Hey, it's Isaac from Leads to Earnings (1 minute read)

A client sent me their "successful" cold email campaign last month. They were celebrating a 0.8% reply rate.

I had to break some bad news. That campaign was actually bleeding money.

Here's the thing about cold email. Most people have zero idea if their campaigns are actually working. They see a few replies and think they're winning.

But winners know the exact math. They know that to book one meeting, you need to reach 1,000 prospects. And they know exactly where their campaigns are leaking prospects.

Let me show you the benchmarks that separate boats that float from ones that sink.

First, your reply rate should be 1-5%. Anything below 1% means you're hitting spam. Your emails aren't even reaching the inbox. Fix your domain health and list validation before touching anything else.

Second, 10% of replies should be positive. This tells you if your message is hitting the right people with the right problem. Below 10%? Your ICP is wrong or your messaging doesn't resonate.

Third, you should book 20-50% of positive replies into meetings. If you're not hitting this, you're either taking too long to respond or making it too hard to schedule.

Fourth, 80% should show up to the call. Below this? Your confirmation process is broken. You're not sending proper reminders or giving them context about what the call is for.

Fifth, 50% should be qualified prospects. If you're getting tire kickers, your lead magnet is attracting the wrong people or your messaging is too low-level.

Here's what most people get wrong. They try to optimize everything at once. They change subject lines while their emails are hitting spam. They tweak call-to-actions while their ICP is completely off.

Winners identify the biggest leak first. If your reply rate is 0.5%, don't touch your subject lines. Fix deliverability. If your positive reply rate is 3%, don't optimize booking friction. Fix your targeting.

The client I mentioned? We discovered their biggest leak was response time. They were taking 4 hours to reply to interested prospects. We got that down to 15 minutes and their booking rate doubled overnight.

One systematic fix can transform your entire funnel.

Talk later,

Isaac

PS. Build a GTM system that will convert cold traffic and increase revenue per salesperson 👉 levergrowth.io

How I Can Help You

If you like this newsletter and want to work with me, there are a few ways we can do so:

1. I have a ton of free content that will help you get more clients on my YouTube channel. I post insights from operating high converting cold email campaigns for dozens of B2B companies that have added hundreds of thousands in recurring revenue.

2. If you are looking to improve your cold outbound skills but don’t want to hire anyone, I have a free 71-page course that teaches everything you need to know about cold email.

3. If you want a custom cold email campaign specifically designed for your business & ideal target audience, I have a few slots available to show you how it works. Book in here and on the call I will deliver a full 5-angle cold email campaign for you to use to bring on more high paying clients.

4. If you’d like to hear about how I can help you and your company grow, you can book a call with me here. I might be able to help you grow faster, or I might be able to refer you to someone who can.

Share this with 3 people and get a free training showing you how to convert more cold prospects into warm leads with cold email.

I hope you enjoyed this brief email.

Talk later,

Isaac