Return-Path: Delivered-To: andrew@sterlingcal.com Received: from reseller401.webserversystems.com by reseller401.webserversystems.com with LMTP id 4GXUKydL+WfmeAAAchKAPA (envelope-from ) for ; Fri, 11 Apr 2025 12:02:31 -0500 Return-path: Envelope-to: andrew@sterlingcal.com Delivery-date: Fri, 11 Apr 2025 12:02:31 -0500 Received: from o170.ptr9231.mail.beehiiv.com ([159.183.140.172]:7452) by reseller401.webserversystems.com with esmtps (TLS1.2) tls TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256 (Exim 4.98.1) (envelope-from ) id 1u3Hlu-0000000097b-37Vh for andrew@sterlingcal.com; Fri, 11 Apr 2025 12:02:31 -0500 DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=mail.beehiiv.com; h=content-type:from:mime-version:subject:reply-to:list-unsubscribe: list-unsubscribe-post:to:cc:content-type:from:subject:to; s=s1; bh=LCvEvniwCJoISY48XmdmXZ8zic1wTIJy/qDCV9BG1xs=; b=JIVjM07Yyg4T2mprEiS6N5Y3ZRW3cwq/nBzw7l22COgRHjPDRmYCZFG0zTWZmhUnPM4W xJn5uD/1Pz0vIjeHqb2PNpdKcwUaZJLoVItRMNrOyRgUEXiU1BcTMbSN+Vz5WKSghugEps Ju1APo8tSiitHKhKubojrLOLQxeyy5TftZRrcLq4BCDNzWW85lxQ1DaO2rc5WZZAi5UdEU R0gEGmtEdP4pBfcDZkuuZkwh5YSKjXHoTQDfqLwkeOhdEgFI2RKdiQzoWODX0fITJ2nTk7 KyFxHXaWMccI9uIzrmd+jtM8D7yALPM9c13HS+4GTYPp7QiLaik3Hpcus9iUNcYQ== Received: by recvd-68ff59f589-ksttp with SMTP id recvd-68ff59f589-ksttp-1-67F94B0C-67 2025-04-11 17:02:04.908721547 +0000 UTC m=+241045.938409615 Received: from NDAyMzQxODk (unknown) by geopod-ismtpd-13 (SG) with HTTP id w4J1Ua_GR2-2EOX-rYEaBg Fri, 11 Apr 2025 17:02:04.841 +0000 (UTC) Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary=7899c906d4001f83db2f93de7497018a84762785c6f2421d17d2e5804103 Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2025 17:02:18 +0000 (UTC) From: Collin Stewart Mime-Version: 1.0 Message-ID: Subject: your best customers Reply-To: Collin Stewart Feedback-ID: =?us-ascii?Q?1a895d09-284d-442c-a0a7-a926d40b4c77=3Anewsletter=3A3c5b97ff-00a9-?= =?us-ascii?Q?4acc-916d-c137bca24b1d=3A23270855726497d?= List-Unsubscribe: =?us-ascii?Q?=3Cmailto=3A3c5b97ff-00a9-4acc-916d-c137bca24b1d+1d17dc26-c1df-44e?= =?us-ascii?Q?0-812a-883b6ad5b6bc+1a895d09-284d-442c-?= =?us-ascii?Q?a0a7-a926d40b4c77=40unsub=2Ebeehiiv=2Ecom=3E=2C?= =?us-ascii?Q?_=3Chttps=3A=2F=2Ffoundersedition=2Eco=2Funsubscribe=2FeyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbG?= =?us-ascii?Q?ciOiJIUzI1NiJ9=2EeyJzdWJzY3JpYmVyX2lkIjoi?= =?us-ascii?Q?MWQxN2RjMjYtYzFkZi00NGUwLTgxMmEtODgzYjZ?= =?us-ascii?Q?hZDViNmJjIiwicG9zdF9pZCI6IjFhODk1ZDA5LT?= =?us-ascii?Q?I4NGQtNDQyYy1hMGE3LWE5MjZkNDBiNGM3NyIsI?= =?us-ascii?Q?mxhc3RfcmVzb3VyY2VfZ3VpZCI6IlBvc3Q6MWE4?= =?us-ascii?Q?OTVkMDktMjg0ZC00NDJjLWEwYTctYTkyNmQ0MGI?= =?us-ascii?Q?0Yzc3In0=2EPAnUSNl70qUNJwqhxQOTIZN9Vwruc7?= =?us-ascii?Q?Bv0unsgv3sTJU=3E?= List-Unsubscribe-Post: List-Unsubscribe=One-Click sId: 3c5b97ff-00a9-4acc-916d-c137bca24b1d x-beehiiv-ids: =?us-ascii?Q?{=22account=5Fname=22=3A=22https=3A=2F=2Ffoundersedition=2Eco=2F=22=2C=22campaign=5Fid=22=3A=221?= =?us-ascii?Q?a895d09-284d-442c-a0a7-a926d40b4c77=22=2C=22c?= =?us-ascii?Q?ategory=22=3A=22newsletter=22=2C=22email=5Fgenerated=5F?= =?us-ascii?Q?at=22=3A1744390924=2C=22user=5Fid=22=3A=223c5b97ff-00a9?= =?us-ascii?Q?-4acc-916d-c137bca24b1d=22}?= x-beehiiv-type: newsletter x-list-id: 3c5b97ff-00a9-4acc-916d-c137bca24b1d x-list-owner: x-newsletter: https://foundersedition.co/p/your-best-customers x-newsletter-id: https://foundersedition.co/ x-newsletter-signup: https://foundersedition.co/subscribe X-SG-EID: =?us-ascii?Q?u001=2E7ozyt+tmjDsHnEocxX8pymFA2v5OOh2V4Pdr6hGVjZo99sLHT4OeEg7as?= =?us-ascii?Q?oEFtQzIa0qAOkk1QezFA4qrCcff9558yNK8x6zQ?= =?us-ascii?Q?0aLhxDCyAuB9kgcSLas3IIKR+fvCUJBB67imTLU?= =?us-ascii?Q?jDsZ=2F6JbcztPUr6OFqTOx1mz8EjKGR4w78NXyVt?= =?us-ascii?Q?TEFDn8wDSLJE6SSntjAtRGgoeiJhOBJ=2F3HEkTl8?= =?us-ascii?Q?azb+j1l=2FDvkdJmlMIhR0cTOubl2mCCkLNCT8fqO?= =?us-ascii?Q?AHPK4HAXbJg7iXJzXDgfsaIqZJtIWP09E5o49Re?= =?us-ascii?Q?CHvd9cuU=3D?= X-SG-ID: =?us-ascii?Q?u001=2ESdBcvi+Evd=2FbQef8eZF3BpTL9BgbK5wfSJMJGMsmprAVgeiC8iaV7rEmQ?= =?us-ascii?Q?+cYi2k7hQl+8EMeL5G9yoi4BAwZutXjnNoOnsM5?= =?us-ascii?Q?Nysp6TFTgfzgUUrzOyKZRweh0A3JQfPqry+Hp3J?= =?us-ascii?Q?ohVhNby1nXwza5WtxYfjb4tTRdx8+PSeeSmQwY2?= =?us-ascii?Q?Ejd08dPjmh8eHRl428LOpOHFQ7S14Q5bdLQ=2FfX5?= =?us-ascii?Q?IfAHFNDSK07sVm1t=2FxwKd8vYEFaF3LLZeFWspdO?= =?us-ascii?Q?rEEQrAnJqeY=2F4vdCuL1e4PCRKA=3D=3D?