready-to-send campaign: list building, ICP scoring, intent signals, decision-maker filtering, waterfall enrichment, batched copy generation, and a post-launch feedback loop that lets campaigns auto-improve.

Creating cold outreach campaigns used to take hours. List building, enrichment, copywriting, and campaign setup each lived in a separate tool, and every handoff between them cost time and introduced errors.

[Claude Code](https://coldiq.com/tools/claude-code) collapses that work into minutes. It handles list building, data enrichment, personalized copywriting, and launching new campaigns without you ever leaving the terminal.

We run outbound for 70+ B2B clients, and this is the exact seven-step process we use to go from a raw company list to a ready-to-send campaign inside a single session.

## 1. List Building

There are several ways to build the source list, and [Claude Code](https://coldiq.com/tools/claude-code) handles all of them from one place.

Lookalike targeting is the first. Using [PredictLeads](https://coldiq.com/tools/predictleads), you find companies that resemble the ones already paying you, then expand outward from accounts that have a proven fit.

You can also pull leads from standard B2B databases. [Apollo.io](https://coldiq.com/tools/apollo), [CompanyEnrich](https://coldiq.com/tools/companyenrich), and Sales Navigator each cover different slices of the market, and [Claude Code](https://coldiq.com/tools/claude-code) processes 50,000+ rows from large CSV files without choking.

Lookalike targeting is the fastest way to clone accounts that already convert, and we built a mini tool that runs the same logic on your customer list.

You can find companies similar to your best customers here, for free:

### *Lookalike Finder Tool*

## 2. Account Scoring and Tiering

A raw list is not a campaign. Before any outreach goes out, every account gets scored against our ICP.

We built custom GTM skills, including a lead-scoring skill, that run our ICP criteria against the full list. [Claude Code](https://coldiq.com/tools/claude-code) reads each account, weighs the criteria the way a senior rep would, and assigns a score, autonomously, across the entire list at once.

From there we segment into three tiers. Tier 1 accounts get manual outreach. Tier 2 accounts go into multi-channel sequences. Tier 3 accounts run through email outreach. The tier decides how much personalization effort each account earns downstream, so the highest-fit accounts get the most attention.

## 3. Intent Signals

Scoring tells you who fits. Signals tell you when to reach out.

APIs such as [PredictLeads](https://coldiq.com/tools/predictleads) and [Trigify.io](https://coldiq.com/tools/trigify) detect hiring activity, press releases, funding announcements, and social engagement. [Claude Code](https://coldiq.com/tools/claude-code) calls the right API for each signal type and layers the results on top of the existing targeting, so a fresh trigger moves an account up the priority list automatically.

Based on these signal APIs, we built a mini tool that surfaces the same buying triggers without writing a line of code.

You can see which companies are showing intent in your space right now, for free:

### *Intent Signals Tool*

## 4. Decision-Maker Filtering

Targeting the right company is only half the job. You still need the right people inside it.

APIs such as [LeadsFactory](https://coldiq.com/tools/leadsfactory) return multiple decision makers per company, filtered by the ICP definition: job title, seniority, and department. [Claude Code](https://coldiq.com/tools/claude-code) pulls the relevant contacts for every account on the list, so a single company can surface a full buying committee rather than one stray name.

We packaged the same capability into a free tool that maps the decision makers at any target account.

You can identify the right contacts at your target companies here, for free:

### *People Finder Tool*

## 5. Data Enrichment and Validation

With the right contacts identified, the next step is finding verified ways to reach them.

[Claude Code](https://coldiq.com/tools/claude-code) runs a waterfall across several providers to find phone and email data, starting with the highest-confidence source and cascading through the rest for the gaps. [Apollo.io](https://coldiq.com/tools/apollo), [FullEnrich](https://coldiq.com/tools/fullenrich), [Prospeo](https://coldiq.com/tools/prospeo), and [CompanyEnrich](https://coldiq.com/tools/companyenrich) each cover contacts the others miss, which pushes the match rate higher than any single provider could on its own.

Before the list reaches a sequencer, [Claude Code](https://coldiq.com/tools/claude-code) cleans the risky addresses. Validation through [BounceBan](https://coldiq.com/tools/bounceban) strips catch-all and high-risk emails so the campaign launches on a clean list and the sending domains stay protected.

## 6. Copy Generation and Deployment

Clean data is ready for copy, and this is where the process stops feeling like data work.

[Claude Code](https://coldiq.com/tools/claude-code) pulls our best-performing campaign copy straight from [lemlist](https://coldiq.com/tools/lemlist) or [Instantly.ai](https://coldiq.com/tools/instantly) through their APIs, then drafts custom copy built on the signals, current initiatives, and target persona behind each segment.

It works in batches of 100 to 200 leads at a time. Smaller batches keep quality control tight, so a weak angle gets caught and corrected before it goes out to thousands of contacts rather than after.

## 7. Feedback and Auto-Improvement

The process does not end at launch. This is the step that separates a one-off campaign from a system.

[Claude Code](https://coldiq.com/tools/claude-code) analyzes campaign metrics after launch, gathers insights on the segments that perform best, and finds lookalikes of your top-converting leads to feed the next batch.

Campaigns improve on their own over time, in the same way a Meta Ads pixel sharpens as it gathers data. Each launch teaches the next one, so the targeting compounds instead of resetting every time you start fresh.

## 8. The Setup That Makes This Work

Going from prompt to ready-to-send campaign in minutes is real, but it sits on top of groundwork you build once.

Three pieces make up that foundation. A claude.md file holds your scoring rules, tool-calling preferences, and built-in workflow logic. Custom outbound skills encode the repeatable actions, like lead-scoring and tiering. API keys connect [Claude Code](https://coldiq.com/tools/claude-code) to the data and sending layers it orchestrates.

The API stack is worth choosing deliberately, by layer. For data, we lean on [Clay](https://coldiq.com/tools/clay), [Apollo.io](https://coldiq.com/tools/apollo), [CompanyEnrich](https://coldiq.com/tools/companyenrich), and [Openmart](https://coldiq.com/tools/openmart). For enrichment, [Prospeo](https://coldiq.com/tools/prospeo), [FullEnrich](https://coldiq.com/tools/fullenrich), [CompanyEnrich](https://coldiq.com/tools/companyenrich), and [LeadsFactory](https://coldiq.com/tools/leadsfactory). For signals, [PredictLeads](https://coldiq.com/tools/predictleads) and [Trigify.io](https://coldiq.com/tools/trigify). For orchestration, [Clay](https://coldiq.com/tools/clay), [Relevance AI](https://coldiq.com/tools/relevance-ai), and [n8n](https://coldiq.com/tools/n8n). For action, [Expandi](https://coldiq.com/tools/expandi), [Instantly.ai](https://coldiq.com/tools/instantly), and [lemlist](https://coldiq.com/tools/lemlist). For validation, [BounceBan](https://coldiq.com/tools/bounceban).

Once that foundation is in place, building a campaign becomes a single prompt. If you want to understand where your current GTM motion stands before wiring this together, see how your approach compares below:

### *GTM Report Tool*

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