How to Write Great Outbound Copy for Sales

Outbound is hard.

No one wants to respond to, let alone read, a message from a random BDR trying to sell them something they don’t need.

But outbound is still required if you want to go upmarket and pursue the accounts you actually care about.

You can’t wait for ideal buyers to magically show up. So you try, even though it feels increasingly ineffective.

Most reps we talk to haven’t studied the mechanics or psychology of good outbound. They send company-centric messages that fall flat, then blame the channel:

• “LinkedIn doesn’t work”
• “Email doesn’t work”

The reality is simpler:

The message isn’t landing.

You need to fix that before anything else.

A good outbound message consistently includes four core components.

How to Write Outbound Copy in 4 Steps

1. Start With an Observation

Show that you noticed something specific and did your homework.

You’re reaching out because something is happening in their world, not because they were pulled from a list.

Examples:

• Saw your post asking for help center recommendations
• Noticed you just joined Acme after the recent Series B
• Spoke to Ashley and she mentioned you’re three weeks behind your SOC 2 rollout
• Guessing you might be using or evaluating ZoomInfo

This establishes relevance and earns the right to continue.

2. Connect the Observation to Their Priorities and Blockers

Next, logically connect your observation to a real priority and the blocker getting in the way.

People don’t buy without pain. You need to get here quickly and make an educated guess.

Examples:

• Guessing you’re overwhelmed by options from large vendors that all claim to “do AI,” while your board is pushing for real AI impact based on your 10-K.
• You’re probably under pressure to generate pipeline after the new funding, but headcount isn’t scaling with targets.
• If you’re like other CTOs I speak with, “unexpected” SOC 2 controls started piling up late in the process and now require manual work.
• Since you sell to SMBs, you’re likely seeing that ZoomInfo only covers ~30% of your actual buyers, making TAM mapping painful.

The closer your guess reflects how they’d describe the problem internally, the better your outbound performs.

Because you are guessing, soften it with a line like:

“Let me know if I’m totally off base here.”

3. Explain How You Uniquely Help (With Social Proof)

Now and only now you can introduce what you do.

Remember: they’re being pitched constantly. You need to sound meaningfully different and trustworthy.

Social proof from a company they recognize accelerates that trust.

Examples:

• Pylon is an AI-native help center that resolves ~90% of support tickets automatically. Hex migrated from Zendesk in 60 days and reduced two support headcount.
• Clay uses Letterdrop to identify warm leads from online conversations, Salesforce, and Gong calls—helping them book 35% more enterprise pipeline last quarter.
• CapGo used Delve’s AI agents to eliminate 90% of manual engineering work and complete SOC 2 Type II in 14 days.
• Orbital pulls data from Google Maps and public filings to reach ~90% contact coverage for SMB buyers who aren’t on LinkedIn.

Your goal is simple:

• State the outcome you deliver
• Explain why you’re uniquely positioned to deliver it
• Prove that a similar company trusted you to solve this exact problem

4. Give Them a Reason to Meet

Most reps default to asking for a demo or discovery call.

That’s a mistake.

No one wants to spend 30 minutes answering BANT questions or sitting through a demo they didn’t ask for.

Since you initiated the conversation, offer value first.

A helpful formula:

“Would it help to look at X, so you can decide Y?”

Examples:

• Would it help to review which CS tasks can actually be automated with AI today versus what still needs humans?
• Worth walking through a live sample of warm leads you might be missing?
• Happy to show how teams are automating the SOC 2 tasks currently stuck with engineering.
• Want to sanity-check this with a small HVAC contact data sample?

They should learn something useful even if they never buy.

Outbound Copy Templates to Put it All Together

Once the components are in place, optimize for readability.

Shorter is better. Use AI if it helps remove unnecessary words.

Examples:

Saw your post asking for help center recs—guessing the big vendors all sound the same and none really deliver on the AI your board wants.
Pylon is an AI-native help center. Hex moved from Zendesk in 60 days and cut two support reps.
Happy to walk through what CS teams can actually automate with AI today versus what still needs humans.

Noticed you just joined Acme after the Series B—guessing pipeline pressure is real and headcount isn’t keeping up.
Heard from Ashley you’re a few weeks behind on SOC 2, usually when the “surprise” controls start piling up.
CapGo used Delve to cut 90% of manual engineering work and got SOC 2 Type II in 14 days.
If helpful, I can walk through how teams are automating the tasks currently sitting with engineering.

Optional: Add a Human Connection

This is optional, but powerful if genuine.

If you notice something real that creates a human connection, add it as a PS. Don’t force it with shallow personalization.

Examples:

• PS. Your post yesterday was hilarious—Curb is my favorite show too.
• PS. Saw you’re in Chicago. My brother went to Northwestern, so I’m there often.
• PS. You bike too? I just finished my first long ride in the PNW.
• PS. Met your boss Joe at Dreamforce in September.

Outbound Copy Checklist

Before sending, ask yourself:

• Do I have a genuine reason to reach out?
• Did I make an educated guess about a priority they’re measured on?
• Did I name a blocker they’re likely complaining about internally?
• Did I clearly explain how we uniquely unblock that blocker?
• Did I include relevant social proof?
• Did I propose a meeting that delivers value to them?

Best of luck.