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If you’re a founder or small business leader, you already know this truth: your best customers aren’t knocking on your door in the early days. You have to find them. And like everyone else, you’ll use email and LinkedIn.
But here’s where things go sideways. Somewhere along the way, the myth of “email at scale” became gospel. Founders were told to buy large lists, blast thousands of messages, set up extra domains, and measure success by the number of meetings added to their calendars.
That playbook may have worked briefly, but it’s now one of the fastest ways to waste money, erode credibility, and bury your startup in noise. I call it what it is: email absurdity.
Let’s rewind six to eight years. Back then, it was trendy to grab a list from ZoomInfo or Apollo, load it into a sequencer, and fire off 2,000 emails a day. A few people responded, calendars filled up, and founders felt like they had traction.
But here’s the dirty little secret: more meetings didn’t mean more revenue. Most of those calls weren’t with your best-fit buyers - they were with whoever happened to click. Activity increased, but sales efficiency remained unchanged.
Over time, buyers got overwhelmed. Their inboxes became war zones. Email went from being a tool of connection to a source of irritation. And what was once a clever hack turned into a credibility killer.
Today, scaling email without precision isn’t just ineffective. It’s disruptive. It pulls focus from the real work of building relationships and leaves founders chasing false signals of growth.
Now, in 2025, the shiny object is AI. Every week, I get LinkedIn pitches about the “next AI agent” that will fill your calendar without ever hiring an SDR. It sounds amazing. Who wouldn’t want that?
The problem is this: AI doesn’t fix bad targeting. It multiplies it.
If your list is incorrect, AI sends irrelevant messages more quickly. If your ICP is vague, AI makes the wrong pitch sound polished. And if your strategy is flawed, AI helps you scale through the noise.
That’s why email open rates continue to decline. Buyers can smell automation a mile away, and they’re tuning out. Instead of creating connections, AI at scale is accelerating fatigue.
Does that mean AI is useless? Of course not. When paired with strong segmentation and thoughtful messaging, it can be a powerful ally. But when founders use it as a shortcut, it only adds to the absurdity.
At the heart of this mess is a single, fundamental failure: poor segmentation.
Segmentation isn’t just about carving up a list. It’s about deeply understanding who you serve and ensuring your outreach reflects that. Done well, segmentation turns outbound from a numbers game into a service play.
Here’s what strong segmentation looks like:
Firmographics: industry, size, geography, growth stage.
Technographics: what tools and platforms they already use.
Role relevance: Does this person actually make or influence buying decisions?
Pain alignment: Does your message connect with real, validated challenges they’re facing?
When you skip this step, you end up pitching e-commerce solutions to a podcasting company - which, yes, really happened to us. That’s not just ineffective. It’s credibility suicide.
But when you get segmentation right, even a small outbound campaign can unlock powerful conversations with precisely the people you want to reach.
If you’re leading an early-stage company, here’s the good news: outbound still works. But it only works when you approach it with discipline.
Here’s how to avoid the absurdity trap:
Segment with intent.
Don’t buy lists and hope. Define your ICP with clarity: industry, role, geography, tools, and growth stage. If you can’t describe your ideal buyer in under 60 seconds, your segmentation isn’t ready.
Validate before you scale.
Test small. Send 20 emails, not 2,000. Track the responses, refine the pitch, and only scale once you see resonance.
Use multi-channel touchpoints.
Email + LinkedIn beats email alone. Comment on posts. Share content. Add value before making a request. When your name shows up in their feed first, your email doesn’t feel like a cold intrusion.
Vet your partners.
If you outsource outbound, ask for proof. Don’t just buy “meetings booked.” Demand ICP-aligned opportunities. Talk to past clients. Real experts are easy to find if you look closely.
Lead with value.
Outreach isn’t about pushing your agenda. It’s about offering something useful that matches their reality. Make your first impression helpful, not transactional.
When you adopt this mindset, outbound stops being about scale and starts being about service. And that’s where growth really accelerates.
At the end of the day, outbound isn’t about filling your calendar. It’s about building trust.
When your message lands with the right person, in the proper context, at the right time, you’re not just booking a call - you’re planting the seeds of a relationship. And relationships, not random meetings, are what drive sustainable growth.
Think about it: would you rather have 100 unqualified meetings that waste your team’s time, or 10 conversations that lead to partnerships, revenue, and momentum? The answer is obvious.
That’s why the founders who win in 2025 won’t be the ones sending the most emails. They’ll be the ones sending the right ones.
The lesson here is simple: stop chasing scale, start chasing fit. Thousands of irrelevant emails don’t accelerate growth. They slow it down. But the right message, to the right person, at the right time? That creates momentum.
So before you fire off another campaign or plug into the latest AI mass-mailer, pause. Ask yourself: Does this align with my ICP? Does this add value? Does this build trust?
If the answer is no, don’t hit send.
Because email should never be absurd, it should be efficient, intentional, and a faithful growth ally.
Book a 15-minute strategy call with our team today. We’ll audit your current approach, identify where segmentation is breaking down, and demonstrate how to create an outbound motion that drives revenue: