At some point, some of it. The trap is in automating something too soon. Do things that don't scale, then see what you can do to automate it. Not the other way around.
Why shouldn't a founder use a tool like lemlist and invest 60 minutes of their time working on high quality contacts, creating lists and improve the message? There is something I miss, especially in the era where everyone speaks about AI for everything, manual cold emailing seems to thrive. What do I miss?
You should never automate things you don't understand. So what are you automating in the first place? Getting some help with leadgen is different from spamming 5k profiles that roughly fit your 'CEO in France' target group. I've seen that happen, trust me. 5k outreaches, 3 responses that politely said no.
But even in the question of 'high quality contacts', you are required to specify the requirements. Gathering those requirements is a process you can't automate, because you don't know yet who you should target. So it's a waste of time to get 1000 leads on a target group you might not need. Therefore, send those 20 - 50 messages manually, see if that is indeed your target group, and then automate things.
Addiitionally, a lot of lead gen services are terrible. They just make sure they hit the numbers, but outsourcing that often gets low quality leads. If you know a good one, please let me know, because I will buy!
What if we use tools to reach out multiple times with the right people? I'm thinking to b2b, senior profiles. I struggle to see the difference between sending 20 messages and repeat them systematically vs try to have discipline and struggle to stay disciplined (and do the same amount of messages)
That could work, but be specific when you say 'the right people'. If you haven't made dozens of sales, you don't know what the right people are. B2B is a broad category. You want to be specific to have high hit rates. That's the catch.
Definitely agree with be specific. Consider that I suggest this approach for startups who already have a product and an audience, so they already should know their clients🙂. Thx for your insights
Great Q. I explain them this is the actual grind of doing a startup. All work before was relatively easy, now the real hard work starts. I don't sugarcoat it, but I help to celebrate tiny moments. I had a founder once who said I *only* got two responses out of 20 emails, because he felt that was bad. Then I always say: Hey man, these are hitrates a lot of founders would be jealous off. In anything, there's an upside. If somebody shoots 150 unguided, and is frustrated, I tell them: At least you are in the arena. It's a marathon and a learning curve. Keep that grit, and move on.
Solid advice. The 60-minute block is the only way it ever actually happens.
I guess my question is how much of this can be automated?
At some point, some of it. The trap is in automating something too soon. Do things that don't scale, then see what you can do to automate it. Not the other way around.
Why shouldn't a founder use a tool like lemlist and invest 60 minutes of their time working on high quality contacts, creating lists and improve the message? There is something I miss, especially in the era where everyone speaks about AI for everything, manual cold emailing seems to thrive. What do I miss?
You should never automate things you don't understand. So what are you automating in the first place? Getting some help with leadgen is different from spamming 5k profiles that roughly fit your 'CEO in France' target group. I've seen that happen, trust me. 5k outreaches, 3 responses that politely said no.
But even in the question of 'high quality contacts', you are required to specify the requirements. Gathering those requirements is a process you can't automate, because you don't know yet who you should target. So it's a waste of time to get 1000 leads on a target group you might not need. Therefore, send those 20 - 50 messages manually, see if that is indeed your target group, and then automate things.
Addiitionally, a lot of lead gen services are terrible. They just make sure they hit the numbers, but outsourcing that often gets low quality leads. If you know a good one, please let me know, because I will buy!
What if we use tools to reach out multiple times with the right people? I'm thinking to b2b, senior profiles. I struggle to see the difference between sending 20 messages and repeat them systematically vs try to have discipline and struggle to stay disciplined (and do the same amount of messages)
That could work, but be specific when you say 'the right people'. If you haven't made dozens of sales, you don't know what the right people are. B2B is a broad category. You want to be specific to have high hit rates. That's the catch.
Definitely agree with be specific. Consider that I suggest this approach for startups who already have a product and an audience, so they already should know their clients🙂. Thx for your insights
Getting that initial traction is key, and manual outreach is a grind. This is a solid breakdown of the process and the common sticking points.
How do you coach founders to keep momentum when the first wave of silence hits?
Great Q. I explain them this is the actual grind of doing a startup. All work before was relatively easy, now the real hard work starts. I don't sugarcoat it, but I help to celebrate tiny moments. I had a founder once who said I *only* got two responses out of 20 emails, because he felt that was bad. Then I always say: Hey man, these are hitrates a lot of founders would be jealous off. In anything, there's an upside. If somebody shoots 150 unguided, and is frustrated, I tell them: At least you are in the arena. It's a marathon and a learning curve. Keep that grit, and move on.
Interesting!
Thanks for this. An absolutely key and many times dismissed topic.