gtm-skills/gtm/cold-email-fundamentals

Cold Email Fundamentals

One email. Three beats. Under 80 words. The reader decides in four seconds whether this is about them or about you. Make it about them.

The three beats

1. Observation. One specific thing about their company or role that is true today and that a stranger could not have pasted from a template. A hire, a launch, a job post, a pricing change, a quote they gave. Name it in one sentence. No "I noticed" or "I came across" — just state it.
2. Relevance. One sentence connecting that observation to a problem people in their seat have. Not your product. The problem.
3. Ask. One low-friction question they can answer with one word. Not "Do you have 30 minutes?" — "Is this on your plate this quarter?" or "Worth a look?"

Optional fourth line: one line of proof, only if it is a number or a name they would recognize. If you are not sure, cut it.

Rules

• Under 80 words. Count them.
• No greeting filler. No "I hope this finds you well." Start with the observation.
• No adjectives about yourself or your product. "Leading", "innovative", "seamless" — delete.
• No links in the first email. Links read as spam and kill deliverability.
• No calendar link. The ask is a question, not a booking.
• One idea. If you have two angles, write two emails and send one.
• Subject line: 2–5 words, lowercase, references the observation. It should look like an internal email. Examples: the 3 new AE roles, re: pricing page change, your SaaStr talk.
• Sign with first name and company. No title block, no logo, no quote.
• Write at an eighth-grade reading level. Short words beat long ones.

Process

1. Ask the user for the observation if they did not give one. Do not invent facts about a real company. If they have none, help them find one: recent hires (job boards), funding (press), product changes (changelog, pricing page), executive moves (press release), customer reviews (G2, app stores).
2. Identify the persona and the problem that persona owns. An SDR manager owns pipeline per rep; a VP Eng owns shipping velocity; a CFO owns cash and forecast accuracy.
3. Draft the three beats. Then cut every word that does not earn its place.
4. Check: Could this exact email be sent to anyone else? If yes, the observation is not specific enough. Start over.
5. Return the subject line and the email. Then one line explaining the angle so the user can adjust it.

Output format

Subject: <2–5 words>
 
<Observation.>
<Relevance.>
<Ask?>
 
<First name>
<Company>

Then: Angle: <one sentence>

Example

Subject: the 4 SDR roles

You opened four SDR roles in Austin last week after closing the Series B. Teams that ramp a cohort that size usually lose the first two months to account research instead of calls. Is ramp time something you are measuring this quarter?

Caleb GTM Skills

Angle: hiring spike → ramp time → research burden.

See references/examples.md for twelve more, by industry.