Effective outreach uses public data to create a unique, valuable insight for the prospect (e.g., "Your building portfolio will face X dollars in fines by 2030 based on this new law"). This earns you the right to a conversation, where the pitch can happen later, rather than being ignored upfront.

Founders struggling with pipeline often try to sell their product in cold outreach, which fails. The initial goal is not conversion, but learning. Instead, sell the conversation itself by positioning yourself as an interesting person to talk to. This dramatically increases meeting rates.

To get meetings with busy leaders before her product was ready, founder Janice Omadeke explicitly stated, "I am too early for you to purchase this." This non-threatening approach lowered their guard, reframing the conversation from a sales pitch to a collaborative session focused on learning their problems.

Instead of cold calling, ask a target executive for a 10-minute interview for an article you're writing on an industry topic. This non-salesy approach grants access, positions you as an expert, and initiates a relationship on collaborative, not transactional, terms.

A breakthrough for new salespeople is changing their mindset on initial calls. Instead of trying to immediately find a problem to sell against, focus on making a human connection and leading with genuine curiosity. This approach lowers pressure and fosters a more collaborative discovery process.

Structure customer validation across two meetings. The first is framed as a request for help to validate an idea, building rapport without sales pressure. The second presents the honed solution based on their feedback, creating a natural and easier transition into a sales conversation with a trusted partner.

Before LinkedIn was saturated with bots, the founders achieved an 8-10% response rate by being direct and vulnerable. They dropped the YC name for credibility but framed their ask as "we're two guys who need help," appealing to prospects' desire to be part of building something new.

In initial meetings with enterprise prospects, Nexla's founder didn't pitch a solution. He focused entirely on validating the problem. By asking, "Do you see this problem as well?" he framed the conversation as a collaborative exploration, which disarmed prospects and led to more honest, insightful discussions.

Instead of trying to convince prospects of your product's value in an initial message, focus on being an interesting person they'd want to talk to. If your targeting is correct, a genuine conversation will naturally uncover their demand and lead to a sales call.