Is cold emailing effective for MCA lead generation

When someone tells me, “Cold email is dead”, what they actually mean is, “I wasn’t competent enough to make it work.” The real issue is: - Most people testing cold email have no idea what they’re doing - They don’t know how to write - They don’t know how to warm up - They don’t know how to target - And they quit after one bad try What separates winners from losers in outbound is what they do after it doesn’t work the first time. Losers quit and blame the channel. Winners retest, refine, and reinvent their approach — until it performs. Because here’s the hard truth: Cold email is no longer plug-and-play. You can’t just: - Buy a list - Paste a template - Hit send…and expect meetings to roll in. Here are 4 steps to write a good cold email: 1. Start with buyer psychology Most people start with: “What should I say?” Wrong question. Start with: What is this person going through right now? What would make them stop scrolling, open this email, and feel like it was written just for them? Every message should reflect a real signal ie something you’ve observed about the company, role, team, or market that justifies your interruption. 2. Build custom targeting If your “list” is just a CSV with job titles and company names, you’re already behind. Great outbound starts before the email is written. It starts with intentional list building. → Are these companies in a buying window? → Have they shown a signal of pain? → Can you infer friction from hiring trends, funding, tech stack, or org shifts? That’s how winners build a list. Precision > Volume. 3. Match relevance to pain Personalization is not just saying “Hey {{first_name}}, saw you went to [school].” What you need is relevance — context that proves you understand a pain the buyer might be experiencing right now. For example: “Noticed you just rolled out HubSpot and are hiring a RevOps lead. That shift often breaks lead routing. We’ve helped a similar team boost SQLs by 32% in 30 days — want me to walk you through it?” 4. Test methodically, not emotionally This is where most reps fail. They send 50 emails. Don’t get replies. And decide, “Cold email doesn’t work.” That’s like going to the gym for two weeks, not seeing abs, and blaming the dumbbells. You need to treat cold email like a product launch. - Test copy frameworks (pain > proof > CTA, insight > tease > question) - Test value props by segment - Test CTAs (soft asks vs. direct) - Monitor deliverability, not just reply rates Winners analyze and iterate. Losers panic and pivot to LinkedIn DMs with the same broken messaging. ——— When people say cold email is dead, what they really mean is: They gave up too early. Cold email still works but it’s no longer a one-size-fits-all growth hack. It’s a channel that requires craft, context, and commitment. The bar is higher now. But the ROI is still massive if you’re willing to do the work.

7 cold email tips I wish I knew earlier (but now build into every campaign). Cold email works. After sending millions of cold emails across dozens of outbound systems, here’s what consistently improves reply rates: 1. Vague ICP = vague messaging If you don’t know exactly who you’re talking to, you’ll end up writing for no one. Get tight on your ICP first, then write. 2. Subject line ≠ clickbait 3–5 words max. Lowercase. And make it relevant to their world, not yours. If it feels like marketing, it won’t get opened. 3. The preview text is your real subject line The first line sells the open. Start with something relevant, specific, and different from the 20 other emails in their inbox that day. 4. Don’t pitch in paragraph one No one buys from line 3. Start with insight, context, or trigger, not a product feature. 5. Connect personalization to pain Mentioning their dog’s name from LinkedIn doesn’t make your message feel relevant. Always tie personalization back to their goals. 6. CTAs should feel easy, not loaded “Want to explore potential synergies?” = silence. Try: - “Worth a look?” - “Can I send a quick breakdown?” - “Want to see how we did this for [competitor]?” 7. Lead with value, not the ask If the first thing they read is you asking for 30 minutes, they’ll delete it. Don't do this. Instead, start by showing you understand their world and can improve it. That's it. We build this into our outbound systems now, and it's crazy effective. What would you add?

