Cold outreach isn't dead, lazy outreach is

Everything that worked a few years ago is failing this year. People's inboxes are flooded, every channel is louder and busier than ever and everyone is pushing harder. The email that got you a reply in 2025 now probably gets binned as soon as it lands in your prospect's inbox (if it makes it past spam).

That doesn't mean outbound is a dead channel. It means the bar has moved, and plenty of sales teams haven't adapted to this yet.

Moving from the recruitment industry to marketing

Before Seed, I spent nearly 3 years in recruitment, where you're expected to be on the phone most of the day and cold calling targets are checked every hour by your sales manager. Sometimes our boss measured how busy we were by how loud he felt the room was. If it was too quiet, people would probably receive a Teams message telling them to get on the phone ASAP. Moving into marketing was a strange transition, because cold calling isn't standard practice.

So I had a go and tested it. I called some heads of marketing and CMOs who fit our ICP, and the most common reaction was surprise or confusion. Unlike hiring managers and heads of HR, marketers aren't used to their phone ringing with a business development person on the other end asking whether they're exploring new agencies.

I've had a few "no and remove my number from your database" responses, which is fair enough. Others have been surprised but intrigued, and happy to hear me out. Some have even said thank you for calling… That is something you almost never hear as a recruiter.

So the lesson here feels like the channel nobody in your industry uses can be the one that actually gets you through.

Most of your market isn't ready yet

Research from the Ehrenberg Bass Institute says "roughly 95% of potential buyers are out of market. Only about 5% are actively looking." The other 95% aren't uninterested. They aren't ready yet.

This changes what outreach is for. Chase only the 5% and you're competing with every agency that has a sales function. The real job is to be the name they remember when their contract ends, their current agency underdelivers or a new CMO starts asking questions. Lazy outreach treats everyone as in the market; however, good outreach builds familiarity with the people who will be soon enough.

Build the strategy first

Effective cold outreach starts long before the first draft.

Define your ideal customer profile

Without a sharp ICP, you waste time contacting the wrong people.

If you haven't worked your ICP out yet, I'd suggest starting with the following:

- Firmographics: industry, headcount, revenue and location.

- Technographics: their current tech stack and any competitor tools in use.

- Intent signals: research behaviour, recent funding, hiring patterns or expansion that suggests they're moving into market.

For agencies, the most useful signals tend to be practical ones. A business hiring its first head of marketing, launching a product line or moving into a new region is probably reviewing who supports it. The tighter your ICP, the better your results, and every email should go to someone who fits it.

Build a verified list

Bad data will lead to bounced emails, a damaged sender rep and wasted effort. Source contacts from providers that update and validate their records and make sure you have an email verification process in place before adding them to your list or campaign. You want to reach the person who makes the decision, not the person who forwards it.

Try leaving the links out

When I receive outreach from someone I've never heard of, a blue link with little explanation feels suspicious, and I never click it. Scam emails are landing in my inbox very regularly and they're getting smarter. Your prospects will be seeing exactly the same thing.

So until a lead is warm, maybe try running an outreach campaign with no links at all. The same applies to attachments, which inboxes often flag automatically and send straight to spam. If you have a useful resource, describe the insight in the email and offer to send it over. A reply asking for it is a better signal than a click anyway.

Personalisation that doesn't feel automated

Personalisation still matters, but the obvious version has stopped working. Mentioning someone's recent LinkedIn post or a line from their website already looks automated, mostly because it usually is.

I've had more success personalising around the company's niche or sector, and referring to case studies that they'd specifically relate to, rather than around the person's recent activity. The email needs to look like you spent 5 minutes on research, rather than "I scraped your linkedin posts". It is worth A/B testing lots of different techniques, wording, length of text, and the content you are sharing. As with all things, what works for one person won't always work for the next.

It is worth mentioning: AI generated emails are easy to spot in 2026. People CAN tell. Read your copy out loud, and if it doesn't sound like you, or reads like everyone else's HUGE LinkedIn posts or overly wordy emails, then delete it and start again.

Write less, say more

The subject line

The subject line decides whether your email gets opened. A few principles:

- Keep it under 50 characters: mobile screens cut longer lines off.

- Personalise with the company name or a specific reference: it shows you did your homework.

- Avoid spam triggers: skip "free," "urgent," "act now," and excessive punctuation.

- Test questions against statements: questions often drive higher open rates.

The opening line

Your first sentence has to prove you did your homework. Reference something relevant to their business: company news, a trigger event such as funding, a new hire or expansion, or a challenge common to their sector. Avoid generic openers like "I hope this email finds you well." Booooring!

The body

Keep it under 75 words. Nobody has time to read anything more than this. Lead with what's in it for them, keep the focus on their challenges and how you solve them, and leave what you want out of it.

Use a single, low friction call to action. Asking for 15 minutes works better than "let's hop on a call to explore synergies."

Give before you ask. Share an insight, a relevant benchmark or an introduction before pitching anything. That's how you become a trusted adviser rather than another vendor in the queue.

The follow up is where the work happens

Most of my replies come after the 3rd touchpoint. Most salespeople give up after 1 or 2, which means simply persisting, with value, puts you ahead of most of the market. Most replies come from follow ups, not the first email.

Multichannel sequences outperform single channel approaches every time. Email → LinkedIn → Email builds familiarity without being overly invasive, and familiarity is what the 95% need before they're ready to talk.

A typical sequence should run 4 to 7 touchpoints over 2 to 3 weeks. Space the early ones 3 to 4 days apart, then leave longer gaps. Switch channels and bring something new each time. Resending your first email with "just bumping this" on top is not a strategy and will irritate the person who receives it.

A simple structure:

1. Email 1: initial outreach with a relevant hook and a clear value proposition.

2. Email 2: follow up with extra context or a useful insight.

3. Email 3: a new angle, or social proof from a similar client.

4. Email 4: a direct ask or a breakup email. "Should I close your file?"

Weave LinkedIn touchpoints between them, so your name is familiar by the time the next email lands.

Grab a tea, headphones on and lock in

I'd rather send 40 well researched, personalised emails than 400 generic blasts. Your reply rate and conversion rate will be better, and your sender rep too.

Track response and conversion rates regularly and let the numbers help you decide what you do next. Buyer behaviour and tools are moving quickly, and what works this quarter may not work next. Staying adaptable is part of the gorgeous world of sales.

Cold outreach isn't dead, but lazy AI/automated outreach DEFINITELY is. It is worth putting in the work, finding the right tools to use and staying persistent. I love to sit down with a cup of tea, headphones in and have my calendar blocked out for 2 hours to build out a solid list to reach out to, whether that is via email, LinkedIn or even the dreaded cold call.