From gtm-skills
Builds high-response cold outreach campaigns with personalized sequences, response handling, and compliance. For B2B sales and SDR workflows.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/gtm-skills:outbound-email-strategyThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
Read bootstrap context before asking questions: `strategy/brand.md` for brand, audience, offer, channels, tools, constraints, and metrics; `about/me.md` for personal voice; `content/ideas.md` and `content/calendar.md` for content planning. Use legacy product-marketing context files only as fallback. Save generated drafts to `content/<platform>/drafts/YYYY-MM-DD_short-topic-slug.md`, and route d...
Read bootstrap context before asking questions: strategy/brand.md for brand, audience, offer, channels, tools, constraints, and metrics; about/me.md for personal voice; content/ideas.md and content/calendar.md for content planning. Use legacy product-marketing context files only as fallback. Save generated drafts to content/<platform>/drafts/YYYY-MM-DD_short-topic-slug.md, and route durable learnings back to strategy/brand.md, about/me.md, or content/ideas.md.
This skill is self-contained for its frontmatter scope: use its local instructions, references, scripts, and assets as the playbook; ask only for missing task-specific inputs; hand off to adjacent skills instead of expanding scope; and return an actionable artifact, decision, plan, draft, or diagnostic.
Expert outbound email execution for B2B sales and business development. Build high-response cold outreach campaigns that feel personalized and drive conversations.
| Element | Question | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Who decides? | VP of Engineering |
| Company | What type? | B2B SaaS, $1-10M ARR |
| Pain | What hurts? | Content isn't converting |
| Trigger | Why NOW? | Just raised funding |
| Proof | Why YOU? | Helped similar company get result |
- What's their job title/role?
- What company size/type?
- What industry or vertical?
- What pain are they experiencing RIGHT NOW?
- Why should THEY specifically care?
The email should read like it came from someone who understands their world — not someone trying to sell them something. Use contractions. Read it aloud. If it sounds like marketing copy, rewrite it.
Cold email is ruthlessly short. If a sentence doesn't move the reader toward replying, cut it.
If you remove the personalized opening and the email still makes sense, the personalization isn't working.
"You/your" should dominate over "I/we." Don't open with who you are.
Interest-based CTAs ("Worth exploring?" / "Would this be useful?") beat meeting requests.
Short, boring, internal-looking. The subject line's only job is to get the email opened.
Rules:
Examples:
| Type | Duration | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Classic Cold | 7 emails, 2 weeks | Standard outreach |
| Fast-Track | 5 emails, 1 week | Quick follow-up |
| Long-Play | 12-14 emails, 4-6 weeks | Enterprise/Nurture |
| Event-Based | 3-5 emails | Trigger-specific |
| Day | Goal | Length | CTA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1: Introduction | 0 | Awareness + relevance | 50-100w | Soft ask |
| 2: Value Proof | 2 | Establish credibility | 75-125w | Meeting time |
| 3: Different Angle | 4 | Alternative pain point | 50-75w | Yes/no question |
| 4: Social Proof | 6 | Peer validation | 60-90w | Simple reply |
| 5: Resource Share | 8 | Give before asking | 40-60w | Soft |
| 6: Direct Ask | 10 | Be straightforward | 30-50w | Meeting request |
| 7: Breakup | 14 | Final attempt + opt-out | 25-40w | "Close your file?" |
Tue–Thu, 10–11 AM or 2–3 PM in recipient's timezone.
| Level | Time | What to Include |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 (Basic) | 30 sec | Name, company, industry |
| Tier 2 (Researched) | 2-3 min | News, LinkedIn content, job postings |
| Tier 3 (Deep) | 10-15 min | Podcast quotes, custom video, mutual connections |
Content-Based:
"Your post on X resonated — especially the point about Y."
Hiring Signal:
"Noticed you're hiring X — usually means Y pain."
Company News:
"Saw the news about X. Insight: Y."
Mutual Connection:
"X mentioned you're working on Y. Made me think of Z."
Make it impossible to ignore. Prove you know them.
Good:
Bad:
Show you understand their world.
"Companies at your stage usually struggle with X" "Saw you're scaling — that usually creates Y"
Give before you ask.
Make it natural and low-friction.
Good:
Bad:
Each follow-up should add something new — a different angle, fresh proof, a useful resource.
Email 2 (Value Bump):
"Quick follow-up — additional insight. [Restate offer]."
Email 3 (Different Angle):
"New observation about their business. Thought this might be relevant."
Email 4 (Social Proof):
"Just helped similar company with result. Thought of you."
Email 5 (Break-Up):
"Closing the loop. If problem isn't a priority, no worries. Door's open."
| Response Type | Example | SLA | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Positive | "Yes, let's talk" | 5 min | Book meeting |
| Curious | "Tell me more" | 1 hr | Send proof point |
| Objection | "Too small" | Same day | Handle with framework |
| Timing | "Not now, Q3" | Same day | Set reminder |
| Referral | "Talk to CFO" | 1 hr | Reach out to referral |
| Hard No | "Not interested" | 24 hr | Polite close |
Positive Response:
"Thanks! Here's what I promised. Quick question: [qualifying question]? If [condition], [next step]."
"Not Now" Response:
"No problem. Would it make sense to reconnect in [timeframe]?"
"What's This?" Response:
"In short: [1-sentence value]. [Reoffer value]. Worth a look?"
Skeptical Response:
"Fair to ask. [Proof point]. Happy to share case study if useful."
| Metric | Good | Great | Exceptional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Rate | 35-45% | 45-55% | 55%+ |
| Reply Rate | 3-8% | 8-15% | 15%+ |
| Meeting Booked | 1-3% | 3-6% | 6%+ |
| Element | Test Approach |
|---|---|
| Subject lines | Question vs. Statement |
| First line | Hook types: signal vs. pain vs. question |
| CTA | Direct vs. soft vs. value offer |
| Timing | Morning vs. afternoon |
| Length | Short (50w) vs. medium (100w) |
Send 50/50 split to 100 prospects. Wait 48h, measure opens + replies. Winner goes to remaining list.
| Stage | Volume | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Testing (Week 1-2) | 20-50/day | Find what works |
| Scaling (Week 3-4) | 50-100/day | Systematize |
| Cruising (Month 2+) | 100+/day | Maintain and iterate |
Rule: Never sacrifice personalization for volume.
| Mistake | Why It Fails | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Generic opener | "Hope you're well" ignored | Specific observation |
| Feature dump | They don't care yet | Lead with their pain |
| Multiple CTAs | Confusion | Single clear ask |
| Long emails | Won't be read | Under 75 words |
| Same angle each email | No reason to reply | New value per touch |
| No personalization | Feels like spam | Add research |
Example:
That's 4-8 customers/month from outbound.
npx claudepluginhub manojbajaj95/claude-gtm-plugin --plugin gtm-skillsWrites B2B cold email campaigns and follow-up sequences that get replies. Covers subject lines, personalization, CTAs, and multi-touch outreach.
Generates personalized multi-channel outreach sequences (email, LinkedIn, phone) from a buying signal, outputting 4-6 touchpoints over 10-14 days with optional Gmail drafting via Composio.
Writes B2B cold emails and follow-up sequences tailored to get replies. Covers subject lines, opening lines, body copy, CTAs, and multi-touch follow-ups.