Cold Outreach Stinger

---
name: cold-outreach-stinger
description: "Build founder cold-email programs. Use for deliverability, list hygiene, outreach tools, personalization, or sequences. Read README.md for the guide map."
license: AGPL-3.0-or-later
---

# cold-outreach-stinger

Start with [README.md](README.md) for the workflow map and detailed references.

Opinionated cold outreach playbook for founder-led B2B sales. Encodes the decisions, diagnostics, and templates that separate 3%+ reply rates from landing in spam.

**Read first:** `guides/00-principles.md` -- the six non-negotiables that govern every engagement. If you violate these, no amount of copy optimization will help.

**Then orient by task:**

| Task | Start here |
|---|---|
| "Which tools should I use?" | `guides/01-tool-decision-matrix.md` |
| "My emails land in spam" / deliverability fix | `guides/02-infrastructure-and-deliverability.md` |
| "Write me a cold sequence" / sequence audit | `guides/03-sequence-design.md` |
| "Set up Clay personalization" | `guides/04-clay-personalization.md` |
| "Clean my list" / ICP definition | `guides/05-list-hygiene.md` |
| "Handle replies" / disqualification | `guides/06-reply-handling.md` |
| "Something broke" / reply rate dropped | `guides/07-diagnostics.md` |

---

## Critical directives (non-negotiables)

These are the guardrails that govern every cold-outreach-wasp-drone engagement. They are explained fully in `guides/00-principles.md`.

1. **Deliverability before copy.** Infrastructure problems make perfect copy irrelevant. Assess SPF/DKIM/DMARC, warmup status, and sending reputation before touching email text.

2. **Separate sending domains are non-negotiable.** The main company domain is never used for cold outreach. If the user is sending from `acme.com`, stop and fix this before anything else. Deliverability damage to the primary domain is irreversible without full domain rotation.

3. **AI personalization must pass the 1-in-1000 test.** Any AI-generated opener that would be true for the majority of the list is slop. The Clay Claygent SKIP rule is the operational implementation: if no specific data is found, return "SKIP" rather than generate a generic line. (See `research/external/2026-05-20-clay-claygent-personalization-anti-slop.md`)

4. **Never recommend more than 5 steps for cold SMB sequences.** Data shows 3-step sequences generate the highest per-sequence reply rate (9.2%). Steps 6+ produce near-zero positive replies and burn sender reputation. (See `research/external/2026-05-20-cold-email-sequence-length-benchmarks.md`)

5. **Reply rate is the canonical metric.** Open rates are manipulated by Apple MPP and are not a reliable KPI since 2021. The canonical measure is reply rate: positive replies / emails sent. Benchmark: >2% = functional, 3.43% = industry average, 10%+ = elite. (See `research/external/2026-05-20-cold-email-reply-rate-benchmarks-2026.md`)

6. **Flag EU/GDPR cold outreach risks explicitly.** Cold email to EU prospects without legitimate interest documentation is non-compliant. Surface this explicitly and route to `security-wasp-drone` for audit. Never provide legal advice; flag and hand off.

---

## The five primary workflows

### 1. Infrastructure and deliverability setup

**Entry point:** `guides/02-infrastructure-and-deliverability.md`

Key facts from research:
- Google permanent 550 rejections went live November 2025 (not temporary deferrals anymore). (See `research/external/2026-05-20-cold-email-deliverability-2026-rules.md`)
- Google Postmaster Tools v2 (October 2025): binary Pass/Fail reputation scoring, replacing gradient.
- Required: SPF + DKIM (2048-bit key) + DMARC (minimum `p=none`, recommended `p=quarantine`).
- Safe volume: 50-100 emails/mailbox/day. Scale horizontally (more mailboxes) not vertically (more sends per mailbox).
- Warmup: 4 weeks minimum. Key warmup metric is reply rate during warmup, not volume.

Use `templates/deliverability-audit-checklist.md` to run the audit before touching sequence or copy.

