💜 Will Allred

Lavender

Lavender helps companies get the most pipeline possible from email.

We understand what drives replies. We help you know: what to say and how to say it, based on who you're talking to. We turn this understanding into pipeline via two products: our coach (active in 30k+ inboxes) and our agentic platform, Ora.

The coach is the perfect writing companion for your top accounts.
Ora tees up tailored 1:1 drafts or it can run autonomously.

We build AI that feels like AI.

Set up your first self learning agent in minutes: Ora.Lavender.ai

Co-Founder & COO

LavenderLand

A show where I answer real email questions with the help of some not so real friends.

Watch at https://lavender.ai/land

Host of "Ask Allred" on LavenderLand

Sorter

Sorter’s internal AI, CATIE( Creative Algorithms for Text and Image Enhancement) blends behavioral sciences with cutting edge data science and natural language processing enabling you to easily apply an objective science to the art of communication. 

We help create better content faster.

Fueling the backend of our platforms for healthcare,  marketing, sales, and HR, CATIE analyzes and determines  what distinguishes top-performing campaigns from baseline and under-performing content within your audiences.

Sorter (sorter.com): 1:Many Communications
Lavender (trylavender.com): 1:1 Communications

TopRight

TopRight is a strategic marketing firm based in Atlanta practicing Transformational Marketing. Our work puts the customer first through TopRight’s 3S Methodology. We help companies; define a Story that motivates customers to care, buy and stay, develop a Strategy that gets the right message to the right customers at the right time, and enable the Systems needed to execute on those winning Strategies.

In my time at TopRight, I have served as support and run several internal, partnership and client projects. Below, I have outlined a few highlights from my time as a Senior Associate and the head of HR at TopRight:

I currently lead all technology-focused initiatives and projects within TopRight. This includes: 
• Helping clients assess the best possible marketing systems. This includes technology sets, the people running those systems and the processes that enable them.
• Currently managing TopRight’s technology partnerships. 
• Running day-to-day execution of our clients' digital marketing needs.

I am also on a TopRight's team of three working on the launch of a client's groundbreaking ICO and future blockchain application that is set to redefine the private equity market. My role on the project is focused on the creation of the client's whitepaper, buzz-creation (aka marketing the launch), and general support. 

As a core member of TopRight’s internal marketing team, I assist in TopRight’s inbound marketing strategy execution including campaign ideation, content creation, influencer outreach, and funnel conversion strategy and tactics.

As part of a larger initiative to improve internal processes, in addition to my role as a Senior Associate, I am serving as the HR Coordinator. This role has required:
• The creation of an employee handbook to help define and shape company culture
• Improved meeting processes
• Improved recruiting processes
• An initiative to improve team dynamics through the better analytical management of skillsets, capacity, and personality.

Senior Associate

As an Associate at TopRight, I served as support and run several internal, partnership and client projects. Below, I have outlined a few highlights from my time as an Associate at TopRight:

• Led a grassroots, multi-channel campaign for a non-profit to support free speech from ideation, through research, to creation.
• Managed the relaunch of the TopRight website. 
• Helped in the brand relaunch of a Marketing Technology Operations Company in ~30 days. Our teams are also currently leading a multi-channel, co-branded campaign.
• Helped multiple clients assess the best possible marketing systems. This included technology sets, the people running those systems and the processes that enabling them.
• Assisted a multi-billion dollar Telco in establishing a partnership alliance program for the software industry.
• Currently leading an initiative to improve internal operations and efficiencies.

Associate

In my time as an Analyst at TopRight, I served as support and run several internal, partnership and client projects. Below, I have outlined a few highlights from my time as an analyst at TopRight:

• On a team of two, my team helped rebrand a supply chain management software company. With a new brand narrative and a revised corporate sales deck, the company saw three consecutive record-breaking quarters of sales growth.
• Helped multiple clients assess the best possible marketing systems. This included technology sets, the people running those systems and the processes that enabling them.
• As a core member of TopRight’s internal marketing team, I assist in TopRight’s inbound marketing strategy execution including campaign ideation, content creation, influencer outreach, and funnel conversion strategy and tactics.

