--- name: cold-outreach description: "Builds personalized cold email and DM outreach sequences with research-backed personalization, multi-touch follow-up cadence, subject line formulas, and response-handling scripts for every outcome. Use when an entrepreneur, freelancer, or agency owner needs to reach prospects they have no prior relationship with — for sales, partnerships, collaborations, or client acquisition." allowed-tools: Read Write Glob metadata: author: AI Black Magic version: "1.0" --- # Cold Outreach ## When to Use This Skill Use this skill when you need to: - Reach out to prospects you have never spoken to before (cold sales, partnerships, sponsorships) - Build a multi-email or multi-DM sequence with planned follow-ups - Personalize outreach beyond "Hi {first_name}" using real prospect research - Handle replies systematically — positive, objection, rejection, or silence - Convert a list of target companies/people into a ready-to-send outreach campaign **DO NOT** use this skill for warm introductions, existing client communication, or mass newsletter blasts. This is for targeted, one-to-one cold outreach only. --- ## Core Principle EVERY COLD MESSAGE MUST PROVE YOU DID YOUR HOMEWORK — GENERIC OUTREACH GETS DELETED, PERSONALIZED OUTREACH GETS REPLIES. --- ## Phase 1: Research and Personalize Before writing a single word, build a personalization brief for each prospect (or prospect type). No brief, no sequence. ### The Personalization Framework For each prospect, identify these three elements: 1. **Trigger Event** — something recent and specific that makes your outreach timely 2. **Identified Pain** — a problem they likely have based on their role, company stage, or public signals 3. **Credibility Bridge** — why YOU are the right person to help (shared context, relevant result, mutual audience) ### Where to Find Trigger Events | Source | What to Look For | |--------|-----------------| | LinkedIn posts | New role, product launch, hiring spree, content they published | | Company blog/news | Funding round, expansion, rebrand, new feature | | Podcast appearances | Stated goals, challenges they mentioned publicly | | Job postings | Roles they are hiring for reveal internal priorities | | Social media | Complaints, celebrations, questions in their niche | ### Personalization Brief Template Present this to the user before writing the sequence: ``` ## Prospect Brief **Prospect:** Sarah Chen, Head of Growth at Launchpad SaaS **Trigger event:** Just raised Series A ($8M) — posted about it on LinkedIn 5 days ago **Identified pain:** Scaling outbound pipeline post-funding (hiring 3 SDRs per their job board) **Credibility bridge:** You helped 2 other post-Series-A startups build outbound systems that generated 40+ qualified meetings/month **Tone match:** Direct, data-driven (her LinkedIn posts are metrics-heavy) ``` **GATE: Do not proceed to Phase 2 until the user confirms or adjusts the personalization brief.** --- ## Phase 2: Write the Sequence Default sequence is **3 emails over 7 days**. This is the highest-performing cadence for cold outreach to busy decision-makers. ### Email 1: The Opener (Day 1) **Goal:** Prove relevance, spark curiosity, earn a reply. **Structure:** 1. **Personalized hook** (1 sentence referencing trigger event) 2. **Pain acknowledgment** (1-2 sentences connecting trigger to a likely challenge) 3. **Credibility proof** (1 sentence with a specific result) 4. **Low-friction CTA** (1 question — not "book a call") **Length:** 60-90 words. Shorter is better. **Example — B2B SaaS sales:** Subject: your SDR hiring spree ``` Hi Sarah, Saw Launchpad just closed your Series A — congrats. Hiring 3 SDRs tells me outbound pipeline is the priority right now. We helped Crestline (also post-Series-A, similar ACV) go from 12 to 47 qualified meetings per month within 60 days — without adding headcount beyond one SDR. Would it be useful to see the exact playbook we used? — James ``` **Example — Freelance/agency pitch:** Subject: the onboarding bottleneck ``` Hi Marcus, Noticed your agency just landed the Greenfield Hotels account — nice win. When agencies take on enterprise clients like that, onboarding SOPs usually become the first bottleneck. I built the client onboarding system for Ridgeway Digital (12-person agency, similar size) — cut their onboarding time from 3 weeks to 5 days. Worth a 15-minute look at how it worked? — Dana ``` ### Email 2: The Follow-Up (Day 3) **Goal:** Add value, not pressure. Give them a reason to reply that is different from Email 1. **Structure:** 1. **Quick callback** (1 sentence — "Circling back on my note about X") 2. **New value angle** (share a resource, insight, or relevant data point they can use regardless of whether they hire/buy) 3. **Restate CTA** (same low-friction ask, slightly rephrased) **Length:** 40-70 words. Even shorter than Email 1. **Example — B2B SaaS follow-up:** Subject: re: your SDR hiring spree ``` Hi Sarah, Quick follow-up — I put together a one-page breakdown of the 3 outbound channels that worked best for post-Series-A SaaS companies