Networking Outreach Methods

I’ve talked to 4-5 SDR Leaders that have gotten their email domains TORCHED in the last 2 months. Here’s the thing all outbound teams need to understand about deliverability: Email deliverability is a “death by a thousands paper cuts” type of situation. Stop stacking paper cuts and do these 9 things: 1️⃣ Set up secondary domains If you are still cold emailing off your primary email domain you may be in big trouble. This is crucial. Using something like Maildoso makes getting these domains and the whole technical setup super fast... more on that below. The last thing you want, especially if you DONT have a reputable domain like Salesforce(.)com is to burn your orgs primary domain. This doesn’t just affect your sales team. You don’t need your CSMS and CEO landing in SPAM. 2️⃣ Set up your DNS (DMARC, SPF & DKIM) records for ALL of your domains To skip the manual DNS headache... Maildoso automates this setup. I just set up 2 new domains in literally 1 minute with them last week. Right now we can only set up 2 mailboxes per rep in Outreach. Going to be adding a Smartlead integration soon in Common Room to run higher volume experiments based on various intent signals and double down on the ones that work with human SDRs. 3️⃣ Secondary domains should link to your primary You want to make sure your prospects are being directed to your actual company domain if they are curious and click. 4️⃣ Email Warmup - Domains should be “warmed up” for ~14 days before cold emailing Send at least 20-30 warm up emails per day per email account, with a 40% reply rate. This builds your domain reputation. 5️⃣ Email Volume - Build this over time. Start with 5-10 emails a day per account and do NOT send more than 30 emails per day per email account 6️⃣ Keep your email signature plain text. No Links. No images. No calendar links…at all Add your address in your signature and make sure you put a picture in your Outlook or Gmail profile. 7️⃣ Vary your cold email copy (i.e. SPINTAX). Sending the same template to every prospect signals that you are a spammer. Customize your first step email. For emails further in your sequence, use Spintax. Use alternate phrases “Hi, Hey, Hello”. New age sequencers do this automatically. 8️⃣ Understand that your domain gets TORCHED when people mark your email as spam. Good and relevant copy matter. 9️⃣ Constantly monitor your email deliverability. Deliverability varies across Outlook and Google servers. Get a platform that helps you land in ALL inboxes. Again, Maildoso makes this super easy...  they have daily reputation monitoring built right in so you catch issues fast. They average 98%+ inbox placement - wild. Maintaining good deliverability over time is key in the success of outbound. What would the email deliverability experts add here? #outbound #coldemail #deliverability

Just got off a call with a founder who's sent 1,000+ cold emails with ZERO responses... Let me ask you something... Have you ever crafted what you thought was the perfect outreach message, only to be met with complete silence? One of my clients (a SaaS founder) just shared their frustrating experience that might sound familiar... They spent weeks perfecting their message, researching prospects, and personalizing every email. The result? Radio silence. Zero responses. Zero meetings. Zero opportunities. And here's what really hurts... Their competitor, with an inferior product, was landing meetings left and right with the same prospects. After analyzing thousands of outreach campaigns, I’ve discovered that trust isn't built through volume - it's built through three specific elements that buyers actually care about. Here are the 3 trust drivers that actually get decision-makers to reply: 1) Social Proof That Matters Stop leading with generic logos. I've found buyers instantly engage when you share specific results from companies in their exact industry. They need to see themselves in your success stories. ✅ POWER MOVE:  Reference a similar company's specific metrics improvement (e.g., "We helped Company X increase their conversion rate by 47% in 60 days") 2) Thought Leadership Signals Your prospects are drowning in "experts." I've tested this extensively - buyers respond when you demonstrate deep industry knowledge through specific insights about their business challenges. ✅POWER MOVE: Share a unique observation about their market position or recent company changes that others missed. 3) Micro-Deliverables This is the game-changer most miss. I've seen response rates triple when founders offer immediate value before asking for anything in return. ✅POWER MOVE: Provide a quick competitive analysis or specific growth opportunity they can implement today, regardless of whether they reply. The data is clear: 89% of cold outreach fails because it focuses on what YOU want instead of what THEY need. These aren't just theories - I've watched these exact strategies transform response rates from 2% to 20%+ across hundreds of campaigns. Here's the real question: How many of these trust drivers are you actually incorporating in your outreach right now? #ColdOutreach #B2BSales #TrustBasedSelling #OutboundMarketing #SalesStrategy

Myth: “Your deliverability is a one-time setup.” I learned that late. It cost us pipeline. We had SPF, DKIM, and DMARC in place. The copy was solid. The leads were qualified. But replies were silent. We tweaked subject lines.  Rewrote the CTA. Changed the offer.  Still nothing. The real issue? The emails were landing in Promotions. Some went to Spam. And we had no visibility. That’s when we realized deliverability isn't a checkbox. It's something you monitor consistently. Inbox placement changes. Domain reputation shifts. Even one bad step can tank performance. That’s why we now use Inbox Radar by Saleshandy. → Recurring Tests  Automatically track inbox placement over time. → Manual Tests  Run quick checks before sending a sequence. → External Tests  Check emails sent from Gmail or Outlook with a test ID. It shows where your emails land: Primary, Promotions, or Spam. And what needs fixing if they don’t land right. We don’t guess anymore. We check. We fix. Then we send. If you're running cold outreach, test before you launch. It’s one small habit that protects your entire pipeline. Using anything to monitor your deliverability yet?

Deliverability rules changed 🚨 Most GTM teams didn’t. That’s the problem, that's killing your Outbound.   Here’s a step by step guide to play by the new rules as discussed in last Monday’s webinar with ZeroBounce (recap below, plus slides 👇):   1. Deliverability has gotten brutal - ESPs now enforce SPF/DKIM/DMARC - Sending limits: as low as 30/day (!) - Open-tracking pixels + links = red flags - Treat deliverability like infra.   2. KPIs to live by - Bounce rate < 5% - Spam-complaint rate < 0.1% - Positive reply rate > 25% - Forget opens, replies are your real signal.   3. Stack smart, and send smarter ✅ Warm up inboxes 2–3 weeks (ZeroBounce helps) ✅ Mix inbox providers (Google + Microsoft) ✅ Match sender ↔ recipient (Google → Gmail) ✅ Pause weak performers weekly   4. Data hygiene = deliverability - Always validate emails with tools like ZeroBounce - Drop catch-alls & risky emails - Analyze why emails are invalid → fix source   5. Personalize or perish ✍️ - AI can segment, enrich, write, but the offer must land - ~60% variation per send to beat filters - Clay + Twain = to scale with relevance   6. Multichannel for resilience - If email bounces, use LinkedIn. - Use buyer signals (site visits, job changes) to stay warm.   Huge thanks to everyone who joined us on Monday's webinar 🙏 Special shoutout to ZeroBounce for hosting and powering the deliverability infra.   Want the slides? 1. Make sure we are connected 2. Drop a “SLIDES” in the comments and I’ll send them over. 3. Repost for early access 😉   #deliverability #coldemail #outbound #salesops #gtm #salesstrategy #emailmarketing #b2bsales

You don’t need to “network more.” You need to network smarter. Because if you’re at the mid-to-senior level, you don’t need 100 coffee chats. You need the right 5 conversations-with the right people. Here’s how experienced professionals network differently: 📌 1. They lead with insight, not a pitch Instead of “I’m looking for a new role,” They say: → “I’m exploring leadership roles in healthtech—especially where brand, product, and ops are deeply connected.” → “Given your experience at [Company], I’d love your perspective on what makes candidates stand out at that level.” Why it works: It’s clear, focused, and invites dialogue-not pressure. 📌 2. They reconnect with people they used to know Weak ties-former colleagues, old mentors, even college contacts-are often the ones who unlock opportunities. Not your closest friends. Start here: → “We haven’t spoken in a while, but I always appreciated your perspective. I’d love to catch up and hear what you’ve been working on.” 📌 3. They create visibility, not just 1:1 reachouts Smart networking isn’t just DMs. It’s showing up consistently: → Commenting where hiring managers hang out → Sharing your thinking in posts → Highlighting others in your network Visibility builds trust-before the first message is ever sent. 📌 4. They give before they ask → “I saw this opportunity and thought of you.” → “Let me know if you’re hiring-I’ve spoken with someone who might be a fit.” → “Here’s an article I thought you’d enjoy based on our last convo.” People remember how you make them feel. Be the person they want to help. Bottom line? You don’t need more coffee chats. More messages. More blind outreach. You need strategic conversations, built on clarity, curiosity, and consistency. That’s how senior professionals network-and how they get referred, remembered, and hired. If you’re tired of chasing job boards and want a smarter way to build traction- Follow me for real-world job search strategies that actually work.