= To: "andrew@sterlingcal.com" X-Entity-ID: u001.RuZ2+X9IBGtjUb8qq3teHQ== X-Spam-Status: No, score=-4.3 X-Spam-Score: -42 X-Spam-Bar: ---- X-Spam-Flag: NO --7899c906d4001f83db2f93de7497018a84762785c6f2421d17d2e5804103 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Mime-Version: 1.0 Hello Andrew,=20 =E2=80=9CHow the hell do they know who my best customers are?!=E2=80=9D That's the question a client asked me this week after receiving a cold emai= l that felt suspiciously accurate. I'm sure you've received them too=E2=80= =94emails claiming they've analyzed your case studies and built a special l= ookalike audience featuring companies that seem just right.=20 The simple answer is Clay. It=E2=80=99s a template, probably. It _might_ be= an AI solution but I doubt it. The real answer is more nuanced=E2=80=94and= requires a deeper dive into the current state of AI-powered Sales Developm= ent Representative (SDR) tools. tl;dr: * AI SDR tools offer convenience but typically build mediocre lists. * Bespoke, human-guided data beats generic, off-the-shelf data every time. * Exceptional outreach combines human insight with specialized AI tools. * Free Clay template below.=20 **Here's the problem**: AI SDR companies position themselves as =E2=80=9Cal= l-in-one=E2=80=9D solutions. You get the data, the messaging, and the sendi= ng. All automated, no thought required. Convenient? Sure. But here's the ca= tch=E2=80=94they're usually pretty mediocre at the most critical part: crea= ting campaigns. The advantage of an all-in-one tool is that it's easy; everything just work= s together without you having to think about it. The downside? Nothing is b= est-in-class. Everything's just=E2=80=A6average. And that's not exactly the= ir fault; excelling in multiple specialized areas is genuinely tough=E2=80= =94even Apple struggles here. Think about it: Apple nails the integration o= f hardware, firmware, and operating systems. But software=E2=80=94especiall= y AI-driven apps? They're hardly best-in-class. Doing one thing exceptional= ly well is hard enough; multiple things? Near impossible. Let's unpack the core components any AI SDR platform must master: 1. **Company Database **(firmographics, technographics, signals, etc=E2=80= =A6) 2. **Contact Database** (complete with profiles, emails, and phone numbers) 3. **Campaign Creation **(selecting a small segment + finding the relevance= ) 4. **Email Sending & Deliverability Infrastructure **(yes, they=E2=80=99re = different) 5. **Messaging and Personalization** Each of these categories represents a fiercely competitive market on its ow= n. Can one company realistically dominate five distinct, complex niches sim= ultaneously? Probably not. Who's going to deliver better results: a special= ized company excelling at one thing or an "all-in-one" player that's averag= e at everything?=20 You might think "good enough" is acceptable here=E2=80=94but you'd be wrong= . Here's why: the most critical piece=E2=80=94campaign selection and design= =E2=80=94still requires deep, human insight. Sure, AI can create "lookalike= " audiences based on your existing customers. But think about this: your cu= rrent customers probably aren't a perfect representation of your future cus= tomers. Likely, your list includes a mix of early adopters, perfect-fit rec= ent clients, some less-than-ideal fits, and possibly emerging segments you'= re just now exploring. Maybe you're about to attend a conference and want to target last year's at= tendees specifically, or perhaps a new vertical has suddenly become relevan= t. These nuanced decisions=E2=80=94picking precisely who to target and how = to resonate with them right now=E2=80=94require human judgment. AI can auto= mate parts of this process, but making the connections and crafting relevan= t messaging is something only humans can truly excel at.=20 It=E2=80=99s not for a lack of trying, we=E2=80=99ve been experimented with= training models to output these exact types of =E2=80=98designs=E2=80=99 i= nternally, tried out a bunch of vendors that make these claims, and nothing= has been able to beat a human in the loop.=20 Here's the bottom line: 1. **You still need a human in the loop to establish relevance and timing.*= * 2. **You can=E2=80=99t outperform your competitors if you're using the same= "all-in-one" platforms that they are.