Engineering Intent: How Coder Uses AI Signals to Outpace Benchmarks by 600%

The Challenge: From "Black Box" Outsourcing to AI Intelligence

For Series B software provider Coder, the move to an in-house SDR team was driven by a need for better data and faster execution. Their previous outsourced model lacked the granular visibility required to navigate a highly technical market.

"We needed visibility into the signals that actually move the needle," explains Crista, SDR Leader at Coder. "But we didn't want our new reps spending all day scrounging for data. We needed a system that served them the right insights so they could just focus on the conversation."

The Strategy: The Signal-Led Sales Motion

Coder built their SDR engine on Nooks AI Signals and the Accounts Hub, moving away from "blanket" outbound toward a model of surgical precision.

1. AI Account Research: No More "Click-Thru" Fatigue

Before Nooks, research was a fragmented process involving multiple tabs and manual searches. Now, the research layer is built directly into the execution layer.

"I love the Account Hub because you have that one spot where you see exactly what's going on. Are there new hires? Do they have specific tech innovations? Nooks provides the links to the sources so the SDRs can verify research instantly without leaving the platform." — Haley Vechell, Global Sales Enablement Director

2. Customizing for Technical Intent

Because Coder sells to technical personas, "standard" intent data isn't enough. They use Nooks to track specific technological shifts that signal a perfect use case for their platform.

• Tech-Stack Signals: Coder tracks initiatives in AI and Cloud specifically. "Being able to have that at both the account and prospecting layer has helped us have better cold calls and more confident talk tracks," says Crista.
• Chaining Signals: Reps can "chain" insights together—for example, a "Closed-Lost" opportunity in Salesforce paired with a new "Job Change" signal. "You can chain those together to get a detailed talk track without much manual research because you can trust the credibility of the signals," explains Inscoe.

3. Turning Signals into "Authentic" AI Outreach

Coder uses Nooks to solve the "generic AI" problem. Instead of a "black box" email generator, Nooks allows reps to see the data points driving the draft.

"With Nooks, you can just hover over the email and see the data there. It's not like ChatGPT where you don't know where it's pulling from. It takes the signals in an account and provides options based on what is actually true. Our reps make small edits, and the AI learns those preferences over time." — Crista

The Results: 600% Increase in Meeting Velocity

By shifting the burden of research from the rep to the AI, Coder achieved a level of productivity that previously took an entire quarter to reach.

High-Velocity "Old Gold" Re-engagement

One of Coder's favorite signal-based tactics is going after "Old Gold"—meetings that were ghosted or Closed-Lost opportunities from months ago. "Nooks shows those signals to the reps based on what's 'hot' in the account," Crista says. This prioritization led to as many meetings in two weeks as the outsourced team produced in three months.

Automated Onboarding with AI Bots

By using the Nooks coaching suite, Coder reps practiced against AI bots that mirrored the technical objections they would face in the field. This took their ramp time down to just six days. "It’s about giving them that safe space to practice with realistic prospect personas," says Haley.

The Bottom Line

"Signal-based prospecting is a game-changer," concludes Crista. "It has allowed our SDRs to find ideal prospects without the guesswork. It took out the manual work of building lists and crafting emails one-by-one, and allowed us to scale our volume safely and intelligently."

"We wanted to remove the need to go to several places for account research. Nooks empowers our teams to have those administrative tasks run in the background so they can focus on being present in the calls and building real human connections."

— Haley Vechell, Global Sales Enablement Director, Coder