Analyst

YoVo

I was working on Yovo in the background for a while. I learned loads about entrepreneurship working on this project, but ultimately I could never get it off the ground. The idea was simple: 
- resumes are ineffective at screening 
- recruiting calls are filled with human error/bias

Using voice analytics, the plan was to help hiring mangers make smarter decisions by giving an objective look at conversations.

I was able to spin up exciting conversations in the enterprise, but eventually, I decided to focus my time and energy into Sorter.

First Founder Attempt

Healthgrades

Worked with Healthgrades as an initial member of their Elective Provider Solutions team. After building out the initial pipeline for Healthgrades direct sales model. We consulted with heads of marketing for enterprise level specialty practices to help design digital marketing solutions to best utilize Healthgrades.com. 

Tweaking and building upon market insights for our products- we were able to design action oriented campaigns for practices and their physicians. The challenge was not only to create campaigns that would succeed, but to create campaign designs that would sell in a market adverse to change. Through our work we found it was important to help providers:

 1. Make practices and providers more discoverable, 
 2. Increase new patient acquisition, 
 3. Enhance practices and providers' online reputations.

These were the three things we could do most effectively for our clients. 

At Healthgrades, there is a "healthy obsession" with driving a ROI for clients. So by working in concert with our clients, we help maximize their ROI by learning from our current marketing efforts, and making the proper adjustments as needed.

In my tenure there, I was:

•a top revenue producer on my team
•able to uncover optimization strategies not only in product design, but also sales and marketing strategy for both Healthgrades and clients
•built out entirety of the direct sales pipeline
•cultivated relationships with agencies and practices

Healthgrades is backed by Vestar Capital Partners, as is the top site for rating doctors and hospitals. Truly on the cutting edge, it is where America goes to find a doctor.

Manager: Elective Provider Solutions

As a summer sales intern, I served as CEB's first interaction with HR executives. Cold calling on a territory of 100 HR executives, based in firms with annual revenues ranging from 50-750 million dollars, I was able to effectively introduce C-suite executives to CEB's valuable advisory resources. 

As an intern team, we were tasked with helping recruiting with their outreach to prospective employee's. We designed potent marketing material driving the impactful value of one's work at CEB, and the advantages of being a member of CEB's motivated workforce. 

CEB is the leading member-based advisory company. By combining the best practices of thousands of member companies with our advanced research methodologies and human capital analytics, we equip senior leaders and their teams with insight and actionable solutions to transform operations.

CEB offers comprehensive data analysis, research and advisory services that align to executive leadership roles and empower clients to focus efforts, move quickly, and address emerging and recurring business challenges with confidence.

CEB trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CEB).

HR Leadership Council

Northwestern Mutual

After working to attain my North Carolina Life, Health, and Disability Insurance, I worked with potential clients to develop financial solutions to achieve their desired long-term success. 

This is where I learned my love of sales and marketing, as I saw the impact I was able to have by effectively showing the benefits of Northwestern's Life Insurance products. Through this valuable experience, I was able to drive many never would be customers into the sales pipeline at Northwestern.

Financial Representative

Carrboro Capital

As a summer intern, I evaluated small, rapid-growth businesses in North Carolina for acquisition. I would forecast potential risks for the companies and report a pro/con analysis to my senior managers. 

Also as a summer intern, I was tasked with analyzing financial statements for potential acquisitions. My timing when joining Carrboro Capital was especially advantageous, as I witnessed the acquisition of the local retailer Southern Season.

Private Equity Summer Analyst

Kidder Properties

Working for the four employee (including myself) start up Kidder Properties, I was able to effectively work cross-functionally with a litany of responsibilities that wouldn't have otherwise been given to a person of my age and experience. 

In my first summer with Kidder, I assisted in the analysis and acquisition of approximately 50 foreclosure homes. Comparing acquisition costs and renovation costs with the projected income from renting and ultimately selling the home, I was able to produce ROI reports. After openly discussing the tangibles and intangibles of these potential assets with my supervisor and the CEO, we would come up with a judgment for the perspective home. 

In my second summer, my focus shifted to the operational side of the business helping to reduce costs and improve the overall quality of the rental properties we provided. After analyzing the past performances of different purchased assets, I would determine if budget changes needed to be made to improve the long-term quality and therefore profitability of the home. Also in my final summer with Kidder, I helped train and coach a successor to take my place.

