You're SPAMMING your leads. That's why they never respond.
Last year, a product manager called me at the last minute, asking to rewrite his CEO's email. It was going out to 300,000 people in under an hour, and I had 15 minutes to fix it while waiting for a friend.
My rewrite didn't just beat the original in A/B testing—it generated the highest engagement that company had ever seen. I got hired the following week.
Why was this so easy? Because most business emails are absolutely terrible.
Your cold emails are failing because they're selfish
Most cold emails fail for obvious reasons:
They're too long
They're painfully generic
They reek of desperation
They try way too hard to be clever
They show up with zero context and beg for calendar time
These emails feel like interruptions, not opportunities. And interruptions get deleted.
But outbound emails that arrive at the right time, with the right message, offering something genuinely useful? Those get responses.
Outbound isn't dead—lazy outbound is
Cold email still works.
But it doesn't work when you spray the same pitch to 1,000 people and pray for replies. That's not a system. That's spam with a quota.
Smart outbound is rooted in three things:
Buyer context (what they're experiencing)
Content strategy (what they've already seen)
Timing (when they're ready to engage)
Start with what your buyer already knows about you
If you're running ads, campaigns, and content, there's a good chance your buyer has already encountered your brand.
They've seen your logo in their LinkedIn feed. They've skimmed a headline. Maybe they clicked on a blog post or case study.
So when you send that first email, it should feel like part of an ongoing conversation—not a cold introduction out of nowhere.
Here's what works:
"You may have seen our recent post on how [company like theirs] reduced onboarding time by 60%. Thought I'd share the actual framework they used."
That's relevant. That's specific. And most importantly—it's not asking for a meeting. It's offering immediate value.
The 4-line email structure that gets responses
Here's the framework I use that consistently outperforms traditional sales emails:
Line 1: Relevance. Prove you know who they are and what they're likely dealing with.
Line 2-3: Value. What have you done for someone like them? What can you offer right now that's actually helpful?
Line 4: CTA. Not a pitch. Not a calendar link. Just a soft next step that's a no-brainer to say yes to.
Here's a real example:
"Saw you're hiring for a platform engineer. Teams we work with usually hit scaling issues right around that stage. Want me to send over a quick case study from [industry peer]?"
That's it. You're not selling. You're inviting. This is easy to say yes to.
Use your content arsenal strategically
Your company has (hopefully) created case studies, blog posts, diagrams, and product walkthroughs. Use them strategically in your outbound sequence:
Email 1: Light value intro
Email 2: Link to something useful (a case study, demo clip, integration guide)
Email 3: Gentle nudge or CTA
Email 4: "Not now?" closeout with open-ended offer
Each message should either teach something, reinforce credibility, or move the conversation forward. If it's not doing at least one of these things, don't send it.
The best outbound doesn't feel like outbound at all
When done right, outbound doesn't feel like a cold sales pitch.
It feels like someone paying attention.
Like a helpful note from someone who understands your context and isn't trying to force a calendar invite down your throat.
That's what buyers want. And when outbound is paired with aligned content, strategic ads, and smart campaign targeting, it doesn't just work—it converts faster.
This is what we build at Edify
We write outbound sequences that convert because they're built on actual go-to-market strategy, not generic templates.
We help teams:
Define their ICP and target accounts
Warm them up with relevant ads and content
Track engagement through CRM and ABM tools
Write messages that feel like part of the buyer's journey—not an interruption
If your outbound is generating more silence than meetings, let's fix it.
📩 edifycontent.com/contact
In the next (and final) episode of this series, we're tying everything together: what a fully aligned sales + marketing engine actually looks like—and how to build one without adding chaos to your organization.
Got outbound questions or examples of what's working for you? Email me directly: anthony@edifycontent.com
