Outbound gets replies when it starts from something that happened at the buyer’s company, asks for one thing, and follows up with a reason. This guide covers those three parts with a Claude prompt for each, and none of them invents proof.
Start with the trigger. The cold email and the follow-up both build on it.
In this guide
- Outbound: start from a trigger and plan four touches
- A cold email with one ask and no invented proof
- Stalled deals: reasons to reach out that are not ’checking in’
Outbound: start from a trigger and plan four touches
I’d rather write to someone for a reason, and plan a sequence where each touch has its own angle instead of repeating the first.
An opener from a trigger
A trigger is a new hire, a funding round or a job post. The prompt connects it to the problem you solve, without guessing at the buyer’s private numbers.
Here is a trigger: [EVENT, FOR EXAMPLE A NEW HIRE, FUNDING, OR A JOB POST] at [COMPANY]. Write three openers for a [TITLE] that connect it to [PROBLEM I SOLVE] without guessing at their private numbers. Under 40 words each.
Check before you use it: Confirm the trigger is real and recent before you mention it.
A four-touch sequence
The instruction that matters is that no touch repeats the last. Each one should still make sense if the buyer never read the one before.
Write a four-touch sequence over [14] days for a [PERSONA], using [EMAIL, LINKEDIN, OR BOTH]. Each touch takes a different angle and none repeats the last. Add a subject line of five words or fewer for each email.
Check before you use it: Make sure each touch still makes sense if the buyer never read the one before.
The catch
Confirm the trigger is real and recent before you mention it. Read each touch as if it were the only one the buyer saw. If it needs the previous one to make sense, rewrite it.
A cold email with one ask and no invented proof
A cold email is a request from a stranger. I think the shorter and plainer it is, the easier it is to answer.
This prompt writes a cold email under 90 words with a single ask. It bans “hope you’re well” and fake urgency, and it asks for your real proof or the word “none.” That last part is the one that matters most.
Write a cold email to a [TITLE] at a [COMPANY TYPE]. What I offer: [OFFER]. Proof I can point to: [REAL PROOF, OR “NONE”]. One ask only: [ASK]. Under 90 words. No “hope you’re well,” no fake urgency.
Check before you use it: If you have no real proof, leave that line out. Never invent a customer result.
How to use it
- Write the one ask first. If you have two, you have two emails.
- Give Claude real proof you can point to, or write “none.”
- Read the draft and cut anything you wouldn’t say to the person’s face.
The catch
If you have no real proof, leave the proof line out. Never invent a customer result, and never let a model invent one for you. A short email with no claim is better than a longer one with a false claim.
Stalled deals: reasons to reach out that are not ’checking in’
“Just checking in” is the message everyone sends and nobody wants. A stalled deal needs a reason to be contacted, and there are only a few good ones.
Three reasons that are not checking in
The prompt asks for three messages with three different reasons: something new, something relevant to them, and something that makes it easy to say no. The third gives the buyer a way out, which makes the message easier to answer honestly.
This deal has been quiet for [NUMBER] days: [NOTES]. Write three short messages I could send, each with a different reason to reach out: something new, something relevant to them, and something that makes it easy to say no. Under 60 words each.
Check before you use it: Pick one. Sending all three is just three more follow-ups.
Which lost deals to revisit
You can also find pipeline without new leads. This prompt picks closed-lost deals worth contacting again, based on why you lost and what may have changed.
From these closed-lost deals [PASTE], pick the ones worth contacting again, based on the reason we lost and anything that may have changed. For each, write a one-line reason to reconnect.
Check before you use it: Reach out only if something has changed or the original reason no longer applies.
The catch
Pick one of the three messages. Sending all three is just three more follow-ups. And reach out to a lost deal only if something has changed or the original reason no longer applies.
Where to go next
Every prompt here comes from a set of 50 I wrote for the moments in a sales week. A free sample of 10 and the full pack are in the shop.
If you’d rather have this built into your CRM than run it by hand, that’s what RevLathe does.
I’m Seth Levanen. I find the AI shortcuts that keep the quality and drop the busywork. Email me if you want to talk about it.