Real Estate Acquisitions & Renovation Operations

👋 4 Resources (3 Free):

1. Install our free email coach: install.lavender.ai

2. Sign up for my free email courses levelup.lavender.ai

3. Since you made it this far, use promo code "LavenderLove" to 2x your free trial when you sign up for Lavender

4. Check out the future of Agentic prospecting: Ora.im

Lavender helps sales teams write better emails, faster.
Get started for free at Install.TryLavender.com. 
(Available in Gmail, Outlook 365, Outreach, and SalesLoft.)

Lavender is the ultimate email assistant. As a salesperson, it provides everything you need to quickly write, high quality emails.

Lavender's coaching dashboard gives revenue teams never before had insight into what's working in each reps' inbox.

So... if anyone knows me, they know I couldn't care less about a title. This title change is actually about giving Elliott Fisher the kudos he deserves.

The COO title was catch all when I first met wmb[at] ora.im. Will had vision - my job was to execute.

The company has gone through a few seasons of change since then & my daily "role" has changed a 1000 times... easily
(& I love that)

I'm changing my job title (formally) because it belongs to someone who actually deserves it.

Elliott will be moving into the COO position.

Elliott has implemented an operating rhythm that has allowed us to get more done, with fewer heads... while accelerating growth... during a foundational shift in what our core offering is.

He helps me take ideas and turn them into predictable action that we can learn from.

Couldn't be more grateful to have him on our team here.

So... new title for me.

But the congrats are really for Elliott here.

💜 🔮 Will Allred

👋 4 Resources (3 Free):

1. Install our free email coach: install.lavender.ai

2. Sign up for my free email course: Lavender.Thinkific.com

3. Since you made it this far, use promo code "LavenderLove" to 2x your free trial when you sign up for Lavender

4. Check out the future of Agentic prospecting: Ora.Lavender.ai

Cofounder @ Lavender | Cold Email Agents Powered by Deep Research, Reasoning, and Billions of Analyzed Sales Emails

99% of LinkedIn Discourse: Nuked
Em-dash users rejoice

Rare that I share a chatgpt prompt.
Even rarer that I see one and it makes me think "this should be a required exercise". 

Prompt 1 {optional}: Write me a cold email for XYZ persona.

^ You can obviously jazz this up... or bring your own email... the magic is in prompt 2.

Prompt 2: Pretend you're XYZ persona. Given {situation}, what objections would you have to the following email.

This prompt chain might seem "obvious"

But what's not obvious is that everytime someone reads your email and doesn't reply - there's a hidden objection that you didn't answer.

Either it looks like a tool they have / have decided wasn't priority

They experience the problem differently than you phrased it

They have a different problem thats a bigger focus right now

etc etc etc

These objections are things you can handle up front. You can call out the obvious and show them that you really get their day to day. 

Rare that I see a prompt idea give that perspective.

PS. S/O to Kellen Casebeer for this one. Came up a couple weeks ago during our weekly masterclass. If you wanna join, Samantha, Kellen and I are doing it live every Wednesday. Think of it like office hours for clay tables, messaging, propsecting strategy etc. 

Dm if you wanna link to join

PPS. Yes - this prompt concept is already baked into Ora's empathy layer.

It’s my birthday. So my present to y’all? New cold email data. We pulled a recent cohort of cold emails seeing 10%+ reply rates.

What we found was interesting: 

That little extra context on what you do & exactly how it helps... 

helps... a lot.

Seeing a lot of emails (especially in the AI Slop era) that fail to fully connect the dots back to exactly where / how you can help.

Forget the I:You ratio in your copy.

If it's not concrete in the reader's mind's eye - you're going to see reply rates struggle.

My advice?

Read your emails a couple times over.

Come back to them a couple days later.

Is it explicitly clear how this would help them with their jobs to be done?

guess this was bound to happen  

AE spun up a free trial with Ora- got 7 solid replies in 10 days - canceled before getting charged.  

Legit told us his plan upon canceling... not even mad. We did our job. Just funny how people operate.

How's this for a "buyer journey"?