this year (spoiler: LinkedIn voice notes outperformed cold calls 2:1). Happy to send it over either way. Would that be useful? — James ``` **Example — Freelance/agency follow-up:** Subject: re: the onboarding bottleneck ``` Hi Marcus, Following up — I wrote a short teardown of the 5 most common places agency onboarding breaks down at the enterprise level. Might save your team some headaches with Greenfield regardless. Want me to send it your way? — Dana ``` ### Email 3: The Breakup (Day 7) **Goal:** Create closure. Polite finality often triggers a response from prospects who meant to reply but did not. **Structure:** 1. **Acknowledge silence** (1 sentence — no guilt, no passive aggression) 2. **Restate value in one line** (the single strongest reason to reply) 3. **Give them an easy out** (explicitly say it is fine to say no) **Length:** 30-50 words. The shortest email in the sequence. **Example — B2B SaaS breakup:** Subject: closing the loop ``` Hi Sarah, I know pipeline-building after a raise is all-consuming, so I will keep this short: if doubling qualified meetings without doubling headcount is on your radar this quarter, I would love 15 minutes. If the timing is off, no worries at all — just say the word. — James ``` **Example — Freelance/agency breakup:** Subject: closing the loop ``` Hi Marcus, Totally understand if onboarding is not the fire right now. If it becomes one down the line, I am an email away. Either way, no hard feelings — good luck with the Greenfield launch. — Dana ``` **GATE: Present the full 3-email sequence to the user. Do not finalize until the user approves the tone, length, and CTA approach.** --- ## Phase 3: Subject Line Formulas Use one formula per email. Do not get creative with subject lines — clarity beats cleverness in cold outreach. ### Proven Formulas | Formula | Structure | Example | |---------|-----------|---------| | **Lowercase specific** | their [specific thing] | your SDR hiring spree | | **Pain + context** | the [pain point] at [company event] | the onboarding bottleneck | | **Mutual connection** (only if real) | [Name] suggested I reach out | Alex Park suggested I reach out | | **Quick question** | quick question about [topic] | quick question about outbound | | **Result teaser** | [number] [result] in [timeframe] | 47 meetings in 60 days | | **Re: original** | re: [original subject] | re: your SDR hiring spree | ### Subject Line Rules - **ALL LOWERCASE** for the first email (mimics a casual, personal note) - **NEVER use** ALL CAPS, exclamation marks, or emoji in subject lines - **NEVER use** "Just checking in" or "Following up" as standalone subjects - **Keep under 7 words** — mobile inboxes truncate after 35-40 characters - **Re: prefix** is acceptable for follow-ups in the same thread --- ## Phase 4: Response Handling Scripts After the sequence is sent, prospects reply in one of four ways. Provide a response script for each. ### Positive Reply ("Interested, tell me more") **Goal:** Move to a call or next step immediately. Do not oversell in the reply. ``` Hi Sarah, Great to hear — I will keep this brief. The fastest way to see if this fits: a 15-minute call where I walk you through exactly what we did for Crestline and you can judge if it maps to Launchpad's setup. Here are a few times that work on my end: [2-3 specific times]. Or grab whatever works for you here: [scheduling link]. Talk soon, James ``` ### Objection ("Sounds interesting but [concern]") **Goal:** Validate the concern, reframe with proof, re-extend the offer. Common objections and responses: **"We already have something in place"** ``` Totally makes sense — most teams at your stage do. Out of curiosity, are you seeing the volume you need from it? The reason I ask is that Crestline had an outbound motion too, but it was producing 12 meetings/month vs. their target of 40. Happy to compare notes if useful, zero pressure if not. ``` **"Not in the budget right now"** ``` Completely understand — budget post-raise is allocated fast. For what it is worth, our model with Crestline was performance-based (we only got paid on meetings that showed up). If that kind of structure would make the math easier, happy to walk through it. ``` **"Send me more info"** ``` Absolutely — I put together a one-page overview with the Crestline case study and how the process works. Attached here. After you have had a chance to skim it, would a quick 15-minute call make sense to see if it fits your setup? ``` ### Rejection ("Not interested") **Goal:** Leave the door open gracefully. No arguing, no convincing. ``` Appreciate you letting me know, Sarah — I would rather hear a clear no than chase. If outbound pipeline ever moves up the priority list, I am easy to find. Good luck with the Series A growth push. — James ``` ### No Response (After Full Sequence) **Goal:** Archive, do not keep emailing. Revisit only if a new trigger event appears. **NEVER send a fourth email in the same sequence.