Pick a prospecting method and tidy data. Warm domains, protect deliverability, build short email and LinkedIn sequences, and route positive replies to the right owner with tasks in the CRM.
Since 2017, I’ve run a lot of cold outreach campaigns over the years, and the truth is, they still work in 2025. But only if you’re willing to put in the effort. If you spray and pray, you’ll burn your list and damage your brand. If you send thoughtful messages with real relevance, you can still open doors.
The challenge is that writing meaningful outreach takes time. You need to research the person, understand what matters to them, and show why it’s worth replying. That’s where smart automation comes in.
In this playbook, I’ll show you how to build a hybrid outreach system. You’ll automate the repetitive stuff like sending, follow-ups, and LinkedIn syncing, so you can spend your energy on the part that actually makes a difference: personalisation.
This system is designed to be scalable, but still human. With the right tools and structure, you can build outreach that’s consistent, personal, and gets results without feeling robotic.
Map the right prospects, message and channels before you send a single email, so every touch lands in the inbox of someone ready to talk.
Lock in domain, DNS, inbox warm-up and sending volumes before you write a single email.
Find and qualify leads with precision so you can spend less time prospecting and more time closing conversations.
Write cold emails that get replies with clear value and no fluff. Learn best-practice frameworks for subject lines, openers, relevance, proof, calls to action, and follow ups, with examples you can copy.
Structure your campaign across multiple touchpoints using email, LinkedIn or both.
Optimise your outreach by measuring what matters—opens, replies, and conversions.
Use what you already have. But if you're starting from scratch or want recommendations, these are the tools I use with clients and personally rely on. Consider this a bonus: helpful if you need it, completely optional if you don't.
Turns LinkedIn into your CRM interface, find and enrich contacts, then push leads and messages to HubSpot, Salesforce or Pipedrive without copy pasting.
Cold email platform with warm up, sequencing and tracking, designed to keep domains healthy while booking meetings.
Prospecting database with sequencing, handy for small teams that want leads and outreach in one place with basic enrichment.
Data provider for emails and numbers, handy for filling gaps in prospect lists before sequencing.
Simple cold email tool with sequences and tracking, good for lean outbound motions.
Kanbox turns your email into a CRM that tracks deals, follow-ups, and reminders.
The books that shaped how I think about growth. Read summaries here, then buy what resonates. Learn from the best thinkers in B2B.
Alex Hormozi
Clear take on list building, offers and outreach. See how to adapt the playbook for B2B, protect your domain, and turn attention into qualified pipeline.
Key concepts and frameworks explained clearly. Quick reference when you need to understand a term, refresh your knowledge, or share with your team.
Most B2B marketers are either Random Ricks (trying everything) or Specialist Steves (obsessed with one channel). Generalists run tactics without strategy. Specialists hit channel ceilings. But there's a better way.
Tries everything at once. Posts on LinkedIn, runs ads, tweaks the website, chases referrals. Nothing compounds because nothing's consistent. Growth feels chaotic.
Obsessed with one tactic. 'We just need better ads' or 'SEO will fix everything.' Ignores the rest of the system. One strong engine can't carry a broken machine.
Finds the bottleneck. Fixes that first. Then moves to the next weakest link. Builds a system that's predictable, measurable and doesn't need 80-hour weeks.
Learn how she diagnoses bottlenecks, orchestrates the four engines, and drives predictable growth. Choose if you want to read or watch:
Get practical frameworks delivered daily. Seven short emails explain how Sarah diagnoses bottlenecks, orchestrates the four engines, and builds systems that compound.
Free 45-minute video module from the full course. Watch how to diagnose your growth bottleneck and see exactly what the course platform looks like.
Tactical playbooks for every stage of this engine. The playbooks are practical guides for tactical stuff. They complement the (paid) growth framework and help you with the tactics.
Pick a prospecting method and tidy data. Warm domains, protect deliverability, build short email and LinkedIn sequences, and route positive replies to the right owner with tasks in the CRM.
See playbookPost consistently on LinkedIn with a routine that grows authority, attracts buyers and turns visibility into pipeline. Turn posts into warm leads without spam or gimmicks.
See playbook
Set up reliable tracking and budgets. Choose channels that match intent, structure campaigns neatly, test creative and landing pages, and move spend to what produces quality leads.
See playbook
Rank in Google and LLMs by publishing content that answers real buyer questions and attracts high intent traffic. Build content pillars that compound results with steady effort.
See playbook
A lead-gen tool finds, captures, or enriches contact details so your sales or marketing team can start a useful conversation. Some tools hunt for e-mail addresses, others send personalised messages, and a few reveal which companies are already browsing your site. Each one removes manual research and lets you contact the right person sooner.
Lead generation is the bigger strategy: content, ads, events, or referrals that bring fresh names into your funnel. The tools covered on this page handle the tactical work inside that strategy—collecting data, sending outreach, and logging activity in your CRM.
Choose outbound when you know the type of company you want and you cannot afford to wait for them to discover you. Data platforms supply accurate contacts; sequence tools send well-timed e-mails; enrichment services add context that stops messages sounding generic. Outbound works best with tight targeting and short, relevant copy, not spray-and-pray blasts.
Inbound tools catch visitors who already show interest—downloading a guide, reading pricing, or attending a webinar. Form enhancers reduce the fields a contact must fill in; reverse-IP lookup tools identify anonymous companies; chat widgets route hot leads straight to a rep. The aim is to respond quickly while intent is high instead of letting the visitor drift off to a competitor.
Bad data burns time, harms domain reputation, and annoys would-be buyers. Make sure your chosen tool verifies e-mail addresses, refreshes job titles, and flags out-of-office messages. A smaller, cleaner list always beats a bloated one full of bounces.
No. The CRM is still the single place that tracks conversations and deals. Lead-generation tools feed data into the CRM and read status updates so they do not chase closed opportunities. Check that any tool you pick offers a real two-way sync or a reliable connector via Zapier or Make.
Look at reply rate for outbound, form-completion rate for inbound, and speed-to-first-contact for both. Improved numbers here lead to more qualified meetings and, ultimately, more revenue. If the tool does not move one of these metrics within a month, revisit your audience or look for a better fit.
Choose an approach that matches your growth stage—outbound for targeted reach, inbound for capturing demand you already create—and let the tools do the repetitive work while you focus on the message and the offer.