Met person at conference 2+ years ago.
Person recommends us to spouse.
Spouse takes demo 1+ year ago.
Emailed once a quarter to see how things were
3 months ago - they reach out after seeing new product launch.
Had 6th sales call since with team today
Entering IT/Budgeting Approvals next.

Sales has been sold a cold emailing lie: "You might get them on your 20th cold email."

If you don't get a reply to the first cold email... odds are *not* in your favor.

The data suggests you'll see the highest chance of reply on email 1, then it falls off pretty quickly.

This isn't "don't follow up"

Our math shows that the diminishing return curve hits rock bottom on email 3 within 30 days.

Reply rates are too low.
Risk of being marked spam too high.

When we built Ora our viewpoint was simple: Just do what is best for the user. 

A few billion sales emails analyzed makes it easier to be opinionated. We could have helped our profit margins by extending the sequence. The data didn't agree though.

You don't need a billion emails though to put yourself in the buyers shoes. Reach out three times in a row w no reply? 
-Timing was probably off
-I'm probably the wrong person at the company
-Continuing to follow up is just annoying

The right way to "extend" beyond a 3rd email is to work the account and to have proper re-enrollment rules.

Ora, will be sure to work other people at the account first, but then... it just refreshes its research. Just like a good seller, Ora keeps looking at what's going on w the leads in the list, to determine if they should be reenrolled in a sequence.

That said - re-enrollment could be 1st party data based. They could come inbound. They could engage with an ad. 

But... those re engagements are new sequences... it's not some drawn out logic tree.

So it's not that we don't follow up... we do. You should. 

You should just be smarter about "how" you do it. 

Short sequences > Long sequences

Killer activity for *ANY* outbound sales team: Review your automated emails you already sent out - person by person. Look up each person, their company, their market... Would you have still sent the same email?

If yes, you're automating correctly.
If no, your automation is flawed.

If you want to learn more about what you should / shouldn't have sent - join the weekly masterclass I'm a part of. 

Think of it as free consulting / office hours.

Ping me if you want a link 🫡

Founders tearing down founders is cringe

I saw someone that "advises" founders trying to tear down the Fireflies CTO's founding story... now you get my rant.

If you don't know, Fireflies is a meeting recorder valued over $1b. Their founders were grinding. Couch surfing, eating pizza to survive. They didn't have the tech yet.

So... they faked it. They sat on calls. Took the notes as a human. The users thought it was AI.

This person thought that was a "scam".

Dude... this is an incredible story of creative grit! 
How can you claim to support disenfranchised founders?!

My cofounder and I have a similar story. We were building Sorter. 

We knew *how* to segment a marketing list by predicted psychology traits... we had read every scientific paper on the topic. We hadn't worked directly with the researchers at Cambridge University to build models yet... and we didn't have the code to run the algorithm... so we did it manually.

Users don't care. 

SaaS means I interact with a software and a service gets done.

Is SaaS a scam if you upload a file and get 4 files back?

We had to pull that all nighter to eventually sell to brands like Yamaha and Gravity Blankets.

If you've ever read Lean Startup, you'd realize this is the *right* way to build. 

Do it manually. 
Verify the demand. 
Get the "how" down to a science. 
THEN put it into code.

Fireflies wasn't started when everyone had access to an LLM. 
This was the way folks used to have to bootstrap.

They'd be horrified to know how most "tech" works 

Trying to vilify this story just means you're looking to find some moral high ground that doesn't exist.

I get non-founders not understanding. Its not a story for everyone. 

But when I see a "in stealth founder" and a former founder who advises trying to take it down... I just see two people to avoid.

When you point out the creative ways to make it happen you unlock so so so much opportunity for founders who don't have access. 

We have to lift these stories up.

Not every company should raise a $4m seed round. Showing them paths to survive are key.

*End Rant*

Anyways... not sure which hellish corners of the internet y'all saw this week. 

I'm gonna go enjoy Thanksgiving ✌

My sister teaches special needs 1st graders in a low income area of Atlanta. The things she deals with on the daily range from daycare to social services. A nice thanksgiving reminder that if the hardest part of your day is cold calling strangers - be grateful ya turkeys 🦃 

PS. Don’t  forget to donate to your local foodbank

Cold email deliverability is a *muuuuch* bigger IT investment than teams realize. 
”Warm this domain for a few weeks... a month... 6 months. Oh, but if you get marked as spam its cooked.”