** AI-driven SDR tools will undoubtedly become incredibly effective someday=E2= =80=94but that day [isn't quite here yet](https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/24= /a16z-and-benchmark-backed-11x-has-been-claiming-customers-it-doesnt-have/)= . (from the article, _=E2=80=9CWe were losing 70-80% of customers that came= through the door,=E2=80=9D one employee said._) Saved you a click. Back to my client's question. I created something in Clay faster than it to= ok me to write this newsletter. Here=E2=80=99s the Clay [template](https://= app.clay.com/shared-workbook/share_PohPJDwXdkVF?via=3D418abf) (and my affil= iate link) I put together as an example. It's not perfect=E2=80=94I built i= t quickly as a demo=E2=80=94but it still does the thing. Am I going to use = this for my outbound? No - it=E2=80=99s an overused attention hack. But did= I do a thing really quickly? Yep. Am I a little to proud of myself about i= t? Probably. =20 Here=E2=80=99s the quick tl;dr how it works: the input is a company=E2=80= =99s LinkedIn profile link, it enriches their profile, finds their case stu= dy page, creates an account classifier prompt, runs a lookalike account sea= rch, and uses the classifier to output the top 3 results.=20 If you plan to use this approach, here are two things to consider: * **Leverage Variables at Scale:** Clay gives us the ability to insert vari= ables into prompts at scale (run the same prompt but with merge tags). This= lets us throw in data like company name, description, a scrape of their we= bsite, or the results of a Google search for their case study page into a p= rompt at scale. That=E2=80=99s the cool part.=20 * **Use Classifiers for Automation:** If you=E2=80=99re going to use this, = make sure to write yourself a prompt that will look at each company and ass= ess whether they=E2=80=99re a good fit or not, then do the same for your co= ntacts. I wrote a little about this [last week](https://foundersedition.co/= p/do-you-trust-the-list) but it=E2=80=99s still on my mind. Last week I was= focused on Account Classifiers and this week I=E2=80=99ve been working on = Contact Classifiers. I=E2=80=99m finding that having both enables me to aut= omate a good chunk of my list building process.=20 Once I come up with an idea for a campaign, I can just throw a big company = list in and good fit companies/contacts get filtered by the classifiers and= added to my campaign automatically. Once you=E2=80=99ve seen it in action,= it feels like magic.=20 Why is this my go-to strategy? Simple: control and quality. Once set up, it= 's straightforward to execute, combines human insight with automated effici= ency, and enables you to consistently use best-in-class tools without compr= omises. So, how do cold email agencies know your best customers? They don't=E2=80= =94not precisely. They're just leveraging smart tools and good-enough guess= es. But if you want to go from good enough to exceptional, blend human stra= tegy with specialized tools. That=E2=80=99s how you win.=20 Happy cold emailing and thanks for reading. You=E2=80=99re awesome. Collin=20 PS - do you like easter eggs? The kind that developers hide in games=E2=80= =A6 Well, here=E2=80=99s one just for you, loyal reader that made it to the= PS. Here=E2=80=99s a simple [Contact Classifier GPT](https://chatgpt.com/g= /g-67f883d82c10819193a23448c59b2376-simple-account-classifier) I put togeth= er.=20 **How to use it**: Record a call where you talk about the types of companie= s that are a great fit for you, paste the transcript in, and it=E2=80=99ll = output a prompt that you can use in Clay to filter any target list you feed= it into Good Fits / Bad Fits.=20 **PPS **- how do you feel about my devious plan to hide cool stuff down her= e to get you to read the whole thing? Hit me back and let me know. =20 **PPPS** - receive any good cold emails that you=E2=80=99d like me to recre= ate a Clay template for? send =E2=80=98em my way and I might try this again= next week.=20 =E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94 You are reading a plain text version of this post. For the best experience,= copy and paste this link in your browser to view the post online: https://foundersedition.co/p/your-best-customers --7899c906d4001f83db2f93de7497018a84762785c6f2421d17d2e5804103 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 Mime-Version: 1.0 your best customers
=
<= td align=3D"center" valign=3D"top" style=3D"border-width:0px 0px 0px 0px;bo= rder-style: solid; border-color: #FFFFFF;border-radius:10px 10px 0px 0px;ba= ckground-color:#FFFFFF;" class=3D"c">
3D""
= <= /tr>= <= td class=3D"dd" align=3D"left" style=3D"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;wo= rd-break:break-word;">