Everyone’s trying to crack the email code right now. I sat down with an executive from a sales management platform, and a few takeaways really hit me. We’ve started applying them at our production company, and the results have been eye-opening. Here are 3 insights you should know: 1. Deliverability is killing you before you even start. At least 18% of emails never even reach your prospect’s inbox. That means 2 out of every 10 emails you send are dead on arrival. And in some industries, it’s worse. To get the best deliverability, I use FullEnrich. 2. Smaller batches work better. Sending fewer than 100 emails at a time (I’ve even seen success with 10–50) keeps you under the radar and boosts reply rates. It also gives you space to hyper-focus on each prospect. 3. Niche targeting > mass blasting. One of our clients in the medical space crushed it by writing emails that sounded like a genuine colleague-to-colleague conversation. Why? Because she understood her audience’s pain points, quality scores, revenue pressures, and the under-the-surface challenges they deal with daily. By refining her list around those triggers, her emails became highly relevant, and the engagement followed. Bottom line: 1. Clean your data 2. Send in smaller, smarter batches 3. Go niche and speak to real pain points We’ve been testing this, and the engagement difference is night and day. Curious, what’s working for you right now when it comes to email deliverability and engagement? #prospecting #sales #coldemail

I just watched a sales rep spend 3 hours crafting the "perfect" LinkedIn message to a prospect who bought from his competitor yesterday The prospect had been posting about their challenges for 6 weeks. Sharing articles about the exact problem this rep's solution solves. Commenting on industry discussions about implementation timelines. But this rep never engaged with any of it. Instead, he was busy perfecting his cold outreach template while his competitor was building relationships in plain sight. This is social selling backwards. Most sales teams treat LinkedIn like an email database with better targeting. They research profiles → craft personalized messages → send connection requests → pitch immediately But social selling isn't about better cold outreach. It's about becoming part of your prospect's decision-making process before they even know they're buying… and just keeping it casual, like a normal human. Here's what the highest-performing social sellers actually do: → They follow prospects months before reaching out → They add value to conversations prospects are already having → They become a trusted voice in their prospect's content feed → They earn permission to have sales conversations When you consistently add insight to someone's posts for 4-6 weeks, your eventual outreach isn't cold anymore. It's the natural next step in an existing relationship. Your prospects are literally telling you their priorities, challenges, and timeline through their LinkedIn activity. Stop treating social selling like fancy cold calling and start treating it like relationship building at scale. How much of your prospect research happens on LinkedIn versus actually engaging with their content? — Enjoy this? 📱 Join our community: https://lnkd.in/e3WAJnft

Want more referrals? Stop asking for a job. Start asking for this instead. 👇 The Problem: Most people approach company outreach all wrong. They hunt down the hiring manager, send a cold message, and immediately ask if there are any open roles. The result? Ghosted. 👻 Why? Because it places an immediate burden on the other person. They don't know you, and they don't have time to vet you. 💡 The Solution: Shift from asking for a job to asking for advice. People love to give advice. It's flattering. It’s low-pressure. And it’s the fastest way to build a real human connection. Here is the exact formula I use to turn a cold outreach into a warm referral opportunity: 1️⃣ Target Your "Future Peers." Don't just aim for leadership. Connect with people already doing the job you want or the level above it. They are less guarded and can give you the real scoop on the team culture. Titles to target: If you want to be a Senior Manager, target current Senior Managers or Directors. 2️⃣ The "Advice over Job" Outreach. Initiate the conversation with curiosity, not a request. Try this: “I’ve been following [Company’s] work in [specific area], and as someone leading similar initiatives, I’d love to ask 1 or 2 questions about how your team approaches [specific challenge].” 3️⃣ Use the "Closing Trial Statement" for the Referral. Once you've established great rapport and the conversation is winding down, make the referral their idea. The Magic Script: “This has been incredibly helpful. Based on what you’ve shared about the team’s goals, I’m even more confident that my background in [Result A] and [Result B] would be a strong fit. If I find a specific opening that aligns with this, would you be open to me sending my resume your way to ensure it reaches the right desk?” Because you’ve built a connection and trust, most people will say yes. This is how you turn a simple informational chat into a genuine opportunity. ➡️ Have you tried the "advice first" approach in your networking? Let me know what worked (or what didn't!) in the comments.