Oh and for those 6 months? We’re seeing primary domains are 3x more effective. Want to tempt the spam gods?

Here’s some of the things I’m seeing

✅ Redundancies aka multiple domains, back up inboxes = win
✅ Rotating inboxes aka low traffic per inbox = win
✅ Website cloning > domain forwarding = less likely to be identifiable as a spammer = win
✅ Verified email lists = fewer bounces = win
✅ Targeted List Building = more relevant messaging = fewer mark as spams = win
✅ Message variation aka less templating = less likely to be pattern detected as spam = win
✅ 1:1 email writing = more content variance + more relevant messaging = more replies = win

What did I miss?

Kinda funny… we get mad at AI for hallucinating.  

But, you'll make up an entire personality in your head based on a stranger's LinkedIn picture.

Holidays are cooking for cold email. My Ora agent is batting in the double digit reply rates today. 5 replies, 3 meetings booked before noon today. Quiet inboxes = receptive buyers for high quality messages.

Here's a cold email campaign breakdown. Save this if you want some fringe behavior to inspire your next campaign. 

We're running some experiments using Ora and some outlier data re: copy. Trying to see how far we can push this.

Context: Two things guided this experiment

1) A conversation with Anthony: he suggested all readers are expecting email to be AI... so lets find as many ways as possible to sound "human"

2) New Lavender Data: our pull of some 10%+ reply rate outliers suggests richer context on "the offer" is helpful, so we wanted to push those boundaries.

Here's how we built it in Ora:
Gave it a list of sales leaders in our Tier 1&2 accounts - just their email. (We can inject custom data fields later)

Kept the same "train on company section" as previous campaigns. This context on us drives how the system evaluates research.

Then... the instructions. This is where I told Ora what to do.

The prompting of this email is kinda funny. One part - rigid. Another - meta.

Rigid: The copy of the email borders on a template. I told it what I wanted. It delivered. 

I could have done this via "blocks" of prompts... but this was frankly faster. I knew what I wanted. And I wanted weird phrasing that I felt AI wouldnt want to deliver at scale w/o some nudging.

ex. willing to bet a billion emails (the grammar isn't logical on purpose)

Intentionally forgot a cta on email 1.

Obviously it's not static. I inserted {persona} into my script. Ora understood the assignment and filled it in.

(no fancy clay tables... just gave Ora this person's email address)

So that's the rigid stuff... 

Meta: At the bottom of email 2, you'll see the ultimate open ended prompt...

"Tell the reader what Ora knows about them using your reasoning layer. Don't use surface layer information"

It's like getting emailed your horoscope. 

Now... execution.

When these emails draft, I'll push them to our smartlead account. We can send them w Ora but…

Smartlead gives us a webhook for when it fires.

That goes to a clay table where we host the emails

Using those fields & some prompts.

We then set up fields that push to Hey Reach

The smartlead webhook will later go to a table for dials but for now we just want to test here.

viola - multi channel

Curious… do you like the emails? 

Excited to see if this works.

Black Friday deals are an annual masterclass in sales / marketing psychology. Here's 9 principles to be on the look out for (#6= 🔥 )

1- Scarcity (duh)

Scarcity makes something feel more valuable simply because it’s limited.

“Only 2 left at this price”
“Sale ends in 2 hours”
“Limited edition / online-only drop”

These trigger FOMO which overrides your ability to be rational.

It's hard to do this in sales / marketing... but not impossible.

2- Anchoring

Our brains judge a number based on the first one we see.

Example: Was $399 → Now $179

Even if $179 is the normal price, $399 sets the high “anchor,” making the discount feel huge.

Ex. AI startups have crushed this by comparing costs to human labor vs. tech

3- Decoys

This is another form of Anchoring. But you anchor both sides. One feels too cheap. The other too expensive.

ex. software pricing pages

4- Loss Aversion
Humans hate losing more than they love gaining.
“Don’t miss these savings”
“Claim your credit before it expires”
The idea is: by not buying, you are losing something.

Messaging strategy comes to mind here. People look to avoid pain > find gain.

