Most cold outreach right now is noise

Not because sellers are lazy…because everyone automated at the same time, and now inboxes are full of “personalized” messages that feel identical.

A university exec I spoke to recently receives 10-15 pitches per week.

How are you supposed to grab their attention?

What’s working for me:

1. Cut the list in half - get really crisp on who you’re targeting and be really intentional with your messaging.
2. Try to warm up contacts before you reach out. Follow them on LinkedIn, like their content, and comment genuinely. Do it for a few weeks. The idea here is that when your name shows up in their inbox, they’re more inclined to open it. It’s a little less cold.
3. Write like a human. This is a big one for me. You see and feel this in email and social media. There’s just so much AI slop. I tend to gravitate toward those who are clearly writing their own content. I love how Jen Abel does this on X. I think this is especially true when it comes to cold outreach. The messages I respond to most on LinkedIn or email are ones that don’t look like mass email outreach or simple, straightforward, and clearly not written with AI.
4. Be useful. Useful people get a response. I try not to sell. I like the approach of asking for feedback or delivering a useful report or an analysis you can run to spot gaps and opportunities for them. Get creative with it but try to be useful and add value. If they don’t get something in return, lots will ignore you.