17 cold email lessons from 100K sends How to win leads without killing your reputation This DM came from a client last year👇 ------ "A massive, massive thank you for everything you have done - thinking back on what our marketing was like before you joined, we were in a really bad place and you have almost single-handedly dragged us into a much more healthy state. So a huge heartfelt thank you, not sure what we would have done without you. " ------ "All" I did was build and manage a cold email campaign for them! But when I think about it, the success with them was a result of my going deep on cold emails for the previous 27 months, using too many tools and consuming more caffeine than I’d admit in public. When I started, I thought cold email was simple: → Find leads → Write message(s) → Wait for magic I was wrong! And results in chaos if you don’t know what you’re doing. Here’s what I learned after sending over 100,000 cold emails the hard way: 1. Cold Email Is Sales ↳ Your offer matters more than your tech ↳ Validate it before you hit send 2. Targeting Beats Copy ↳ Great words flop if sent to the wrong people ↳ Fix your list before your subject line 3. Pain Over Personalisation ↳ “Loved your podcast” gets ignored ↳ Speak to a problem they feel now 4. Apollo Isn’t Enough ↳ Everyone’s scraping the same pool ↳ Use BuiltWith, Clutch, Wappalyser to go deeper 5. Two-Step Sequences Win ↳ No more 7-email chains ↳ Tighter copy, stronger lists, gets better replies 6. Deliverability Is Non-Negotiable ↳ Warm inboxes or don’t bother ↳ Set up SPF, DKIM, DMARC 7. Test What Actually Matters ↳ “Interested” vs “Open to chat” is a waste of time ↳ Test offer, audience, trigger, channel 8. First Lines Carry Weight ↳ Mention job changes or funding events ↳ No BS, just relevance 9. Keep Emails Short ↳ It’s not a pitch deck ↳ Why you, why now, proof, ask 10. Use Spintax or Get Filtered ↳ Rotate every message ↳ The same copy kills your replies 11. Reuse Your Audience ↳ Nobody remembers your last email ↳ New angles on the same list, every quarter 12. Plaintext Over Pretty ↳ No images, links, or tracking ↳ Clean layout lands in inbox 13. Pick Up The Phone ↳ Got a warm reply? Call them ↳ Speed wins here, not automation 14. Scrape Properly ↳ One list is lazy, not smart ↳ We pull from 7 trusted directories 15. Build Trust With Every Word ↳ Outbound isn’t just noise ↳ Every sentence builds your credibility 16. It’s the Offer, Not the Emoji ↳ Fix the value, not the flair ↳ Make it worth replying to 17. Systems Beat Tools ↳ You don’t need new software ↳ You need a process that works together This post took a year to write. Not because the typing was hard. But because every line came from testing, breaking and fixing what didn’t work. ♻️ Repost it. Save it. Tag someone guessing at subject lines. 📨 DM me, Kobi Omenaka, if you want to skip the painful part.

Cold email brings in 15% of our revenue, and this one tweak made all the difference. We started cold outreach at MotionCue a couple of years ago. At first, it was hit or miss. But over time, we figured out what works. Now, it consistently brings in 10–15% of our revenue. My favorite part of cold email? You can test messaging fast and cheap, and the insights don’t just improve emails. They refine messaging across your entire funnel. We’ve tested 10–15+ variations: ➤ Short one-liners ➤ Lead magnets like case studies ➤ Free marketing strategy offers But the best-performing version by far? ➡ An email that includes a video link showcasing our work. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Won’t that hurt deliverability?” Not really. We’ve found YouTube links work fine, as long as you keep it to just one link. Why this works: ✅When someone clicks a YouTube link, they switch apps, and now you have their full attention. ✅A short, punchy video shows what you do better than anything you could write. Our best results come from videos under 30 seconds, like a mini elevator pitch. If you’re doing cold outreach and haven’t tested video yet, try it. It might just be the thing that turns curiosity into clicks (and replies into revenue). P.S. If you want insights into our cold email tech stack or detailed performance data, comment “Cold” and I’ll send it over.

startup growth isn’t magic. it’s math. here’s how we used cold email to triple our growth rate: 1. traffic: we targeted 2,000 ideal prospects via cold email campaigns. crafted personalized, problem-focused emails that grabbed attention. 2. conversion rate: sent 3 emails per lead on average. results? 7.5% reply rate. 20 discovery calls booked. 3. retention: pitched a clear, fast "aha moment" on those calls. focused on delivering quick wins for first-time users. 4. monetization: nurtured early customers. upsold additional services in month 2. this how you can fill $50k in sales pipeline in just 90 days. all you need is: clear icp, personalized outreach, and data-driven follow-ups.