5- Social Proof
We look to others when unsure. This can be as simple as the choice to "participate" in black friday.
“1,247 shoppers bought this in the last hour”
“Top seller”
“Featured by XYZ influencer”
Social proof reduces uncertainty and speeds up decision-making.

Sellers know this all too well. Name dropping, and thoughtfully using case studies are key. What inspo can you find to take it to the next level?

6- Community Identity

People buy things that align with who they see themselves as.
Examples:
“Gear for creators”
“For the coffee-obsessed”
“The ultimate gift for home cooks”
Buyers want a tribe, a movement, a reaffirmation of their identity in their purchasing.

How can you use these examples in sales? Put them in a category they aspire to be in

7- Foot in the door
Start with a small, easy commitment to make the bigger one feel natural.
“Add to wishlist”
“Save your cart”
"Submit your email for a discount"

Once someone takes the first step, they’re more likely to check out

See this in prospecting. "Offers" are effectively a foot in the door strategy. Get a reply.. it's all easier from there.

8- Dopamine Reward Pathways
(& variable reward schedules)
Dopamine drives motivation. When you know "action" = reward - you do it. ex. Spend $35 more and get free shipping. It's a predictable reward. Variable rewards? 
“Spin to unlock your special deal”
Mystery outcome = more dope

For sales: Outcome pricing > seat / subscription based seems to play on this variable reward idea. What else?

9- Visual Heuristics
Design guides the brain to feel big savings fast
Splashy “% Off” graphics
Red price drops

It's about ease of processing

Faster brain understand value = more likely conversion

Sellers, a picture tells 1k words. Using visuals, memes, etc is good. Great inspo for slides

If you want to master the craft, always study the game

"Outbound is dead during the holidays. We'll launch this in January" Hope my competitors aren't reading this. 😉 Here's how I use data (and my perspective as a buyer) to respond to this predictable seasonable complaint 

1.The Data: Reply Rates
The holidays are not the worst season for getting replies. That would be July. Did you stop emailing then? ;) 

2. More data & perspective 

Holidays are actually an opportunity. Send volumes go down BIGLY during the holiday season. This increases mental bandwidth to evaluate your message.

BUT, this new bandwidth doesn't mean ship spam templates. If you're not getting replies? You're probably not going deep enough to trigger reciprocity during the season of giving.

More depth. More personalization.

Tiz the season for thoughtfulness.

So... do you scale thinly prompted workflows? ship templates? labor over writing 1:1 emails while your family misses you dearly? 

No... you just buy Ora the only AI sales agent that actually writes emails like a human.

Sellers, your competitors' cold emails use psychology to open the doors you can't. Here's 12 principles to help you catch up  (+ 1 bonus)

1) Cognitive overload: 
--> too much, I'm out

2) Heuristic substitution:
--> hard question? what does this say?
--> easy question? what does this look like?

3) Loss aversion
--> Missing out on > What I'll gain
--> Competition is doing X > 69% more X

4) Reciprocity:
--> "They put effort in. I should give back."

5) Cognitive Miser:
--> Mental Shortcuts
--> "Oh, this is a sales email. Skip."

6) Confirmation Bias:
--> "Oh, it's an AISDR. I know what this means."

7) Ambiguity Aversion
--> Unclear = No Action
--> Concrete Understanding = Action

8) Friction Avoidance
--> Big Ask = Little Action
--> Little Ask = More Action

9) The Von Restorff Effect
--> The most different item gets remembered
--> Word choice can make you memorable

10) Attentional Bias
--> We selectively focus on what priority *now*

11) The Mum Effect
--> We don't want bad news shared w/ our boss.

12) Reactance
--> You push, they pull away

BONUS: Power Conservation Theory
--> Status quo maintenance by those in charge

Pop these into the chatgpt modal in your Lavender Email coach. Use them to critique your current emails, brain storm some new ideas. 

Also... thinking this could make a great longer form blog post - should I do it?

"Signal-based Outbound" feels like a story of 2 problems: Context & Commodity

If you're looking to build outbound with AI, this breakdown (from a biased founder) will likely save you some mental gymnastics.