** If all 3 emails get no response: 1. Mark the prospect as "sequence completed — no reply" 2. Set a reminder to check for new trigger events in 60-90 days 3. Only re-engage if there is a genuinely new reason (new funding, new role, company pivot) --- ## Phase 5: DM Variant (LinkedIn / Twitter / Instagram) When the user wants DM outreach instead of email, adapt the sequence with these rules: ### DM vs Email Differences | Element | Email | DM | |---------|-------|-----| | Length | 60-90 words (opener) | 30-50 words (opener) | | Tone | Professional-casual | Conversational | | CTA | "Would it be useful to..." | "Mind if I send over..." | | Follow-ups | 2 follow-ups | 1 follow-up only | | Subject line | Required | Not applicable | | Formatting | Paragraphs | Short lines, no paragraphs | ### DM Sequence: 2 Messages Over 5 Days **DM 1: The Opener (Day 1)** ``` Hey Sarah — congrats on the Series A. Noticed you are hiring SDRs which usually means outbound is the focus. We helped a similar post-Series-A SaaS go from 12 to 47 qualified meetings/mo in 60 days. Mind if I send a quick breakdown of how? ``` **DM 2: The Follow-Up (Day 5)** ``` Hey Sarah — no worries if the timing is off. I put together a quick teardown of what is working in outbound for post-raise SaaS companies. Happy to share it either way — just say the word. ``` **DO NOT send a third DM.** Two unanswered DMs is the hard limit on direct message platforms. --- ## Delivery and File Output When the sequence is complete, present it in a structured format: 1. **Personalization brief** at the top 2. **Full email/DM sequence** with send dates labeled 3. **All 4 response scripts** (positive, objection, rejection, silence) 4. **Subject lines** listed separately for easy copying If the user provides a file path or asks to save, write the complete sequence to a single file: ``` outreach/ └── [prospect-name]-sequence.md ``` Include a **pre-send checklist** at the end of every delivered sequence: ``` ## Pre-Send Checklist - [ ] Every email references a REAL trigger event (not fabricated) - [ ] Prospect name and company name are correct in every email - [ ] No "just checking in" or "hope you are doing well" filler - [ ] CTA is a question, not a demand - [ ] Emails are under 90 words each - [ ] Subject lines are under 7 words, all lowercase for opener - [ ] Nothing promises results you cannot deliver - [ ] No false claims about mutual connections ``` --- ## Anti-Patterns **NEVER do these in cold outreach:** - **"Just checking in"** — this communicates "I have nothing new to say." Every follow-up must add new value. - **"I hope this email finds you well"** — filler that signals a mass blast. Delete it. - **Mass-blast language** — "Dear Sir/Madam," "To whom it may concern," or anything that sounds like it went to 500 people. - **Lying about mutual connections** — "Our mutual friend suggested..." when there is no mutual friend. This destroys trust permanently. - **Paragraph walls** — anything over 4 lines without a break gets skimmed or skipped. - **Multiple CTAs** — asking them to book a call AND check out your website AND download a resource. One ask per email. - **Apology openers** — "Sorry to bother you" or "I know you are busy" — these lower your status and give them permission to ignore you. - **Fake urgency** — "Only 2 spots left" or "This week only" in a cold email is transparent and damages credibility. - **Attaching files in Email 1** — cold emails with attachments trigger spam filters. Save attachments for replies. --- ## Recovery - **No trigger event found:** Ask the user for more context about the prospect. Check the company careers page, recent press, or social posts. If nothing surfaces after 3 searches, use a role-based pain point instead (e.g., "Most Heads of Growth at Series A companies struggle with..."). - **User has no credibility proof or case study:** Use a framework-based approach instead — offer to share a methodology or insight rather than a result. Example: "I put together a framework for..." instead of "We helped X achieve Y." - **User wants to outreach to a list of 10+ prospects:** Build one master sequence template with personalization slots clearly marked, then show the user how to customize each slot per prospect. Do not write 10 fully unique sequences — that does not scale. - **Prospect replies with hostility:** Provide a brief, professional close: "Understood — appreciate your time. Removing you from my list." Do not engage further. - **If 3 personalization research attempts fail** (no public info, no trigger events, no LinkedIn presence): **Stop and reassess.** This prospect may not be reachable via cold outreach. Recommend the user find a warm introduction path or choose a different prospect. --- ## Quick Reference: Sequence Timing | Touch | Channel | Day | Length | Goal | |-------|---------|-----|--------|------| | Email 1 | Email | Day 1 | 60-90 words | Prove relevance, earn a reply | | Email 2 | Email | Day 3 | 40-70 words | Add new value | | Email 3 | Email | Day 7 | 30-50 words | Create polite closure | | DM 1 | LinkedIn/Twitter | Day 1 | 30-50 words | Start conversation | | DM 2 | LinkedIn/Twitter | Day 5 | 30-50 words | Final follow-up |