These 8 cold email frameworks helped generate over $5M in revenue. Here’s how they work (and how to use them): The truth? Most cold email templates are outdated and super generic. Buyers have seen them all. And they delete them all. But some people are getting 15-20% reply rates using frameworks they never share. I asked them to break down exactly what works: 1️⃣ Monika Grycz 💌 (AIDA Structure) Start with a single, painful observation. Then back it up with real results from similar companies. End with a next step that feels easy. ↳ We've seen X% reply rates when this is executed properly. 2️⃣ Aaron Reeves (Trigger, Implication, Pain, Proof, Solution) Start with a relevant reason you're reaching out that's tailored to them. Connect what this might mean for their priorities. Highlight the risk of doing nothing. Show how you've helped similar companies avoid that outcome. ↳ This framework works especially well for expansion-stage companies. 3️⃣ Tal Baker-Phillips (Typical Problems Framework) Name the 1–2 issues they’re likely facing and offer a simple way to solve them. ↳ Short, direct, assumes they have the problem without being pushy about it. 4️⃣ Brian LaManna (Champion Play) Target people who've used your solution at previous companies. ↳ Converts at ridiculous rates because there's instant credibility. 5️⃣ Leif Bisping ("Why are you paying?") Highlight the inefficiency of their current tool. Then frame your solution as the obvious alternative. ↳ Creates immediate curiosity and positions you as the obvious alternative. 6️⃣ Ethan Parker (Lead Magnet Framework) Lead with a free resource. Offer something genuinely useful (like a cheat sheet or playbook) before you ask for anything. ↳ Gets them saying yes to something small first. 7️⃣ Thibaut Souyris ("Do the maths") Use hard numbers. Show how your solution saves time, money, or both, and back it with a simple calculation. ↳ Makes the ROI impossible to ignore. 8️⃣ Patrick Trümpi (Challenge of Similar Companies) Point to a challenge others in their space are dealing with. Share how you helped. ↳ Creates FOMO and positions you as the industry expert. The thing is, most people try to reinvent the wheel with cold email. But the best frameworks already exist. You just need to test them and see what works for your audience. Test 3-4 simultaneously and double down on what drives the highest reply rates. P.S. Swipe to see actual emails that booked meetings → 👋 Follow me for modern outbound strategies.

This cold email template has become my go-to for breaking through inbox noise and getting prospects to actually respond. After testing thousands of email variations, I've found one approach that consistently outperforms everything else. We're using this at ListKit to book demos daily: "Hey [Name], noticed you're involved in [Company]'s sales efforts. We have a database of 500 million triple-verified B2B email leads similar to Apollo or ZoomInfo. I put together 50 sample leads for you to take a look at. Mind if I share them with you?" Why this works so well: 1. We're offering something tangible and valuable upfront (free data) 2. The offer is already prepared ("I put together" not "I can put together") 3. The CTA is stupidly simple - just say "yes" to receive value Our follow-up sequence is equally important: Email 1: Same template as above Email 2: Same template with slight variation Email 3: "I have the spreadsheet of 50 B2B leads I put together for you right in front of me. Mind if I share the link with you here?" Once they respond positively, we tag them in our system and enroll them in a subsequence: "I'm working on your 50 free leads right now, I'll send them to this email when ready. In the meantime, how does next week work for a quick demo? Then we follow up every 2 days with variations of "Any chance to check out the leads? How does [specific time] work for a call?" This approach is generating a high reply rate to our follow-ups. Ultimately, you want to create a lead magnet that's personalized to them and demonstrates your value immediately.

I used to think a 1% reply rate on cold emails was "good enough." Then I discovered a method that skyrocketed my response rates to 14%. The old way of cold emailing is dead. Blasting generic messages to thousands of strangers simply doesn't work anymore. I've found something much more effective. Instead of casting a wide net, I now focus on identifying the 10 most influential thought leaders in my industry - the ones whose content consistently gets the most engagement. Here's the genius part: I don't target these influencers directly. I target the people who engage with their content. These individuals have already demonstrated interest in my industry by liking, commenting, and sharing relevant posts. Using tools like Triggery, I can track who's engaging with key opinion leaders. Then I use Clay to process and qualify these leads, ensuring I'm only reaching out to decision-makers who fit my ideal customer profile. The results speak for themselves. My reply rates jumped from the industry standard 1% to a consistent 14% - that's a 1,400% improvement. The secret sauce? These aren't truly "cold" emails. I'm reaching out to people who have already shown interest in topics related to my offering. When I personalize my message based on their specific engagement, they're far more likely to respond. Want to see exactly how I implement this strategy step-by-step? I've created a detailed walkthrough showing my entire workflow. Watch the full tutorial here: https://lnkd.in/eiufQ_7b

The cheapest B2B leads don’t come from Google or LinkedIn. They come from your inbox. By running daily discovery calls with revenue leaders, I’ve realized that very few people can answer a simple question: How much does a meeting cost you? Cold email is still the most cost-efficient channel when done right: - Hyper-targeted - Low CAC - High ROI - Predictable & scalable - Works before people raise their hand And yet… it’s still massively underused. Why? → Misconceptions like “email is dead” → Fear of spam → Lack of proper targeting  → Tech stack complexity when trying to do it at scale But here’s the kicker: Add AI to the equation and the cost per lead drops even further. We see it every day with our AI SDRs at Topo (YC W24). When people think about cost per meeting, AI + human = unbeatable. A real EBITDA booster. So, how much are you paying for a qualified lead? And is it still worth ignoring cold email? Sources: Gong "The Ultimate Cold Email Data Report" 2025 & Woodpecker Blog