AI-Ready GTM
Two AI columns in Sheets: which accounts to contact, and why now
Day one of AI-Ready GTM. Sheets now shows the source behind each AI answer, so you can check before you send.
In partnership with
Happy Monday.
This is the first AI-Ready GTM. I'm Peter Benei, founder of AI-Ready Media Group and a former CMO and COO at US and UK B2B scaleups. GTM means go-to-market: everything from finding a lead to closing the deal. Every issue answers one question: How do I build pipeline with AI? Every weekday you get one cheat code you can start before lunch: the steps, the tools, what it costs and what to expect.
Today's is ABM, which means picking your accounts first and then going after them. Ask an AI model "Is this a good fit for us?" and it will happily say yes to everything. So today's list makes it show the page behind every yes, and gives you a reason to get in touch with each account.
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The cheat code: a target-account list with a reason next to each name
What it is. A list of companies with two AI columns. The first asks if the company fits your rule. The second looks for a reason to contact them now: a new leader, a funding round, a new office. Gemini searches the web and answers once per row.
Why now. On Oct 28 Google said the AI function in Sheets now shows the web sources behind each cell. That matters because you're going to quote that reason in an email, and now, in Sheets on the web, you can open the page it came from right from the cell. It should be in your sheet by now.
The steps
Write your rule. Look at your 10 best customers. Write what they share in one line, using facts you could check on the web: "B2B software, 50 to 500 staff, sells in Europe."
Make the list. Put 100 to 200 companies in a sheet, starting on row 2: name in column A, website in column B. Good places to start: accounts in your CRM nobody touched this quarter, old lost deals, a trade show's sponsor page.
Add the two columns. Paste the formulas below into C2 and D2 and fill them down. Put your rule where it says [YOUR RULE] and your target job where it says [ROLE].
Test 10 rows. Select them and click Generate and Insert. Click a cell, hover over the answer and click Sources. If more than two are wrong, rewrite the question. If they hold up, run the rest. Google's help page says only the first 350 selected cells run at a time, so plan on 175 companies a batch. Google also has usage limits: if Generate stops working, its help page says to wait 24 hours and try again.
Filter. Keep the rows with a YES and a reason. That's this week's target list. Find the right person at each account and put the reason in your first line.
Tools and cost. Sheets with Gemini comes with Workspace Business Standard or Plus, Enterprise Standard or Plus, and the personal Google AI Pro and Ultra plans. If you already pay for one, it costs nothing extra, as long as your admin has Gemini in Sheets switched on. If you don't, you need one of these plans first. Google's prices vary by country, so check yours before you start.
What to expect. A short list with a reason next to every name. Some answers will be wrong or out of date, and the source link is how you catch them. This recipe is mine, built on Google's feature, and I found no published reply rates for it. Try it on one batch and compare with your usual list.
Steal this
Paste into C2 and D2, then fill down. If Sheets shows an error and your sheet uses a European locale, try a semicolon in place of the comma just before A2:B2:
=AI("Does this company match this rule: [YOUR RULE]? Answer YES or NO, then give the fact and the page where you found it. If you find no evidence, answer NO.", A2:B2)=AI("Find one thing that happened at this company in the last 90 days that gives us a reason to get in touch: a new leader, funding, a new office, hiring for [ROLE]. Give the fact, the date and the page. If you find nothing, answer NONE.", A2:B2)
Tool Review → Apollo
Apollo is a sales database with email sequences built in. You search for people by company and job title, then save them to a list. The free plan gives you 900 credits a year, granted monthly, and two sequences. Basic is $49 per seat a month, billed annually, with 30,000 credits a year.
A team that just built a target list could find the right person at each account without buying a separate data tool. The catch: unused credits expire at the end of each billing cycle, so you can't save them up for a big push.
Worth it if you need names and emails for a list of accounts. Skip it if you already pay for a contact database your team trusts.
Tool Hack: turn your YES rows into names
Save the YES rows as a CSV. Keep the company name and website. Apollo wants the domain only, with no www.
Import it to Apollo as accounts.
Go to Companies, then Filters, then More Filters. Click Account CSV Import, pick your file and click Apply Filters.
Tick the companies and click Find People.
Add your job title in the Job Titles filter. Put it in quotation marks for exact matches only.
Apollo's help page doesn't say which plans include this filter, so check yours before you count on it.
That's Monday. Still to come this week: job changes tomorrow, then form fills, deal rooms and one play that breaks LinkedIn's rules. Which 10 accounts would you go after first?
