Persona-level attributes of contact for sender company are the fields the company that sends a message stores about one contact in order to classify that person and decide what to say. They split into four kinds: facts copied from a source (employer, verbatim title, region), labels mapped from those facts (job function, job level, persona name), scores computed from the sender's own history (importance, engagement) and traits someone guessed (age, gender, personality). A sender should store the first kind with a source and a date, treat the second as checkable, use the third only to order work and leave the fourth out of messages.
Persona-Level Attributes of Contact for Sender Company: The Short Answer
- Store fewer attributes, each with a source and a date. An attribute without a recorded origin cannot be checked, and a message cannot cite it.
- Four kinds of attribute, four rules. Recorded fields can be cited. Mapped fields are tested against Recorded ones. Modelled fields order the queue. Guessed fields do not enter a message.
- A title is not a persona. Outreach's own persona guide notes that a VP of Sales at a software company may not play the same role as a VP of Sales at a manufacturer. The same string needs a function, a level and the account around it.
- Use the Use Gate before adding a field. Three questions decide whether an attribute earns a place on the card.
How vendors describe contact attributes
In this guide, "sender company" means the company sending outreach to a contact, not the Sender email marketing product. Sender's help pages are cited below only as one example of how a platform documents contact attributes.
| Source | Attributes it names | What it says about where values come from | What it says about checking them |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6sense, Persona Importance Model (Aug 14, 2025) | Persona as "a function of job function and seniority level"; importance shown as weak, moderate or strong | Importance compares the sender's outreach with "previous similar efforts that ended in a sale" | Not stated on the cited page |
| Outreach, How to Create a Persona (Sep 11, 2026) | Industry, vertical, title and geography; persona names such as "C-Level | Tech and security | USA" | A trigger can combine the Title and Persona fields to assign a persona on create or update | Not stated on the cited page |
| Sender, Manage custom fields and attributes | Job title, department, industry, company name, birthday, gender, age, purchase history | Values are imported as extra columns, or typed in | Advises to "keep it relevant", "stay consistent", "update regularly" |
| Octave, GTM Engineer's Guide to Buyer Personas | Title, seniority level, department, role in the buying process, engagement pattern | Not stated in the cited passage | Not stated in the cited passage |
| Demandbase, Job Level and Job Function Categorization | Job level and job function | Non-English titles are translated into English and mapped to standard roles | Coverage "works best for commonly used titles" |
| ZoomInfo, Contact Accuracy Score (Mar 4, 2026) | Employment at the profiled company; email address | A score for each contact | The score covers employment and email. It does not mention function, level or persona |
Inference: every row lists what to store. None of the cited passages ties each attribute to a source and a capture date, which is what a sender needs in order to decide whether an attribute can be cited, only sorted on, or dropped. "Not stated" is scoped to the page cited.
The Attribute Card
The Attribute Card is a one-row-per-attribute sheet that sits next to a contact record. Every row has seven cells.
| Cell | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Attribute | The field name, for example job function |
| Value | What the record holds |
| Tier | Recorded, Mapped, Modelled or Guessed, as defined in the Four-Tier Persona Ledger in the persona-level intelligence contact summary guide |
| Source | The document, page or system the value came from |
| Captured | The date the value was captured or last confirmed |
| Check | The test that was run: opened the source, re-read the title, compared with a second source, none |
| Use | Route, order, cite in the message, or hold |
The seven cells keep fact apart from inference on the record itself. A value with an empty Source or Captured cell cannot be Recorded, and a row marked Mapped needs a Recorded row to be mapped from. Opinion: the Check cell is the one that most often goes blank, and a blank Check cell means the attribute has never been tested against a source.
