inbound-triage

Inbound Triage

Classify first, reply second, never pitch first. The reply's only job is the smallest next commitment: find out whether this person has an active problem, without LinkedIn-DM cringe.

Workflow

1. Classify the inbound. One label per message:
2. buyer-now: specific problem, plus an authority, budget, or timeline signal, asks for help
3. buyer-maybe: real operator, unclear urgency or budget
4. content-only: reacting to a post, no problem stated
5. vendor: selling to you
6. competitor: adjacent agency, automation seller, prompt consultant
7. recruiter-job: hiring, staffing, candidate, job-seeking
8. unclear: not enough context
9. Pick the strategy for the label.
10. buyer-now: acknowledge the pain in their words, ask one clarifying question. Offer a short call only if their answer implies urgency.
11. buyer-maybe: ask whether the problem is active or exploratory.
12. content-only: reply human and warm. Zero pitch.
13. vendor, competitor, recruiter-job: polite one-line close, or no reply.
14. unclear: one direct context question.
15. Draft the reply. Voice rules: casual, direct, zero corpo-speak, lowercase-comfortable, never more than 3 sentences. If they named a specific problem, acknowledge it before asking anything. Core qualifier, varied per context: "hey, are you here for the content, or is [their problem] one of your main priorities right now?"
16. Output label + reply + one-line reasoning. The human sends it. Never auto-send.

Ask bank

Good asks (pick one, adapt):

• "is this active right now or more of a future thing?"
• "are you trying to get this into production, or just testing what's possible?"
• "is the blocker technical, internal buy-in, or just time?"
• "worth a 10-min swap, or too early?"

Bad asks (never):

• "Can I show you our solution?"
• "Would you like to book a demo?"
• "Let me tell you about <COMPANY>."

Good vs bad

Bad: Someone comments "great post, we struggle with this too" and the reply is four sentences ending in a Calendly link and a company blurb. That is a pitch wearing a reply.

Good: Reply: "appreciate it. is the struggle active right now, or more of a someday thing?" One sentence, qualifies intent, costs them nothing to answer.

Verification

Before delivering, check the draft against three hard limits: 3 sentences or fewer, contains exactly one question, contains no product pitch, demo offer, or link. Expect all three to pass. Any failure: cut the draft down, do not soften the rule.

Completion checklist

• [ ] Label assigned from the fixed list
• [ ] Strategy matches the label
• [ ] Reply is 3 sentences max with one question
• [ ] Specific problem acknowledged when one was stated
• [ ] No pitch, no demo ask, no link on first reply
• [ ] Output includes label and reasoning for the human

Any box unchecked: not done. Fix or say so.

Red flags

Verbatim thoughts that mean you are about to pitch:

• "This is a perfect opening to mention what we do"
• "I'll just include the booking link to save a step"
• "A longer reply shows effort"
• "They're clearly a buyer, skip the qualifying question"

Closure rule: no offer, link, or pitch goes out before the prospect has stated an active problem in their own words. No exceptions for "obvious" buyers.

Footguns

• Treating engagement as intent. Likes and "great post" are audience behavior, not buying signals. Fix: label content-only unless a problem is stated.
• Wasting cycles on vendors and competitors. Long polite exchanges with people selling to you. Fix: one-line close or silence, move on.
• Compound questions. Two questions in one DM reads as an interrogation and gets one vague answer. Fix: one question, wait.