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Cold outreach warmup skills

Skill mcltyl/cold-outreach-warmup-skills

Scan their content for a genuine hook before reaching out.

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SKILL.md

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Cold Outreach Warm-Up

Before sending that cold DM/email, scan their recent content for a genuine hook. Cold outreach feels fake because it IS fake without context.

When to Use

  • About to send a cold email/DM to someone
  • Networking outreach that you want to land
  • Reaching out to a hiring manager, investor, or potential collaborator
  • You have their name and LinkedIn/Twitter but no connection

Trigger: "Help me reach out to [person]" or before sending a cold message.

The Problem

Cold outreach fails because it's:

  1. Generic — "I came across your profile and..."
  2. Self-centered — "I'm looking for..." (they don't care what you're looking for)
  3. Obvious template — They've seen this 100 times

The fix: Make it warm. Find something specific and genuine.

The Protocol

Step 1: Research Phase (3-5 minutes)

Scan their recent public content:

LinkedIn:

  • Recent posts (last 30 days)
  • Comments they've made
  • Articles they've written
  • Recent job changes or achievements

Twitter/X:

  • Recent tweets (not retweets)
  • What they're excited/frustrated about
  • Who they're engaging with

Other:

  • Podcast appearances
  • Blog posts
  • Conference talks
  • GitHub activity (for tech people)

Look for:

  • Something they're proud of recently
  • An opinion they've shared
  • A problem they've mentioned
  • A project they're working on
  • Common ground (school, company, interest)

Step 2: Find the Hook (1 minute)

The hook is a specific, genuine observation that proves you did your homework.

Bad hooks:

  • "I loved your post about leadership" (vague)
  • "Your profile is impressive" (generic)
  • "We have mutual connections" (lazy)

Good hooks:

  • "Your post about the feature launch timing resonated — I dealt with the same pressure at [Company]"
  • "I saw your comment on [Person]'s thread about [Topic]. I've been thinking about that too."
  • "Your framework for [X] in [Podcast] changed how I approach [Y]"

Test: Would this sentence only work for THIS person? If you could send it to 10 people, it's not specific enough.

Step 3: Structure the Message (2 minutes)

The Formula:

  1. Hook (Specific observation, 1 sentence)
  2. Relevance (Why you're reaching out, 1-2 sentences)
  3. Value (What's in it for them OR make it easy to say yes, 1 sentence)
  4. Ask (Clear, small, specific, 1 sentence)

Example:

Your post about the messy middle of feature launches really hit home — I just shipped something similar at [Company] and the "20% done feels like 80% done" trap is real.

I'm exploring PM roles in fintech and noticed you've built teams at [Company]. I'd love to learn how you think about hiring for ambiguity tolerance.

Would you be open to a 15-minute call this week or next? I'm happy to work around your schedule.

Word count: Under 100 words. They're busy. Respect that.

Step 4: The Quality Check

Before sending, verify:

  • Specific? — Hook only works for this person
  • Short? — Under 100 words (ideally under 75)
  • Clear ask? — They know exactly what you're asking
  • Low friction? — Easy to say yes (or no)
  • No begging? — Confident, not desperate
  • Value? — What's in it for them, even if small

Templates by Situation

Job networking

[Hook about their work/post]. I'm exploring [role type] roles and your path from [X] to [Y] is exactly what I'm trying to understand. Would you be open to a 15-minute chat about how you approached [specific thing]?

Investor outreach

[Hook about their investment thesis/tweet]. I'm building [one-sentence pitch] and I think it aligns with your focus on [specific area]. Would you be open to a quick intro call? I know your time is limited — happy to start async if easier.

Collaboration/partnership

[Hook about their project/company]. I'm working on [your thing] and see a potential overlap with [their thing]. Would you be open to exploring whether there's something here? No pressure if not — just wanted to float the idea.

Informational interview

[Hook about their career/content]. I'm trying to learn more about [industry/role] and your perspective on [specific topic] would be really valuable. Would you be open to a 15-minute call? I'll come prepared with specific questions.

What to Avoid

The humble brag opener

"I was recently featured in Forbes..." — They don't care. Lead with them, not you.

The novel

5 paragraphs of context — They won't read it. Keep it short.

The fake compliment

"I love everything you've done!" — Sounds insincere because it is.

The non-ask

"I'd love to connect sometime." — Vague. What do you actually want?

The guilt trip

"I know you're busy, but..." — Don't apologize for reaching out. Either it's worth their time or it isn't.

Follow-Up Rules

  • Wait 5-7 days before following up
  • One follow-up only — Don't badger
  • Keep it short: "Just bumping this in case it got buried. No worries if the timing isn't right."
  • Accept silence — No response is a response. Move on gracefully.

Output

By end of session:

  1. Research notes on the person
  2. A specific, genuine hook
  3. A complete message ready to send
  4. Confidence that this is worth sending

For drafting replies to messages, see Draft the Hard Reply

Gives 0 of the 12 instructions most sales crm skills give in ~1.4k tokens

Counted across 361 of the 361 authors here whose files we hold, read 2026-08-06

  • Read product marketing context before writing if it existsin 22 of 361, across 14 files
  • keep the ask low-frictionin 16 of 361, across 7 files
  • Call RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS firstin 15 of 361, across 5 files
  • personalize every outbound messagein 13 of 361, across 4 files
  • confirm connection status is activein 13 of 361, across 4 files
  • Keep forwardable blurbs under 100 wordsin 13 of 361, across 4 files
  • State if personalization context is missingin 13 of 361, across 4 files
  • Cut any sentence that does not drive a replyin 13 of 361, across 4 files
  • Use proof instead of adjectivesin 12 of 361, across 3 files
  • Use a single, low-friction call to actionin 12 of 361, across 4 files
  • Calibrate tone to the specific audiencein 12 of 361, across 3 files
  • Make each follow-up email add new valuein 12 of 361, across 6 files

Said here and by no other author read

  • Scan recent public content for a genuine hook
  • Find a specific observation unique to the recipient
  • Structure the message using a hook, relevance, value, and ask
  • Verify the hook works only for this person
  • Ensure the ask is clear, small, and specific

Grouped from the skills themselves: near-identical wordings counted once, and counted by distinct author, so one author publishing three of these counts once. Length counted with cl100k_base; the agent that loads this file may tokenize it differently.

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