How Cello Built Predictable Pipeline With 30 Researched Messages Per Day
Cello is a Product-Led Growth (PLG) SaaS platform that helps companies turn their users into acquisition channels. By enabling referral loops, activation triggers, and in-product virality, Cello helps B2B SaaS teams scale user-led growth without engineering overhead.
Cello had product-market fit. Stefan, a 2x founder and former CRO at Shore, knew how to close deals. The problem?
He was the bottleneck. Every qualified opportunity required Stefan personally.
The team tried the usual playbook:
- Generic lists built by offshore contractors
- Mass email blasts that got 2% reply rates
- By the time lists were ready, data was outdated
- No way to catch prospects at the right moment
In B2B SaaS, timing is everything. A new CMO starts at a PLG company and evaluates their growth stack in weeks 2-4. Miss that window, and you're fighting uphill.
Stefan couldn't hire an SDR—nobody could write at his level or understand PLG nuance. He needed consistent outbound without his personal time.
Stefan brought in AFFLUENT. The brief: Build a personalized outreach system that reaches CMOs at Product-Led Growth SaaS companies with researched, trigger-based messages
AFFLUENT built Cello a complete Personalized Outreach System:
1. ICP Mapping & Market Research
We identified 2,000+ PLG SaaS companies globally and scored them for:
- Free trial or freemium model visible on website
- CMO, VP Marketing, or Head of Growth in seat
- Company size (50-500 employees)
- Recent funding or growth signals
2. Trigger Identification
For each target company, we tracked:
- New CMO/VP Marketing appointments (0-30 days in role)
- Job postings for growth or marketing roles
- Product launches or major website changes
- Funding announcements
3. Trained Specialist Placement
AFFLUENT placed a pre-trained specialist who:
- Researches each prospect for 10-15 minutes before writing
- Monitors triggers daily (new appointments, job changes, funding)
- Writes 30 personalized messages per day in Stefan's voice
- Addresses specific PLG challenges visible on their website
Example message:
"Hi [Name], congrats on joining [Company] as CMO. I see you're running a freemium model with a 'Start Free Trial' CTA—classic PLG motion.
Quick question: What's your current activation rate from free → paid? Most PLG teams we work with sit around 2-4%.
We helped [Similar Company] hit 8% by adding a referral loop at the activation moment. Worth a 15-minute call to show you how?"
4. Message Framework
Every outreach followed AFFLUENT's 4-touch system:
- Email 1 (Day 0):** Congrats on new role + references their specific PLG motion
- LinkedIn Touch (Day 2):** Connection request mentioning their referral program
- Email 2 (Day 3):** Case study from similar PLG company (Miro, Typeform, etc.)
- Email 3 (Day 7):** Direct demo booking with specific value prop
5. Daily Reporting & System Ownership
After 2 weeks, Cello's team could:
- Review every message before it's sent
- Modify messaging based on market feedback
- Add new triggers or ICP signals
- Scale volume when ready
The specialist sends daily Slack reports: every message sent, every reply received, every meeting booked.
System Performance (First 90 Days)
- 12-15 qualified meetings per month with CMOs at PLG companies
- 15% reply rate (vs 2% with previous generic outreach)
- 8 weeks from specialist placement to consistent meeting flow
- Zero prospecting time required from Stefan or his team
Revenue Impact
Cello started closing enterprise logos: Miro, Typeform, Pleo, Home2Go, Join, TLDV.
Before:
- Founder-led sales only
- Generic mass campaigns (2% reply rate)
- Manual list building taking months
- Reactive, inconsistent prospecting
After:
- Specialist sends 30 researched messages daily
- 15% reply rate with decision-makers
- Real-time trigger-based targeting
- Predictable, systematic outreach
Stefan and his team now have predictable pipeline without doing the outreach themselves. The specialist handles research and messaging. Stefan just takes the meetings.
