(Most) Cold Emails Suck

My inbox is full of cold email sales pitches that honestly suck. They are lazy, automated attempts to generate as many leads as possible — regardless of the quality of the lead or the likelihood that the lead is the ideal buyer. It’s a lot like dragging a giant net behind a fishing boat, hoping to catch a certain type of fish. Sure, you will catch a few of the fish you are looking for but you will be a whole lot of irreparable damage in the process.

Let me be clear, i think prospecting, including the use of cold email campaigns, is a very noble act. i’m not talking about cold email senders that put in the time and effort to properly research their prospects, to prepare in a thoughtful way, and send outreach that is targeted and meaningful, i’m talking about those that use automation as an excuse for why they don’t need to put in any personal effort to making their sales out reach more authentic.

The email campaigns that i’m talking about are impersonal and unsustainable, two things that i deeply despise.

Rather than continue to allow these emails to upset me, i've decided to find a healthy outlet for my disgust with these cold email senders.

Rather than replying with an angry email or what i usually do just instantly permaban them, i created a simple webpage that i'm sending them to.

Here is my response to the cold email with link to the page i created:

Hey there,

Thanks for reaching out. i appreciate your interest in selling me a product and/or service. However, i believe our conversation could be more meaningful if it was a bit more personalized.

i've put together a page that will help you understand me, my work, and my passions a bit better. i believe this will provide a solid foundation for our conversation and make our interaction more valuable for both of us.

Here's the link: https://www.hippieceolife.com/cold-emails-suck

Take a look when you have a moment, and feel free to reach out again with a more personalized message. i look forward to hearing from you.

-jason

One Week Later….

Here is the data i have collected so far for this approach:

No Response: 27 instances. These are the folks who didn't reply after i sent them my email.

Bot Response: 5 instances. These are automated replies that didn't really engage with my email at all.

Non-Sales Response: 1 instance. This was a personalized, engaging response that wasn't trying to sell me anything.

Refined Sales Response: 2 instances. These were sales pitches that used some of the content i provided to personalize their sales message.

How to Do Cold Outreach Better

So, how can we fix this? It's simple, really. Start by doing your homework. Research the person you're reaching out to. Understand their work, their passions, and their challenges. Then, craft your email with this in mind. Make it personal. Show genuine interest. Be respectful of their time. Remember, you're reaching out to a human, not a faceless email address.