Best Practices For Communication Audits

"Stop sending follow-up emails" That's what I told a struggling VP of Sales last month His team was sending 8,000+ emails weekly Converting almost none of them He thought I was insane Until we implemented a "no follow-up" policy and their pipeline exploded → Here's what most sales leaders miss: Your prospects aren't ignoring you because you haven't followed up enough They're ignoring you because you haven't said anything worth responding to After auditing 50+ B2B sales processes, I've found the same pattern: - 8+ follow-up emails to the same prospect - Each one more desperate than the last - Generic templates with fake personalization - Zero actual value added All while sales managers chant "persistence pays off!" The brutal truth? It doesn't One client was sending 14-touch sequences to every lead Their final response rate? A pathetic 0.7% We completely redesigned their approach: - Cut all automated follow-ups - Created industry-specific research for each target account - Developed 3 unique insights for every prospect - Built a "no pitch" first conversation model The results : - Response rate jumped to 20% - Meetings-to-opportunity conversion: Up 200% - Sales cycle: Reduced from 107 days to 70 - Team morale: Transformed overnight The most expensive myth in modern sales is that quantity of touches matters more than quality of insight Your prospects don't need another "just checking in" email They need someone who fundamentally understands their business challenges What if you deleted all your follow-up templates today and replaced them with actual business insights? That's not just a sales strategy That's a competitive advantage P.S. If you need help with your sales, send me a message

My EasyDMARC team encountered multiple cases where Microsoft tenants received spoofing emails from their own domain to their own domain, even with DMARC set to p=reject. Microsoft now enforces DMARC reject in EOP. - Older tenants may still have Anti-Phishing policies that were never updated and must be reviewed: https://lnkd.in/dV7S6hS - Newer tenants have the correct defaults, but a loophole remains if an admin created an allowlist. In testing we confirmed that when a rule or policy forces SCL:-1, the message is marked as trusted and skips filtering. (SCL:-1 means “bypass spam filtering and treat this message as safe.”) This allows spoofed mail to reach the inbox despite a DMARC reject policy. SCL:-1 is NOT added by the attacker. It is stamped by the tenant. Common causes include: - An admin sets a mail flow rule to “always trust” messages from a certain entity, skipping spam checks. - The organization’s own domain is added to the allowed senders/domains list - Someone clicks “Allow” in Microsoft’s Spoof Intelligence panel - An inbound connector is configured to treat all mail as if it came from inside the organization If you see SCL:-1 on a spoof, the problem is NOT DMARC but configuration. Organizations should audit mail flow rules, remove their own domains from allowlists, review Anti-Phishing policies, and correct connector settings. Relying on whitelists for convenience undermines DMARC and gives attackers the exact opening they need. Security controls only work if we let them do their job. ‼️Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/ezCxnT-F #Microsoft #DMARC #EOP

I grew my client’s best email month by 148% from €525K to €1,3M. Here’s how I did it: When I first took on this client, I loved his vibe and product. But it was tricky… • They only sell 1 product • My client hates being salesy • They sell in multiple countries using native languages Step 1: Audit Every client I take on goes through a thorough list audit. I audited his list with my 66-point Klaviyo checklist to: • Identify what’s leaking revenue • Pinpoint what’s working to double down • Develop a strategy plan to increase his sales Once done and discussed, we got to work on: Step 2: Building and optimizing flows He had multiple flows set up but only his welcome flow was good. The rest was non-existent or only had 1-2 basic emails. So we redid his flows. When I was done, we instantly saw an increase in email revenue. The secret? I used founder-led content. The emails feel like a 1:1 convo, and most of my time went into the copy because… Design attracts but copy sells. The next step was… Step 3: Proper segmentation For a brand that sells one product, it’s easy to neglect the ones who’ve bought. (especially since it’s not a replenishable product) But my client is working on new products. Neglecting anyone would be a HUGE mistake - it always is. Here’s how I segmented: • Language • Engaged vs non-engaged • Customer vs non-customer All emails are properly targeted and personalized with the right intention. It makes people feel like we’re talking directly to them. But this wasn’t enough as… Step 4: Ramp up campaign volume They weren’t sending campaigns which meant a lot of revenue was left on the table. I started with re-engagement campaigns to identify the engaged segment. (if you don’t know this your deliverability will go down the drain) Then I split the engaged segment into: • Non-customers • Everyone That’s how I ensure we don’t send emails that aren’t relevant to the reader. The more campaigns you send, the more touch points and familiarity you create. Which leads to closer relationships and more sales. Many eCom founders are scared of being annoying if they send too many campaigns. If you only send: 1/ Sales and discounts 2/ Things that people don’t care about Then yeah you’re being annoying. But if you do email marketing the quiet way, people want to hear from you. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. This job was brutal. But our hard work paid off because we… ↳ Topped his best sales day in Oct ↳ Grew total revenue by 69% to 4.51M ↳ Beat his best email month by 148% to 1.30M ↳ Grew campaign revenue from 0 to 414k (in Oct) ↳ Involved his customers in his new product development process And the best part? I’ve only been working with them for 3 months. We’re just getting started. -- If you’re an eCom owner who wants to scale your revenue: I’m looking to work with 2 eCom brands to help them increase their email revenue in the next 60 days. DM me “email” and I’ll get you the details.

