Cold outreach

When to use

When a founder needs to book first conversations or pilots — pre-product or pre-revenue — through personalized, high-reply cold email or DM.

Inputs to gather

1. Product, ICP, and the specific pain you solve.
2. The single ask (15-min call / quick pilot / free audit).
3. Any trigger/signal you can personalize on (recent hire, funding, job post, tool they use).
4. Proof or hook (a result, a relevant insight, a mutual connection).

Process

1. Pick a real trigger per prospect — research one specific thing (a post, a role they're hiring, a tool in their stack). No trigger = no send.
2. Write the first touch in 4 beats: (1) one-line personalized opener tied to the trigger, (2) the pain you noticed, (3) one sentence of credible value/proof, (4) a low-friction ask. Keep it under 90 words.
3. Lead with a "productized service" offer when pre-product — a free audit or a done-for-you result converts faster than "want a demo?" (free audit → paid retainer; first paying client often within 1-2 weeks).
4. Build a 4-touch sequence over ~10 days: value-add → soft bump → new angle/proof → breakup. Each follow-up adds something, never "just bumping this".
5. Channel match: email for execs, LinkedIn DM for builders, where the ICP actually reads.

Output

• 3 personalized first-touch variants (different hooks), each <90 words, subject lines included.
• Follow-up sequence: 4 messages with timing and the angle of each.
• Personalization checklist: the trigger fields to fill per prospect.
• Do/don'ts specific to this ICP and channel.

Quality bar & pitfalls

• Good = the opener could only have been written to that one person; the ask is tiny.
• Distribution beats features — pick one channel and go deep before adding a second.
• Do: short, specific, one ask, easy yes. Don't: pitch features, send walls of text, fake personalization, or attach a deck on touch one.
• Track reply rate (aim >10% on tight lists), not open rate.