Which attributes belong on the card
The catalogue below is this guide's own working set for a sender selling to a company's functional leaders. The tier column follows the ledger article's definitions; the Use column is Opinion.
| Attribute | Tier | Typical source | Check before use | Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employer | Recorded | Company page, registry or profile | Opened the source on a stated date | Cite |
| Verbatim title | Recorded | Company page or profile | Matches the page on the Captured date | Cite |
| Region | Recorded | Company page or address on a source | Matches the source | Route; cite only if relevant |
| Job function | Mapped | Mapped from the verbatim title | Re-read from the title by a person | Route after check |
| Job level | Mapped | Mapped from the verbatim title | Re-read; second reader for Head, Lead, Principal | Order, then route once checked |
| Persona name | Mapped | Function plus level, or a title rule | Inherits the checks of function and level | Group sequences |
| Buying role (champion, evaluator, blocker) | Guessed until observed | Seller's judgement or a past conversation | A dated record of the conversation | Hold until recorded |
| Importance or fit score | Modelled | The sender's CRM and engagement history | Audit the inputs, not the score | Order the queue |
| Birthday, gender, age | Guessed or self-declared | Import column or form | Is there a recorded purpose | Hold |
Outreach's guide supports the Mapped rows from the sender's side: it describes a trigger that assigns a persona from the Title field when a prospect is created or updated and has none. Inference: a persona set by a trigger is a Mapped value inherited from the title, so the audit of the title and mapping covers it. For how to test that mapping on a list, see the persona-level intelligence contact analysis guide.
The Use Gate: three questions before an attribute earns a row
- Can the attribute be sourced and dated? If no source exists or the value cannot be given a date, it is Guessed and stays off the card.
- Does a rule or a message use it? GDPR Article 5(1)(c) requires personal data to be "adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed". Sender's own help page gives the same instruction in plainer words: only collect information you will use.
- Can the sender tell the person where it came from? Where data was not obtained from the person, GDPR Article 14 requires information to be given, including the source, within a month and at the first communication. Article 21 gives a right to object, including to profiling for direct marketing. A row whose source the sender cannot name fails here.
Fact: Article 5(1)(d) also requires personal data to be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date. Opinion: that is why the Captured cell exists. An attribute whose capture date is old relative to the job it describes should be re-checked before it is used, and a title is the clearest case.
A worked card (invented)
Harbourline Payroll, an invented payroll software vendor, sells to finance directors at mid-sized manufacturers. Its list holds a contact called Rosa Okafor, an invented person at an invented company, Delmar Fabrication. Every value is made up.
| Attribute | Value | Tier | Source | Captured | Check | Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employer | Delmar Fabrication | Recorded | Company team page | Oct 12 | Page opened | Cite |
| Verbatim title | Head of Finance Operations | Recorded | Company team page | Oct 12 | Page opened | Cite |
| Region | Ohio | Recorded | Company contact page | Oct 12 | Page opened | Route |
| Job function | Finance | Mapped | From title | Oct 12 | Read by a person | Route |
| Job level | Director | Mapped | From title | Oct 12 | Two readers split (Manager vs Director) | Order only |
| Persona name | Finance leader, manufacturing | Mapped | Function plus industry rule | Oct 12 | Inherits level check | Hold until level is settled |
| Importance score | Strong | Modelled | Harbourline CRM history | Oct 14 | Inputs not audited | Order the queue |
| Birthday | 14 March | Guessed | Imported column | Unknown | None | Not stored |
Reading the card: the route and the first message rest on three Recorded rows and one checked Mapped row. The level is disputed, so it orders Rosa in the queue without deciding her route. The importance score moves her up the queue and is never named in the message. The birthday row fails the first gate question, because it has no source or date, and the second, because no rule uses it, so Harbourline drops it.
The resulting message, in outline, cites the verified title and one dated public event at Delmar (for example a new plant announcement the sender recorded with its source), says who the sender is and where the contact's details came from. It does not say "as a Director-level finance leader" or "your high importance score".
From card to sales action
- Route on checked rows. A contact enters the persona sequence only when function and level both passed a check. Others go to a person.
- Write from Recorded rows. The opening line cites the title and the dated event. It never cites a Mapped label or a Modelled score.
