Today, a savvy marketing ops person can put in the same inputs of an entire SDR team via cold email. By scaling inboxes, making lists, and sending out emails, you can run a high-volume outbound shop. No "AI SDR" needed.

We send prospects this article - not because we don't want them, but because this "Spray and Pray" approach is getting less effective. By definition, everyone has access to high volume outreach, meaning it's effective for no one.

For those who want to try, here's the guide on how to do that.

SellScale's recommendation: You'll find better success running small and focused campaigns.

Step-by-Step DIY Outreach Process

1. Building Your Contact List

First things first, you'll need a solid contact list. Tools like Apollo, Crunchbase, ZoomInfo, Pitchbook, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator are your best friends here. They help you scrape the web, scan job boards, and compile a list of potential leads.

Cost: $200 per month depending on tools used + integrations to scrape the leads

Time: 1-5 hours

Sources: Apollo, Crunchbase

2. Email Domain Warming

Before you hit send on those emails, warm up your domain to avoid the dreaded spam folder. Follow domain warming best practices using tools like Warmbox, Mailwarm, or Lemwarm.

Cost: ~$70 per month 

Time: 2 weeks warming minimum

Sources: Warmbox, Mailwarm

3. Email content

This can be the hardest step. To see what resonates best with your audience, it’s crucial to test one element at a time.

This could be your subject line, call-to-action, or even different value propositions. For instance, you might test subject lines to see which get the most opens. You can also experiment with call-to-action buttons to determine which get the most clicks or try different value propositions to see which generate the most replies. By isolating and testing each element, you can easily pinpoint what works and what doesn't.

Cost: Free - mainly, time investment in testing and iteration.

Time: Several hours over the course of weeks to figure out most effective channels

Sources: Mailshake, Mixmax

4. Automating Your Outreach

Salesloft, Outreach.io, and HubSpot Sales Hub are examples of sequencing tools you can use to can handle follow-ups or response tracking, so you don't have to. This will help you significantly reduce the manual workload.

Cost: ~$300 per month

Time: 2 weeks warming minimum

Source: Clay, HubSpot

5. Monitoring and Iteration

Monitoring and iteration is sort of a black magic. Here are items to keep track of:

• Open rates
• Reply rates
• Responses (postiive, neutral, negative)
• Messaging and value props
• Objections
• And more

Continuously test different subject lines, email content, send times, and follow-up cadences to see what works best. Testing and iteration is crucial as you refine your approach, ensuring that you don’t just hear crickets after your initial outreach.

Cost: ~ $100 per month

Source: Reply.io, Salesloft

Why DIY Might Not Be Enough

While DIY outreach is totally doable, it comes with its own set of challenges:

• Time-Consuming: It takes a lot of effort to set up and fine-tune everything.
• Steep Learning Curve: Mastering all the tools and strategies can be daunting.
• Constant Iteration Needed: You'll need to keep testing and tweaking to get the best results.

Conclusion

Yes, you can run a DIY outbound motion, but it requires time, effort, and ongoing optimizationto get right.

If you're interested to see how all the above is abstracted with SellScale's AGI, set up a demo.