Post by Harinie Sekaran

3 avoidable mistakes in cold outreach and how to fix them. Cold outreach is hard - but a lot of what makes it hard is actually fixable. Here are 3 common ones & what to do instead: 1️⃣ Emails landing in spam It happens more than you think. Just because your email ID is valid doesn’t mean your message will reach the inbox. ✅Fix: → Warm up your domain, Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Stick to clean lists. There are two dozen loops to run through to get your emails into inboxes. Make sure you actually run through them. → Your message only matters if it actually gets seen. 2️⃣ Using signals without context “Congrats on your funding! Want to buy my product?” Or: “Loved your post yesterday! By the way, here’s what I do.” We’ve all seen these messages. They feel generic, robotic and disconnected from any real value. ✅Fix: → Recognize the difference between “a” signal and “your” signal. → Don’t stop with referencing a trigger, instead connect it to your offer in a way that flows naturally. Example: If they raised funding, tie it to a scaling challenge your solution addresses. If they posted about a topic, build on the insight, not the event. 3️⃣ Competitor targeting done wrong A common trap: “You’re using [X]? We’re better. Switch.” Here’s the problem: → You have no idea if they’re happy with the current solution. → It comes across as aggressive and disrespectful. Finally, you have competitors do, and that’s not what you want them doing with your customers. 😀 ✅Fix: → Acknowledge the competitor respectfully. → Then show where your product specifically helps, ideally in areas others have found valuable when switching. For example: "We’ve seen customers using [X product] find Y feature of our tool  really helpful in solving [specific challenge]. Does this sound relevant for your team?" Or “Saw you're using [Competitor Name] - great product, especially for [strengths like speed, ease of use, etc.]. That said, a few teams who’ve switched to us mentioned they ran into challenges with [1–2 common pain points]. We’ve built [Product] to solve for exactly that. Not saying we are better across the board, but for teams where those issues matter, the switch has been worth it. Would it make sense to explore if this applies to you too?” This keeps the conversation respectful, avoids drama, and positions your product as a great solution without attacking anyone else. Cold outreach works but only when you get the basics right: ✅ Be thoughtful. ✅ Be respectful. ✅ Be relevant. That’s how you cut through the noise and start meaningful conversations.