--- name: cold-outreach description: Master cold email, LinkedIn, and first-touch prospect outreach. Use when crafting outbound sequences, social touches, or follow-ups that must earn fast responses. --- # Cold Outreach Mastery ## When to Use - Building outbound sequences for new personas or segments - Personalizing cold email / LinkedIn outreach at scale - Diagnosing low open or reply rates in existing sequences - Designing follow-up cadences for SDR/XDR or founder-led sales ## Framework 1. **Core Principles** – pattern interruption, value before ask, authentic personalization, mobile-first formatting, single CTA. 2. **SPARK Flow** – Subject hook → Personalized opening → Agitate problem → Relevant value → Kick-off CTA. 3. **Channel Mix** – email templates + LinkedIn touches + call follow-ups working together. 4. **Cadence Design** – 3-touch follow-up over 14 days with new insights each step. 5. **Experimentation** – test subject/openers/value props/CTAs/send times; watch ≥30% opens, ≥10% replies. ## Templates - Subject line bank ("Quick question about [initiative]", "Noticed you're hiring [role]", etc.) - Email templates (Observation & Insight, Problem/Solution, Referral) plus LinkedIn connection + post-accept scripts. - Personalization trigger sheet (company + individual signals) and follow-up schedule checklist. - Power phrase/reference list and industry-specific angle cheatsheets (SaaS, e-comm, financial services, healthcare). ## Tips - Anchor every opener on a real trigger (funding, hiring, post) and keep lines <60 chars for mobile readability. - Offer a resource or benchmark before requesting time; it increases reply rate. - Log A/B test results weekly to evolve templates, and share top-performing subject lines with the team. - Keep all templates in a shared library with progressive disclosure to avoid template fatigue. --- *Progressive disclosure: load full templates/examples only when actively generating outreach copy.*