The Best Way to Do Cold Email and Cold Calling Right

Nobody likes cold outreach that feels... cold. The days of sending generic emails and making awkward calls to the wrong people are long gone.

What if we told you there’s a way to make your cold outreach less annoying and way more effective? This isn’t about blasting inboxes or reading from a stiff cold calling script. It’s about using cold email frameworks, smart sales outreach strategy, and cold outreach best practices.

It’s about understanding who you’re talking to, why you’re reaching out, and how to make every message feel like it actually matters. Whether you're looking for cold calling tips, cold email subject lines, or just trying to build a solid cold outreach step-by-step process? Keep reading. 

Let’s walk you through how to make it all click from strategy to segmentation to real conversations.

Phase 1: Set the Strategy (a.k.a. The Smart Zone)

Before you hit send or pick up the phone, you need a cold email strategy and a plan for how to cold email or call. You need to know who you’re talking to and why they should care. It all starts with looking at what’s already worked for you.

It’s not just about having a list; it’s about having a purpose. Think of this phase like launching a new product without market research, you might have all the tools, but without understanding where you’re going and why, the chances of success drop dramatically.

Step 1: Analyze Your CRM Performance History

Your past deals hold the clues. Dig into your CRM not just for wins, but for the context around those wins. Look at email threads, touchpoints, time-to-close, and decision-makers involved. The "why" behind a closed deal is as critical as the fact that it closed. Time to uncover them.

• Who said yes, and why?
  

• Who ghosted you, and what were the red flags?
  

• Which industries or job roles had the best fit?
  
  

This step helps shape your sales prospecting tips going forward. 

Spot the patterns. Document what makes a good lead and what’s a total no-go. This is foundational for building repeatable cold outreach techniques that actually convert.

Step 2: Define the “It” Factor

Go beyond surface-level stuff like job title or company size. Start listing real traits that show someone’s in pain and need what you offer. Real outreach success lies in understanding behavior, intent, and context. The “It” factor is what separates high-potential leads from the noise.

Ask:

• Are they hiring in a certain role?
  
  
• Do they mention certain tools or problems online?
  
  
• Is there a trigger event like funding or expansion?
  
  

These are the kinds of lead generation signals that power your B2B cold emailing game.

Lock in 2–5 traits that scream, “This one’s worth talking to.” These become key filters for lead generation tactics.

Step 3: Map the Market

Now that you know what to look for, it’s time to sketch out your world.

Build a segmentation matrix — a fancy way of saying: group your audience by industry, company stage, and pain point so you can craft messaging that resonates deeply, making personalization more precise than just dropping a “Hi {First Name}” into a template.

• Break your audience into sub-groups
  
  
• Define the key personas
  
  
• Spot any hidden gems you’ve been ignoring
  
  

This helps you avoid treating all leads the same (because they’re not). It's one of the cold outreach best practices that separates noise from strategy.

Step 4: Build Your Targeting Formula

Take everything you’ve uncovered so far and blend it into a custom logic. This formula becomes your blueprint for smart prospecting. It’s what separates strategic outreach from spray-and-pray tactics.

Use:

• CRM data
  
  
• Social and digital signals
  
  
• Web behavior
  
  

The goal? A smart way to say: “This person fits our vibe — let’s go.”

Once that’s dialed in, it’s time to bring in the data and rank your leads. Get ready to supercharge your sales outreach strategy.

Phase 2: Bring in the Data (The Team-Up Zone)

Now that you know who you’re going after, it’s time to go out and find them - then sort ‘em by how ready they are to chat.

This is where lead generation tactics meet execution.

Build Your Total Market List

List out every possible lead/account that matches what you’ve built in Phase 1. This is your starting pool, your universe. Don’t just compile names, you have to filter by the traits that reflect real opportunity. Quality at this stage saves time and resources later.

Now, Enrich That Data

This is where you go from just a name to someone you understand.

Add:

• Firmographics (industry, size, location)
  
  
• Tech stack
  
  
• Role clarity
  
  
• Buying signals
  
  

You want each lead to feel more human, less random row in a spreadsheet. Personalized info boosts response rates and makes your cold email and cold call efforts more meaningful.

Score Like a Pro

Now let’s rank your leads with a two-part scoring system:

1. Company & Contact Fit

Look at:

• Revenue size
  
  
• Team structure
  
  
• Website behavior
  
  
• Job title + authority
  
  
• Pricing range fit
  
  

2. Intent

This is where the magic happens:

• Did they visit your site?
  
  
• Looked up your LinkedIn profile?
  
  
• Engaged on socials?
  
  
• Responding to a past email?
  
  
• Checked out a competitor?
  
  

All of this = heat signals. The more, the better. They’re golden for guiding your cold calling follow-up strategy and email outreach tips.

Combine & Segment

Blend both scores and sort your leads into segments:
Hot, Warm, Cold and Not a Fit.
This becomes your battle map. A lead with low fit and low intent gets deprioritized, saving your reps from wasting time and giving your high-fit leads the attention they deserve.

Want to see how it works in real-time? Get InFynd’s free demo and watch your outreach turn into real results.

From here, the real action starts: cold email and cold call outreach that actually lands.

Phase 3: Time to Reach Out (The Action Zone)

Alright, let’s turn data into convos. You’ve got your list. You know who’s worth your time. This segmentation streamlines workflows. Reps know where to focus, automation handles the rest, and your conversion rates thank you later.

Let’s go. 

Start by Sorting Leads

Break them down like this:
  Disqualified – Not a fit. Don’t waste energy.
  Tier 1 – Perfect fit + strong intent
  Tier 2 – Great fit, but not showing strong signals yet
  Tier 3 – Unclear fit, weak or unknown intent

Tier 1 & Tier 2 – Go All In

These are the ones you want to talk to now. Your moves:

Slack Handoff – Ping the rep with all details, right away
Reach Out via:

• Call
  
  
• LinkedIn DMs
  
  
• Email
  
  

Yep, use all 3 — but tailor the message to their tier + persona. This is one of the most effective cold outreach techniques.

Then ask: Did we get the meeting?

• If yes: Awesome. Route it through transcription, analyze with AI, update CRM, and feed that insight right back to Phase 1.
  
  
• If no: Add them to a low-touch nurture sequence (like newsletters), update the CRM, and move them into your feedback loop.
  
  

Tier 3 – Keep it Light & Automated

Send pre-set outreach based on their segment.
Split responses into:

• Synced messages (tracked, updated in CRM)
  
  
• Positive replies (sent to Slack → warm call → see if they’re ready)
  
  

Either way, you’re learning and looping that intel back to the top. This matters for those doing cold calling for beginners, it’s how you refine and grow.

Disqualified Leads – Log & Learn

You’re not talking to them, but you’re still learning from them. Update CRM with the “why not,” so your targeting gets better every time. Every misfire improves your next shot.

Want your team to focus only on leads that truly fit your product or service? InFynd gives you that clarity, so your outreach is always on point.

Wrapping It Up

If you’ve made it this far, you’ve just built a smarter way to do cold email and cold calling. One that isn’t about spamming strangers but starting real conversations with the right people.

It’s not magic. It’s just:

• Strategy up front
  
  
• Data that makes sense
  
  
• Tiered outreach with purpose
  
  
• And a loop that keeps getting better
  
  

So the next time you’re about to hit “send” or make a call - stop. Run through this system, and make every outreach count.

Because when you apply the right cold email strategy, follow proven cold calling tips, understand how to write cold emails, and use cold outreach step-by-step tactics - you’re not cold anymore.

You’re calculated, confident, and converting.