I’ve never applied for a job. If you follow me, you know I post job opportunities to help women break into startups and increase accessibility in the startup ecosystem. Because of that, my inbox is always full of messages from women asking: "How do I stand out?" "How do I make my application get noticed?" Here’s what I tell them every single time: Invest in relationships, not mass applications. One strong relationship can open the door to dozens of opportunities. One meaningful connection beats 100 cold applications. One person who believes in you can change your entire career trajectory. But meaningful relationships take time to build, grow, and nurture. So here's exactly how to identify and build those relationships—while adding real value in the process: 1️⃣ Focus your energy instead of casting a wide net Choose a sector you’re truly passionate about—and immerse yourself in it. Subscribe to newsletters, listen to podcasts, and follow the top thought leaders in that space on LinkedIn. Be so genuinely interested in the space that you can talk about it effortlessly. That depth of knowledge becomes your competitive edge—and your most powerful conversation starter. 2️⃣ Pay attention to the right indicators As you follow thought leaders, investors, and founders in your space, pay attention to the details—funding announcements, product launches, and even their LinkedIn posts about company culture. It’s never been easier to access true insider knowledge. More founders and their teams are recognizing the power of content for distribution and building in public. Leverage this visibility to your advantage. 3️⃣ Break in with purpose Once you know which companies and people you’re aiming for, be intentional in how you reach out. But here’s the mistake most people make: Stop setting up calls “just to chat.” You’ve probably been told to “talk to as many people as possible.” That’s totally misguided if you don’t add value. From the very first outreach, give more than you take: • Share thoughtful feedback on their product or strategy • Send relevant customer insights or market research • Connect them with someone who can help them right now • Offer a unique perspective on their audience or industry My secret weapon? Hosting events. I'm a community builder at my core, and hosting events in college opened countless doors for me. Here's how: • Invite a founder to speak on a panel or lead a workshop • If a founder/investor is on a book tour, invite them to your university • Ask a VC to judge a pitch competition The key? Put people in rooms they want to be in. Create spaces where they can attract clients, customers, or investors. Position yourself as the connector. That's how you become valuable—and how relationships deepen. The truth is when you consistently show up prepared, informed, and valuable—you stop chasing opportunities. They start chasing you.

The DM Psychology That Doubled My Response Rate After analyzing 400+ LinkedIn conversations, I discovered why some messages get ignored while others lead to meaningful connections. Here's my research-backed framework: 1. The 3-2-1 Message Structure Most people ramble. Instead, use this formula: -3 sentences about their work or recent post -2 sentences about the specific connection point -1 clear question that's easy to answer This structure respects time while creating a natural conversational opening. 2. Timing Your Outreach Messages sent within 60 minutes of someone's activity get 4x higher response rates. Why? The person is already in "LinkedIn mode" and more likely to see your notification. 3. The Value-First Approach Instead of asking for something immediately, offer genuine insight: -Share a relevant resource -Provide specific feedback on their content -Connect them with someone in your network This reverse-psychology creates reciprocity without demanding it. 4. The Two-Week Rule If someone doesn't respond to your follow-up, wait two weeks before reaching out again—with completely different context. This respects boundaries while giving you a fresh start. 5. The Personal Touch Test Before sending, ask yourself: "Could this message be sent to 100 other people?" If yes, rewrite it. Personalization isn't mentioning their name—it's demonstrating you've paid attention. Remember: LinkedIn messages aren't transactional—they're the beginning of professional relationships. What's your best tip for meaningful LinkedIn conversations? #NetworkingTips #LinkedInStrategy #ProfessionalGrowth