### 2. Sequence design

**Entry point:** `guides/03-sequence-design.md`

Key facts from research:
- Optimal sequence: 3-5 steps (SMB = 3-4, mid-market = 5-7). (See `research/external/2026-05-20-cold-email-sequence-length-benchmarks.md`)
- Under 80 words per email. (See `research/external/2026-05-20-cold-email-reply-rate-benchmarks-2026.md`)
- Peak timing: Wednesday, 7-11 AM recipient local time; Tuesday-Thursday window. (See `research/external/2026-05-20-b2b-cold-email-sequence-build.md`)
- Step 2 should read like a reply, not a reminder.
- One CTA per email. No two asks in one message.
- Multi-channel rule: email accounts for 50% or less of total touchpoints in a full sequence.

Use `templates/sequence-5-step.md` as the scaffold.

### 3. Clay AI personalization

**Entry point:** `guides/04-clay-personalization.md`

Key facts from research:
- Clay Claygent throughput: 500+ contacts/hour at $0.02-0.05 per personalized line. (See `research/external/2026-05-20-clay-claygent-personalization-anti-slop.md`)
- SKIP rule: prompt Claygent to return "SKIP" if it cannot find a specific, genuine insight. Never generate a generic line.
- Opener constraints: 25 words max, no forbidden phrases ("I noticed", "impressive", "exciting").
- Personalization lift: 1.5-2x reply rate vs template personalization with Claygent.
- Signal triggers worth building campaigns around: job change (VP roles = 3x higher buy probability in 90 days), funding events, tech stack change, open job postings. (See `research/external/2026-05-20-clay-signal-based-prospecting.md`)
- Recommended email waterfall: Prospeo → Hunter → Apollo (3 providers + MX validation = 70-85% coverage). (See `research/external/2026-05-20-clay-ai-personalization-workflow.md`)

Use `templates/clay-waterfall-formula.md` as the starting formula.

### 4. List hygiene

**Entry point:** `guides/05-list-hygiene.md`

Key facts from research:
- ZeroBounce: best accuracy (1.8% actual bounce after verification), $0.80/1K contacts. (See `research/external/2026-05-20-email-verification-zerobounce-neverbounce.md`)
- NeverBounce: best balance of accuracy + price, $1.00/1K.
- Catch-all domains: remove entirely from cold email lists. Risk outweighs coverage.
- List decay: 25% per year. Re-verify every 6 months minimum.
- EU/GDPR: flag explicitly; route to `security-wasp-drone` for compliance audit.

Use `templates/icp-definition-worksheet.md` before building the list.

### 5. Tool selection

**Entry point:** `guides/01-tool-decision-matrix.md`

Recommended 2026 founder stacks:
- **Apollo + Instantly:** email-only, volume-first, budget-conscious. (See `research/external/2026-05-20-apollo-vs-lemlist-tool-decision.md`)
- **Apollo + Lemlist:** high-personalization craft, LinkedIn steps, image personalization.
- **Apollo + Smartlead:** agency or multi-channel (email + LinkedIn + SMS).
- **Smartlead standalone:** agency managing multiple clients with full multi-channel.

Critical rule: Apollo does NOT run email warmup. Always pair with a sending platform that does.

---

## Open questions (flagged from research)

> TODO: Clay's current AI model backend is abstracted through Claygent. Verify current model options at docs.clay.com before advising on model selection. See `research/research-summary.md` open question 1.

> TODO: Instantly pricing discrepancy ($30 vs $37.6 vs $47/mo for Growth plan across sources). Always verify current pricing at instantly.ai before recommending. Do not hard-code pricing figures. See `research/research-summary.md` open question 2.

> TODO: Microsoft Outlook bulk sender rules (May 2025) were referenced in multiple sources but not scraped directly. The deliverability guide covers Google; Microsoft rules require a targeted follow-up search before the guide can claim comprehensive coverage. See `research/research-summary.md` open question 3.

---

## Cross-Angel handoffs

| Domain | Route to |
|---|---|
| CRM schema (lead status, sequence tracking fields) | `db-wasp-drone` |
| GDPR / EU compliance, lawful basis for cold contact | `security-wasp-drone` |
| GTM strategy, ICP definition, target market | `library-wasp-drone` (PRD) |
| AE discovery call scripts, demo process | out of scope (no peer Angel) |

---

*Forged from `ai-tools/command-briefs/cold-outreach-wasp-drone-command-brief.md` and `research/`. Part of the Legion AI Tools Factory by [Mario Aldayuz a.k.a @thenotoriousllama](https://github.com/thenotoriousllama).*