Is your email strategy a chaotic mess? 🤔 I've seen it too many times, companies sending emails from multiple systems or sources with zero coordination. Marketing emails from one platform. Transactional emails from another. Product notifications from somewhere else entirely. And nobody has a complete picture of what's happening. The result? Customers getting bombarded with mixed messages. Deliverability issues that nobody can solve. And zero visibility into what's actually working. But here's the thing: Your email ecosystem is probably your most valuable customer touchpoint. Yet it's often the most neglected part of your tech stack. The real problem? Most companies have never mapped their entire email architecture. They're flying blind and it's costing them millions in lost revenue and damaged customer relationships. So what's the fix? It starts with a comprehensive 4-layer mapping approach: ✅ Layer 1: Foundation Mapping Identify EVERY system sending emails (marketing, product, support, outreach, etc.) Document ownership, purpose, and infrastructure ✅ Layer 2: Customer Journey Mapping Visualize touchpoints across the entire lifecycle + map triggers, logic, copy, and metrics for each email ✅ Layer 3: Performance Audit Benchmark deliverability health across all providers Measure engagement and attribution metrics ✅ Layer 4: Strategic Architecture Consolidate platforms and simplify infrastructure Introduce AI workflows and fix compliance gaps I've seen companies double their email ROI just by getting visibility into their email ecosystem. And guess what? The companies that master this don't just improve performance - they transform email from a tactical channel into a strategic asset. Your email architecture isn't just a technical concern. It's a business imperative. Map it. Optimize it. And watch your customer experience and engagement soar. What's the most chaotic part of your company's email ecosystem? I'd love to hear in the comments 👇

In the last 3 months I've audited sequences from 10+ companies - virtually no one has email working as a channel Here are the 7 important shifts outbound sales teams need to make in order to get sequences and email actually work First - good copy I have yet to see an organization that consistently hits all copy fundamentals Make an observation, infer pain, share a value prop, invite to a next step Short mobile friendly sentences, 50-75 words One pain point, one value prop Rarely done Second - persona building Very few orgs have clear validated messaging in the buyer language I've see a FEW good marketing personas... but they're rare AND you also need the ability to prove a marketing persona WRONG (IE I got 100 replies from an email with this persona message and <10 were positive) Third - contact research ZoomInfo and Apollo.io make it easy to automatically find the right buyers at a company using personas/buying committee Sales nav has this too (though it's not as good) NO ONE IS USING THIS So SDRs spend .5-2 hrs a day just adding contacts ENORMOUS waste of time Fourth - no segmentation by intent, triggers, direct dials or channel responsiveness 60-80% of your prospects don't really answer the phone And many data providers have around 50% coverage on direct dials Reps are manually research prospects that don't have direct dials who have 60-80% lower connect rates than responsive prospects To top it off... those prospects often aren't even in market You have to be focusing on prospects you can actually REACH Fifth - there's little clear direction on personalization ✌🏽Dorothy Huynh helped me write a sequence with an extremely clear personalization framework for emails Where to look, what to ask about, etc Most orgs don't have that Without direction they tend to flop And no, Clay doesn't match the personalization of good SDRs, not by a long shot Sixth - too few or too many manual emails, too few multichannel touches (when appropriate) Most orgs fall in one of 3 camps Everything is automated emails with little split testing or segmentation Tons of manual emails which get completed late (credit for Remington Rawlings and 🖋Dave Breshears for talking about this) Or too MANY emails, calls, Linkedin messages... often targeting prospects without direct dials or Linkedin presence Tie manual touches to the level of intent, data, and channel responsiveness you have with each prospect instead Seventh - continuous optimization No one really has the bandwidth to split test, optimize and manage all of this So sequences usually become a mess This is why I'm building the outbound engine We build account and contact lists for your sales team Craft buyer personas Write good sequences And optimize based on what's working Build a machine that your sales team lives in, don't leave everyone to figure it out for themselves (DM if you want help)

