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Welcome to the GTM Launchpad newsletter! Each week, I will share a sales play to help you grow your business, level up your sales game and succeed in the trenches

Energy Right. Pipeline Tight. Let’s Go

Just got back from ChiliPalooza 2025 and man… what a week

Three days of deep convos, fresh perspectives and some much-needed real-world connections (plus my first ever pickleball game and yeah I got work to do 😆 )

And here’s the wild part I closed two big deals while I was out there. Both from referrals. Both signed in under five days. While I was off the grid my team held it down. That hit different

The biggest takeaway? Good energy attracts good business. Get in the right rooms. Build the right relationships. Be the person people want to refer

And you know what else needs good energy? Your emails

If your inbox is full of crickets it’s not a volume problem. It’s a messaging problem. This week we’re breaking down why your emails are getting ignored (and how to fix that fast)

Let’s get into it

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Why Your Cold Emails Are Getting Ignored (And How to Fix It)

Because unread emails = lost revenue

B2B outbound is brutal right now

• Open rates are trash

• Reply rates are even worse

• And personalization at scale? Feels impossible

If your emails are landing with a thud your pipeline is suffering

So what’s going wrong? More importantly how do you fix it?

Lets get into it 👇

1️⃣ Your Subject Line is Trash

If they don’t open nothing else matters

Decision makers are drowning in cold emails. If your subject line doesn’t catch their eye in 3 seconds or less it’s dead on arrival

How to fix it

✅ 3 words max. All lowercase. No punctuation. Keep it casual & natural
✅ Trigger curiosity. Make them lean in
✅ Avoid spammy words. No “free” “exclusive” or “urgent”

Cold email subject line plays that work

• “quick question [first name]”

• “[competitor] just did this should you?”

• “[mutual connection] told me to reach out”

• “saw this and thought of you”

• “[industry trend] you seeing this too?”

Pro tip: A/B test everything. What works for SMBs won’t work for Enterprise buyers. Track and adjust

2️⃣ Your Email Reads Like a Marketing Brochure

“Hey [First Name] hope you’re doing well…”

✋ STOP. That’s an instant delete

If your email screams copy/paste template your buyer knows it’s a sales pitch before they even read it. No one wants another generic “here’s what we do” email

How to fix it

✅ Ditch the formalities. Just start talking
✅ Make it flow like a real email. No line breaks. No weird spacing
✅ Keep it under 70 words. No decision maker is reading a wall of text

🔥 Cold email format that works 👇

❌ What most reps send

✅ What actually gets replies

Why this works
🔹 It’s about them. Not you
🔹 It sounds human. Not scripted
🔹 It tees up a reply. Not a sales pitch

3️⃣ You’re Asking for Too Much. Too Soon

Cold outbound is like dating. If you propose on the first date you’re getting ghosted.

If your first email is pushing for a 30 minute demo you’re doing too much.

How to fix it

✅ Lower the ask. Make it easy to say yes
✅ Start a convo, not a pitch
✅ Give them a reason to reply

Better CTAs 👇

❌ Bad CTA

✅ Better CTAs

The smaller the ask the higher the reply rate

High impact cold email tactics for B2B Sales

• Test & track everything – A/B test subject lines, CTAs, email length. What works for Enterprise CFOs won’t work for SMB founders

• Shorter = Stronger – under 125 words. No fluff. No jargon. No wasted space

• Make every email worth reading – If your first two sentences don’t grab attention rewrite it

Final takeaway

If your cold emails are too long, too generic or asking for too much they’re getting ignored

• Fix your subject lines

• Make it conversational

• Lower the ask

Do that and your inbox won’t feel like a ghost town

P.S. What’s one cold email tweak that’s helped you get more replies? Hit me with it

Explore. Engage. Evolve.

🎥 Must-watch video: How to Write Perfect Sales Emails: Cold Email Clients Tips

Cold email feeling like a black hole right now? This video breaks it all down how to write subject lines that actually get opened, emails that feel human and CTAs that get replies

🔹 Why most sales emails flop (and how to fix yours)
🔹 The 3-part formula for emails that convert
🔹 Real cold email examples that actually work

If email is a core part of your outbound motion this is worth a watch

📚 Book of the week: "Passion Struck: Twelve Powerful Principles to Unlock Your Purpose and Ignite Your Most Intentional Life" by John R. Miles

Cold outbound is hard but you know what’s harder? Staying locked in when things aren’t clicking

This book is all about getting clear on your purpose, staying intentional and pushing forward when the grind feels heavy

🔥 Why grab this?

✅ Tactical mindset shifts to stay focused & energized
✅ Lessons from high-performers like Oprah & Bezos
✅ No fluff. Just practical ways to align your work with what actually drives you

If you’re feeling stuck, drained or just need a reset this one hits

Bonus Sales Tactics 🤑

Get More Replies & Close More Deals

1️⃣ The "First Name Fix" – Lazy personalization won’t cut it
Dropping a in your email isn’t personalization. It’s a placeholder. Instead reference something real: a company move, mutual connectionor recent event.

Better Approach

This shows you actually know them. Not just their name

2️⃣ The "No scroll rule" – If they have to scroll you’ve lost them.
Your email isn’t a pitch deck. Decision makers skim

Fix it
✅ Keep it under 125 words
✅ First two sentences = all the value
✅ No jargon. No fluff. Just why this matters to them

If they can’t read it in 5 seconds they won’t read it at all

3️⃣ The "Curiosity hook" – Your CTA shouldn’t feel like a commitment
Nobody’s jumping on a 30 minute call with a stranger. Instead spark curiosity. Make it easy to say yes

Try this instead
✅ “want me to send over a quick breakdown?”
✅ “open to a short back-and-forth via email?”
✅ “think this is worth a 5-min chat?”

Small yeses → Bigger convos 💪

Pick one, run it this week and watch your replies go up

Fix Your Emails. Fill Your Pipeline

Outbound isn’t about sending more emails it’s about sending better ones

If your team tightens up their subject lines, makes emails actually feel human and stops asking for too much too soon they’ll start seeing real replies that turn into revenue.

Because at the end of the day it’s not about what you send—it’s about what gets read

What’s one email tweak that’s helped your team boost replies? Drop a reply ya? I wanna hear what’s working 💪

Thanks for reading, see you again next week at 8 am MST!

- Tom Slocum ✌️

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