- Re-check at send time. The Captured date is compared with the run date. A row older than the sender's own re-check rule is confirmed against its source first.
- Log what was used. The card records which attributes the message used, so a person who asks where the data came from can be answered from the record.
For which accounts to contact first, Percepture's guide to using intent data to identify sales qualified leads states that "a lead is not sales qualified because it showed activity". To compare contact sources before filling a card, see the best B2B contact database guide. For what the sending company itself must know and disclose, see sender company persona-level intelligence, and to cut a finished record to what one seller reads, the contact persona-level intelligence brief. Percepture is a company Bob Generale leads.
Lead Seeker relates to the first rows of the card, not to the persona layer: its product pages describe a verified person, retrieved contact data, company context and the public signal that surfaced the person, re-verified when the search runs. It does not publish a persona taxonomy, a confidence score or a buying-group map. See how Lead Seeker works and Lead Compass for the account side. Lead Seeker is the product this site publishes.
Limitations
- The card is a method, not a standard. The Attribute Card and the Use Gate are this guide's own editorial devices. No vendor cited here uses them.
- The attribute catalogue is a starting set. A sender selling to a different buyer may need other fields, and the Use column reflects the author's opinion.
- Vendor pages are scoped. "Not stated" means the cited page does not say it. A vendor's contract, API or sales team may say more.
- Personal data rules apply to every row. Storing a person's title, region or traits is processing of personal data. The Article 5, 14 and 21 references above are the starting points, and the sender's lawyer decides what applies in its case.
- The example is invented. Harbourline Payroll, Delmar Fabrication, Rosa Okafor and every value on the card are illustrative.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are persona-level attributes of a contact?
They are the fields stored about one contact that classify the person for outreach: employer, verbatim title and region as recorded facts, job function, job level and persona name as mapped labels, and any score or trait added on top.
Which attributes should a sender company store first?
Employer, verbatim title and region, each with a source and a capture date. Then job function and job level, mapped from the title and checked by a person.
Is a persona the same as a job title?
No. A title is a recorded string. A persona is a classification of it: 6sense describes one as a function of job function and seniority level, and Outreach's guide treats it as a way to classify prospects by similar attributes.
Should a sender store a contact's age, gender or birthday?
Only if a stated purpose and a documented source exist. Sender's help page lists these fields as possible custom attributes, but GDPR Article 5(1)(c) limits personal data to what is necessary for the purpose. Most outbound rules never use them.
How to Read the Tables
The Attribute Card, the Use Gate and the Harbourline Payroll example are this guide's own editorial methods, not vendor documentation or benchmarks. Labels Fact, Inference and Opinion mark what a source states, what follows from it and what the author recommends. "Not stated" is scoped to the document cited. This is an October 2026 snapshot.
Sources
- 6sense, Persona Importance Model, published August 14, 2025.
- Outreach, How to Create a Persona in Outreach, modified September 11, 2026, and How To Apply Personas to Prospects.
- Sender, Understand contact details and attributes and Manage custom fields and attributes.
- Octave, The GTM Engineer's Guide to Buyer Personas.
- Demandbase, Job Level and Job Function Categorization.
- ZoomInfo, Overview of the Contact Accuracy Score, March 4, 2026.
- GDPR, Article 5, Article 14 and Article 21.
- Percepture, How to Use Intent Data to Identify Sales Qualified Leads, July 6, 2026. Percepture is a company Bob Generale leads.
- Lead Seeker, How it works and Lead Compass. Lead Seeker publishes these pages.
About the Author
Bob Generale is President of Percepture. He works across SEO, AI search, digital PR, sales intelligence and AI-powered revenue systems, with a focus on connecting visibility, buyer intent and sales action.
Next Steps
Pick ten contacts from your current list and build an Attribute Card for each, with a source and a capture date on every row. Drop any attribute that fails the Use Gate, then route only the contacts whose function and level passed a check. To start the card from verified people, try Lead Seeker free or see how it works.