account-tiering
Use this skill when you need to decide which accounts get the most effort: "tier my account list", "which accounts should get 1:1 research", "prioritise my territory", "score these companies". Scores every account on ICP fit and timing, assigns Tier 1, 2 or 3 with a clear effort level for each tier, and explains the score so reps trust it. Produces a tiered account list and the operating rules for how much research, personalization and channel effort each tier gets.Use this when there are more accounts than time. It produces tiers that tell every rep how much effort each account deserves, and a score breakdown that makes the tier defensible.
Inputs
- The account list with whatever firmographics exist.
- The ICP with must-haves, nice-to-haves and disqualifiers.
- Signals and history: intent, website visits, past opportunities, engagement, triggers.
The play
1. Score fit and timing separately
Fit says whether the account could ever buy; timing says whether it might buy now. Keep them as two numbers on a 0-100 scale. Combining them too early hides great-fit accounts that are simply not ready, and they belong in nurture, not the bin.
Read references/tiering-rubric.md for the full rubric, the weights and the tie-break rules.
2. Place each account on the grid
| Timing high (60+) | Timing low | |
|---|---|---|
| Fit high (70+) | Tier 1 | Tier 2 |
| Fit medium (50-69) | Tier 2 | Tier 3 |
| Fit low (under 50) | Tier 3 or out | Out |
3. Cap Tier 1
Tier 1 is limited by research capacity: roughly 20 to 50 accounts per rep at a time. If the scoring puts 400 accounts in Tier 1, raise the thresholds instead of diluting the effort.
4. Attach effort rules
| Tier | Research | Personalization | Channels | Contacts per account |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20-30 min account + person research | 1:1 opener per person | Email, LinkedIn, phone, video | 3-5 |
| 2 | 5 min trigger check | Segment message plus a personal line | Email and LinkedIn | 2-3 |
| 3 | None | Segment message | Email or LinkedIn | 1-2 |
5. Re-tier on a schedule
Timing changes weekly. Re-score monthly, and immediately when a strong signal fires (new leader, funding, high-intent page visit).
Output format
account | fit score | timing score | tier | top 3 score drivers | next action
Plus a summary: counts per tier, Tier 1 capacity check, and accounts that moved tiers since the last run.
What good looks like
- A rep reading the score drivers agrees with the tier more than 8 times out of 10. If they do not, the weights are wrong.
- Tier 1 fits the team's research capacity.
- Great-fit, bad-timing accounts are kept warm, not discarded.
- The common mistake is one blended score where a huge logo with no need outranks a perfect-fit account that just hired for the exact problem.
Rules
- MUST show the score drivers for every account.
- MUST keep fit and timing as separate scores.
- NEVER let Tier 1 exceed research capacity.
- NEVER tier an account with a disqualifier above "out".
Example prompts
- "Tier these 600 accounts for my territory. I can research about 40 deeply."
- "Score our target list on fit and timing and show me why each is Tier 1."
- "Re-tier my accounts with this month's intent data."