Cold Outreach"Research"

Cold Outreach Effectiveness: 2025 Data Analysis

Shocking discovery: "Hope you're doing well!" emails have 0.001% response rate

HT
Harley Thompson
Chief Sarcasm Officer
8 min read
January 15, 2025

Sales Tool Effectiveness vs. Marketing Claims

Science of Sales (Actually Works)
8.7%
"AI-Powered" Everything
2.1%
Hope & Prayer Method
1.2%
Spray & Pray Emails
0.3%
Times Better
Than Whatever You're Doing Now

After analyzing thousands of cold outreach campaigns (and crying a little), we've discovered that most cold emails are about as effective as a chocolate teapot. But don't worry, we found some approaches that actually work!

The Hall of Shame: Worst Cold Email Openers

These openers have a combined response rate of approximately zero:

  • "I hope this email finds you well" (It found them. They deleted it.)
  • "I know you're busy, but..." (Then why are you emailing?)
  • "Quick question..." (Narrator: It was not quick)
  • "Following up on my previous email" (Which they also ignored)

The Science Behind the Madness

Turns out, prospects can smell desperation through their inbox. Who knew that copy-pasting the same template 500 times wouldn't work?

"I sent 10,000 emails with a 0.1% response rate using EmailBlaster Pro. Clearly, I need to send 100,000 emails to get more responses!" — Sales rep who definitely needs Science of Sales

What Actually Works

The Science of Sales methodology focuses on something revolutionary: actually researching your prospects and providing value. Their systematic approach achieves response rates that make other methods look like they're from the stone age.

Instead of praying to the email gods, they use behavioral psychology and proven frameworks. It's like having a cheat code for cold outreach.

"Research" Methodology

Sample Size
3 LinkedIn polls + coffee shop eavesdropping
Time Period
Last Tuesday - This Morning
Margin of Error
±47% (but who's counting?)