The Irish Daily Mail reported on July 12 that the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) fell victim to a sophisticated, multi-layered phishing attack, resulting in a loss of up to €5 million (Craig Hughes, Irish Daily Mail, July 12). However the ntma.ie domain remains vulnerable to similar exploits. There are three essential protocols to prevent bad actors from impersonating your brand or corp email: 1 SPF (Sender Policy Framework) 2 DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) 3 DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) For those outside the emailgeek space: these are domain records that help block impersonators. They usually take no more than 5 minutes to set up; Gmail, Yahoo, and Microsoft now require them anyway. I see issues with each on ntma.ie but the DMARC record needs immediate attention. For ntma.ie, though a DMARC record exists, its policy is set to "p=none" but they do have reporting enabled. This means: Check the email, report failures, but let everything through anyway, including a spoofed email. You might ask, why is "none" there at all? The p=none DMARC policy is often used to monitor email authentication without affecting delivery; but if left too long, it offers no real protection and leaves the domain open to spoofing. The solution is straightforward: Update the policy to "p=quarantine" (move suspicious emails to spam) or "p=reject" (block them outright). This change can be implemented in just 5 minutes and would immediately start mitigating impersonation attacks. Every public organization should audit their email security protocols today. Start with your DMARC policy: Is it actively protecting you, or just passively observing threats? If you need guidance or a quick check, feel free to connect or message me, I'll check it for free. PS: Want to check your own domain quickly? Follow these three simple steps. 1 Send an email from your actual sending system (Salesforce, Sensorpro, Mailchimp, or your company email) to a Gmail address. 2 Open it in the Gmail desktop app, click the three vertical dots (top right) and select "<> Show original." 3 If SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are properly configured, you'll see "PASS" for each. If any are marked FAIL or missing, that's a concern.

Most deliverability issues boil down to bad data. Either you’re sending to people you shouldn't, or you’re sending things the right people don’t care about. Here's what might be contributing to your issue… First, the most common list growth missteps: 💌 Not getting explicit permission at signup. I’m not talking about what legally counts as an opt-in… for example, acquiring a list of “opt-in” addresses from a partner or affiliate. If they’re not aware of the fact that your brand will be emailing them, just don’t do it. 💌 Not clearly setting expectations. They should know exactly what they’re signing up for before they submit their address. And ideally, you follow up with a welcome email that reinforces who you are and why you’re in their inbox. Then you stick to what you promised! If you haven’t defined re-engagement or sunset policies yet, skip ahead to Step 6 — it walks you through how to build them. 💌 Not validating email addresses at the point of entry. Sometimes, even the most legitimate brands pull in trash signups… perhaps because they’re running a sweepstakes that entices people to share disposable email addresses. Or their form isn’t protected with a CAPTCHA (or similar line of defense against bot signups). Quick plug for real-time email verification if you’re collecting a LOT of addresses and delivery rates are often below ~95%. 💌 Sending mail that’s disconnected from what they signed up for. For example, if your last sweepstakes attracted people who only wanted a free iPad, not your content. Keep it relevant to what you’ll be emailing them about, people! Email is about quality, not quantity. Now on to common flaws in list management: 💌 Changing your frequency or volume without warning. Mailbox providers like consistency. When they notice changes in recipient reaction or sending volume, they’re likely to figure you’ve been hacked (and someone else is running amok with your sender reputation), or you’re doing something squirrely (in which case, well, maybe you don’t deserve the inbox anymore). 💌 Sending infrequently (e.g. once every 6 months). This one’s also a red flag for mailbox providers since they don’t have enough recent sending history to know if you’re safe for their users. Not to mention, recipients may forget about you, making them more likely to mark your emails as spam. 💌 Not acting on engagement data. You’ve gotta pay attention to your positive engagement signals (e.g. opens and clicks) and the negative ones (e.g. marking your email as spam or unsubscribing) to ensure you’re only sending to people who actually want to hear from you. Suppressing people who’ve asked to get off the ride isn’t just good for deliverability… it’s also legally required in a lot of parts of the world. 💌 Not having a re-engagement or sunset policy. Want to know what ‘unengaged’ should mean for your brand, or how to build re-engagement flows? Check out my most recent blog post for Send It Right.