1st... the two problems:
1.Context - failure to capture and route the whole picture = miss key context

2. Commodity - your buyer will eventually figure it out.

2nd... quick breakdown 

Signal tools are workflow builders. You take: 
•3rd party "intent" events (searching topics on internet, etc.)
•1st party "intent" events (on website, product usage, etc)
•3rd party signals indicating intent (hiring, news, etc.)
•3rd party signals indicating fit (SOC2 on site, remote team, etc)

These trigger workflows w conditionals

To create the messaging for outbound you then prompt your LLMs

This pipes to your sales engagement platform. 

Now... I probably oversimplified it. 

My issue? feels like we're falling back into the sins of 2016 SEPs.

Here's the problem: We're automating things we don't understand!

Some signals - great context to automate on.

1st party present workflows? These products make a ton of sense. 

1st party data is typically enough context to create a relevant, timely email. 

The most obvious ex. I'm using the product aggressively and am on the pricing page for teams. There's probably a diminishing return on adding other pieces of context.

Hiring? Funding? Market news? Probably not changing the binary if I was going to reply.

But true cold email (no 1st party data) doesn't work like this.

Sometimes you learn a "play" via a signal that creates a pop in replies with a particular small sliver of persona. But you're chasing hits. If you slowed down, you'd see your automation skipped really important nuggets.

Sellers don't operate like linear decision trees. If you told a seller to work a list of accounts... manually... their workflow wouldn't look like signal routing. It might be a part of it. But they'd contextualize that based on all sorts of things:
•Shared background
•Their background
•Market news
•other signals, traits, etc

Give a seller infinite time, this research can go much deeper than you probably have time to build workflow variations for.

Heck... they'd probably create a fake vision of their personality in their head before hitting send on an email. (We call this hallucinating when an LLM does it 😜)

They'd then use the full scope of context to reason through the message. 

This is the context limitation that I see with these tools. It doesn't operate like a human would.

It’s a marketing tool. Best fit for 1st party data scenarios.

So you either need to snag a copilot to manage the outputs with a person... or you need an agent that can actually mimic the human effort.

Good news - there's an email company that's got solutions for both 😉

Realization from the lil weekly office hours Kellen, Samantha and I run.

GTM Engineers, marketers, sellers... call the role whatever you want.

Folks are just looking to figure out how to create conversation. The principles that create connection are the same. The tools used vary.

You're not "learning clay".

You're learning how to show strangers you understand their world view and might have solutions for them.

If you want to join our Wednesday "masterclass" (2pm EST) - just lemmekno

This note is partially an update. But, also a big thank you to Devin Reed.
I love writing. I love the process of organizing my thinking on paper. It gives me clarity. As we get into our groove with our new product Ora, I'm finally getting back into my content production groove again.

Udi Ledergor had given me the nudge to talk to Devin. 

Now... I'm a total Devin fanboy. His work is a big inspo for me. So, I organized my thinking for our call. You don't show up to talk to a hero unprepared.

Devin within 5 minutes unraveled my whole talk track and goes "I can just hear it in your voice. This content pillar on helping folks *really* understand how to get better with email *feels* like where your natural energy is drawn"

*lightbulb*

Yes, AI has effectively flipped the world of cold email on its head.

But, you can automate the world's craziest workflows on the planet. But, if you don't truly understand *how* that messaging should come to life - the campaign is trash.

I immediately got to work. 

I've been working on revitalizing our blog & our weekly Lavender Letter with this at the heart of it all.

Yes, I'll share things I'm seeing in the AI market. Stuff we're doing. Things we're learning. But, those fundamentals (and the data we have to help guide) are going to be at the core.

We've got some amazing marketing assets that I've done a poor job of distributing. But, I also needed to get back to building on those assets as well.

Here's my thinking:
- Start blogging more.
- Continue posting here.
But, email is a hell of a distribution channel.
- Continue improving our weekly Lavender Letter
- Start building some fun email drips you can subscribe to based on some of these assets (like did you know I built a free 2 hour email video course lol)
- Make it easier for y'all to engage with the weekly office hours (masterclass) I'm cohosting w Kellen Casebeer and Samantha Novak-Federmeyer

If these things are interesting, follow along.

But Udi / Devin - I appreciate y'all both. Our convos were the kick in the pants I needed.

taplio

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