this is where most cold email campaigns fall apart before they even start.
people target "business owners" or "marketing agencies" or "SaaS companies" and wonder why nobody responds.
Hormozi put it perfectly: "with cold outreach, you can be as specific as you want."
he gives examples like hedge fund managers with over $1B in assets. or golf power retail store owners doing over $3M.
that level of specificity is what makes cold email powerful. you're not blasting thousands of people and hoping someone bites. you're reaching the exact right person at the exact right time with the exact right message.
one avatar. one problem. that's the rule.
<aside> ℹ️ if you're specific on the problem, more people reply. sounds counterintuitive. it's not. specificity signals "this person actually understands my situation."
</aside>
the best prospects aren't just people who match your ICP on paper. they're people who are actively experiencing the problem you solve RIGHT NOW.
look for:
→ recent funding (they have cash AND urgency to deploy it) → company is hiring (they're scaling fast, which creates new problems) → leadership change (new VP of Sales wants to prove themselves quickly) → tech stack change (just adopted a new CRM or sequencer, need support around it) → public complaint (posted on LinkedIn about a problem you can solve)
these signals tell you WHEN to reach out, not just WHO to reach out to.
FILLED EXAMPLE:
AVATAR: B2B SaaS founders, Series A, 20-80 employees
INDUSTRY: Vertical SaaS (fintech, healthtech, HR tech)
PAIN: Hired first 2 BDRs but outbound isn't producing pipeline
TRIGGER: Currently hiring sales roles (LinkedIn Jobs, job boards)
PROOF I HAVE: Case study with similar SaaS company, similar stage
CHANNEL: Cold email (decision maker likely checks email daily)
BLANK TEMPLATE:
AVATAR: [Role], [Stage/Size], [Team size range]
INDUSTRY: [Specific vertical — NOT "B2B" or "tech"]
PAIN: [One sentence describing the specific problem they have]
TRIGGER: [What recent event signals they need help NOW?]
PROOF I HAVE: [What result can I reference that matches their world?]
CHANNEL: [Where does this person actually read messages?]