4 ms·
Cold outreach is a lot like caching: the millions of people who have successfully implemented it, written down their process, and documented their results are n
by patio11 9y ago
Cold outreach is a lot like caching: the millions of people who have successfully implemented it, written down their process, and documented their results are not all lying. This doesn't necessarily imply that "put a cache in front of it" will always work.
You say you haven't had any success. Draw out your funnel and dig into where, specifically, you are failing.
Do you have a raw volume problem? Which of the following is most representative of how many emails you send per day: 50? 10? 3? If you have a raw volume problem, is it because you cannot identify people to email fast enough, cannot identify contact information fast enough, or cannot force yourself to push the send button fast enough?
Do you have a response rate problem? Is your response rate much, much lower than, say, 10~20%? If you have a response rate problem, is it because your subject lines are bad? Is it because your offer is bad? Do you have an attractive offer? (There are ways to position "talk to insiders to figure out how I could help them" that are attractive to the insider and ways that are less attractive. What is in it for your counterparty?)
Do you routinely transition conversations into a successfully scheduled conversation? Does that conversation typically go reasonably well or not go well? Do you have a specific next step in mind after that conversation? Do you have high uptake to that next step?
- amorphous 9y agoI surely have a raw volume problem because "cannot force yourself to push the send button fast enough". The main reason is I'm not sure I have an attractive offer as I'm asking strangers for help without really offering anything. And that feels weird. > There are ways to position "talk to insiders to figure out how I could help them" that are attractive to the insider and ways that are less attractive. Could you tell more about those attractive ways? I struggle with that.
- sfink 9y ago> I'm not sure I have an attractive offer as I'm asking strangers for help without really offering anything. Uh, fix your attitude first. You have technical skills that you feel may apply to their area. You have time, interest, and inclination to figure out how to make that work. You want to tailor a solution to their company's specific problem, or at least the problems you uncover in anyone who will discuss them with you. (This is as opposed to selling some one-size-fits-all type of thing, or telling them what they need.) All of that has value, and that's the value you're offering. Prove it by doing what research you can on their company's problem, and lead with that. Sure, you don't know that what you're thinking actually makes sense and would be of use to them. And given that you're an outsider, it honestly probably won't. But having the conversation you're trying to have is a way to make it make sense.