How GitLab turned intent signals into same-day work for its BDRs

What GitLab did

The starting point

In February 2022, GitLab’s outbound reps chose their own priority accounts and could keep them for as long as they kept reaching out.^1a

That month GitLab split sales development: SDRs took inbound leads, and BDRs, its business development reps, took outbound. Ed Bao, later listed in Sales Dev Operations, rewrote the team’s handbook page and added a Salesforce status, Actively Working, for the accounts each BDR chose to work.^1,2

The handbook left that choice with the rep and their strategic account leader (SAL):

“An account researched and chosen by the BDR and/or SAL- based on alignment to ICP, news insights, company initiative, intent, ABM list etc. This is an account that the BDR will proactively be performing strategic outreach to. There is no limit to how long an account can stay in “Actively working” status as long as outreach is continuing to be made.”

The problem

The handbook never states the problem. Read in order, the edits suggest two: accounts could stay listed indefinitely, and reps had to remember to check intent data.

On June 14, 2023, Ed Bao replaced the “no limit” sentence with a recycle date 10 weeks out.³

After GitLab moved from Demandbase to 6sense in 2023, Panos Rodopoulos, also of Sales Dev Operations, made a 6sense check “mandatory for FY24Q3,” GitLab’s fiscal quarter from August to October 2023, without giving a reason.^2,4,5 A 6QA, 6sense’s qualified account, means a Moderate or Strong profile fit and a Decision or Purchase buying stage at GitLab.⁶

In March 2024 he documented an automation that pushes 6QA accounts into Salesforce, to find “the top accounts we currently have on SFDC that are not being worked by our team.”⁷

The redesign

The BDR has to review every account 6sense flags the same day, and every account gets a recycle date.

Three weeks later, Rodopoulos wrote out the process. Accounts flagged as 6QA, “whether they already exist on our system or not,” become Actively Working, and “team members need to still review and accept or dispute a 6QA account.” A dispute needs a reason, such as an open opportunity or, since January 2025, “Low LAM Dev Count,” meaning small potential value.^10,11,12

On August 19, 2026, Elsje Smart, Regional Director of GitLab’s EMEA BDR team, who had also merged Ed Bao’s 2022 rewrite, cut the review to the same day. Her merge request’s whole description is “KPI update and tidy up.”^9,11

Every Actively Working account also carries a recycle date two months out, set when the status changes.¹¹

A BDR can still pick accounts with an AE, under strategies such as job-change tracking or Event Follow-up, and the same rules apply.^11c

Actively Working also decides who gets the account’s inbound leads and website chats, however it got there.^11,13,14

The result

The handbook sets a target of 75 or 125 new Actively Working accounts per BDR per quarter, for Enterprise and Mid-Market.¹⁵

Bill Staples, GitLab’s CEO, made first orders, companies with no commercial relationship yet, a company priority in 2025, after they had slowed.¹⁶ GitLab reports first-order growth, but credits a dedicated first-order team and product-led growth. “Our dedicated first order organization is building more repeatable sales motions, while our product led investments are widening the top of the funnel.”¹⁷

What it took

Turning intent signals into same-day work took GitLab four and a half years of small, dated handbook edits, mostly by Sales Dev Operations.^2,18

6sense scores intent against a written threshold, Salesforce holds the status, and a lead-routing tool, a website chat tool and a contact-data tool act on it.^6,11,13,14 Since September 2026 an AI research agent called Atlas also writes account research back to Salesforce when the status changes.¹⁸

Each week, managers clear the queue of waiting accounts, review overdue recycle dates and recheck weak 6QAs.¹¹

Each handbook edit is a public merge request, with the date, the author and the lines changed.¹⁸

What to borrow

1. Have the signal change a field on the account. At GitLab, lead routing and website chat read Actively Working as well as the BDR, so one 6sense flag changes who gets the account’s inbound too.
2. Ask a person to confirm it the same day, with a reason when they decline. GitLab’s dispute reasons show where the signal misses, such as an account already in an open deal.
3. Set the end date on the day the field changes. By that date the account has moved forward, been given more time for a stated reason, or been recycled.

How to build a version of this in Unify

Build it in Unify

Everything above is GitLab’s own system. This section is our suggestion for a version in Unify.

GitLab joined 6sense intent, Salesforce fields, a contact-data tool and routing rules itself. Unify combines your CRM, warehouse and product usage data with enrichment from 40+ sources, with warehouse data synced in through a sync tool or the API.

A first version needs one Audience and one Play. Build the Audience from accounts that fit your profile and show a Signal. When an account enters it, the Play assigns an owner, finds people across your personas and starts a Sequence whose first step is an Action item due the same day, to accept or dispute the account with a reason. Emails wait for the rep’s approval, and the recycle date stays in your CRM.

does this

Our version in

Fit plus buying stage6sense profile fit and stage

✓

Audience and SignalsAccounts that fit your profile, plus a Signal such as a 6sense buying stage, website visits or a new hire. 6sense is one of the 40+ included sources

6sense flag (6QA)Sets the status automatically

✓

Play triggerThe Play runs when an account enters the Audience

Accept or disputeSame day, with a reason

✓

An Action item due the same dayThe Sequence’s first step asks the owner to accept or dispute, with a reason, before anything sends. AI Research is on the task

Actively WorkingA status with a named owner

✓

Owner assigned by the PlaySynced both ways with Salesforce or HubSpot

ResearchBefore outreach

✓

AI ResearchGenerated on every task, from up to 8 Observations you choose

5 to 10 contacts, 2+ personasRequired for the status

✓

Prospect action1 to 10 people per company across up to five personas, in order

High Touch sequenceGitLab’s multi-channel sequence: email, phone and LinkedIn

✓

SequencesManual emails, calls and action items the rep approves

Routing reads the statusLeads, chat and priority

✓

Owner synced to your CRMYour existing routing reads the owner from Salesforce or HubSpot

Recycle at two monthsExtend, hand off or let go

✓

Your CRM, with the Sequence endThe recycle date lives in your CRM; Unify ends the Sequence