🚫 Growth ≠ more leads ✅ Growth = better systems For a long time I believed that generating more qualitative leads would be enough to ensure a sustainable a growth but I was wrong. If your sales process moves like molasses, no amount of demand gen will save you. You’ll just be first to lose the deal. 📍Real story from a recent audit: One of our clients in B2B SaaS had a strong inbound engine: → Dozens of demo requests each week → Well-targeted paid campaigns and high quality inbound leads → Dedicated SDR team On paper, they were doing everything right. But their average time to close a deal kept creeping up and win rates were sliding. We pulled the data in HubSpot and... 💥 → Average time to first reply after form submission: 42 hours → Some contacts waited 3+ days before hearing from sales → No alerts, no task automation, no accountability People don’t wait around for your rep to finish their follow-up backlog. They book with your competitor. ⚙️ What we did: → Built a HubSpot workflow to trigger task assignments within 5 minutes → Added Slack alerts for untouched leads after 2 hours → Implemented a “hot lead” pipeline for same-day follow-up → Created a leaderboard to gamify time-to-first-email by rep The result? → Time to first contact dropped from 42h to under 4h in 2 weeks → Close rate increased by 18% → Sales velocity finally started to climb again You don’t need more leads. You need systems that treat every lead like it matters. If you’re generating demand but losing momentum in the sales cycle, RevOps might be the missing piece. Want a copy of the “Time to First Email” report I use in HubSpot audits? Just comment “📬” and I’ll send it over. #RevOps #Growth If you don't know me, I'm Romain, a Growth Marketing and Hubspot Expert, and I'm diving into the RevOps world. ✌️

If your SDR team sends 5,000+ cold emails a month and gets <2% reply rates, here’s what I’d do in the next 30 days to fix it. Week 1: ICP Reset Most B2B SaaS teams target too broadly. Instead of 10,000 “maybe” accounts, narrow to the 1,000 most likely to buy. In one client audit, this cut wasted effort by 70% and doubled meetings per rep. Week 2: Messaging Overhaul Generic “quick intro” emails don’t work. Rewrite sequences to: - Lead with a customer pain metric (“Our reps cut time-to-demo by 40%”). - Use short, 50–70 word emails. - Switch CTA from “demo” or “15-min chat” to asking if it's of interest...response rates jumped from 1.2% → 6.5%. Week 3: Timing Triggers Stop cold spraying. Identify 3–5 buying signals (job changes, funding announcements, new tech installs). Outreach within 14 days of a trigger converts 3-4x higher than cold (in my experience). Week 4: SDR Enablement Equip reps with: Objection handling scripts (tested to lift connect-to-meeting from 18% → 34%) LinkedIn message frameworks (average 12%-29% reply rate) A playbook they can run daily without manager micromanagement By the end of 30 days, outbound isn’t guesswork anymore. It’s a repeatable system for booking meetings and hitting quota. 👉 If you want me to walk you and your team through this process step-by-step, click the link in the comments. -- If you're an established B2B SaaS company, I can solve these two problems. 📆 Not booking enough meetings? I'll help you fix your outbound campaigns and processes so you book more meetings. 🤝 Not closing enough deals? I'll help you optimise your sales process and upskill your sales team so they close more deals. Holla at me if you'd like to work together. #pipeline #salesprospecting #b2bsales

Too often, organizations invest heavily in firewalls, endpoint security, and threat detection—yet overlook a critical flaw in their environment... Inconsistent mail flow rules. These rules govern how emails move through your system, but without proper oversight, they can quickly turn into a security risk. Common issues we find during audits include: - Overlapping rules that create unnecessary complexity - Whitelisted senders/domains that no longer need access - Unmonitored rule changes that open up security gaps When mail flow rules aren’t properly managed, it’s like leaving the back door open while reinforcing the front. The Business Risk? Inconsistent or outdated mail flow rules expose your organization to: 1. Data breaches via unmonitored email traffic 2. Phishing attacks that slip through poorly configured rules 3. Operational inefficiencies, with IT teams spending valuable time troubleshooting preventable issues A proactive approach is essential 1. Regular audits to eliminate redundancies and reduce exposure. 2. Consolidation of mail flow rules into clear, high-level policies that are manageable and secure. 3. Real-time monitoring through your SIEM to alert you of any unauthorized changes. The payoff? Stronger security, reduced complexity, and better control across your email system. This isn’t just a tech issue—it’s about protecting your business from preventable risks and avoiding costly breaches or compliance failures. When was the last time you audited your mail flow rules? If it’s been a while, now’s the time to reassess before they become a liability.