PPS -= how do you feel about my devious plan to hide cool stuff down here to get = you to read the whole thing? Hit me back and let me know.

<= /tr>

<= span style=3D"color:rgb(44, 62, 80);">Hello Andrew,

=E2=80=9CHow the hell do they know who my best customer= s are?!=E2=80=9D

That's the q= uestion a client asked me this week after receiving a cold email that felt = suspiciously accurate. I'm sure you've received them too=E2=80=94em= ails claiming they've analyzed your case studies and built a special lo= okalike audience featuring companies that seem just right.

The simple answer is Clay. It=E2=80=99s a templ= ate, probably. It might be an AI solution but I dou= bt it. The real answer is more nuanced=E2=80=94and requires a deeper dive i= nto the current state of AI-powered Sales Development Representative (SDR) = tools.

tl;dr:

  • AI SDR tools offer convenience but typically build mediocre lists.<= /p>

  • Bespoke, human-guided data beats generic, off-the-shelf data every = time.

  • Exceptional outreach combines human insight with speci= alized AI tools.

  • Free Clay template below.

    • <= /ul>

Here's the problem: AI SDR companies position thems= elves as =E2=80=9Call-in-one=E2=80=9D solutions. You get the data, the mess= aging, and the sending. All automated, no thought required. Convenient? Sur= e. But here's the catch=E2=80=94they're usually pretty mediocre at = the most critical part: creating campaigns.

The advantage of an all-in-one tool is that it's easy; every= thing just works together without you having to think about it. The downsid= e? Nothing is best-in-class. Everything's just=E2=80=A6average. And tha= t's not exactly their fault; excelling in multiple specialized areas is= genuinely tough=E2=80=94even Apple struggles here. Think about it: Apple n= ails the integration of hardware, firmware, and operating systems. But soft= ware=E2=80=94especially AI-driven apps? They're hardly best-in-class. D= oing one thing exceptionally well is hard enough; multiple things? Near imp= ossible.

Let's unpack the cor= e components any AI SDR platform must master:

  1. Company Database (firmographics, technographics, signals, etc=E2=80=A6)

  2. Contact Database (complete with profiles, emails, and phone numbers)

    3. = Campaign Creation (select= ing a small segment + finding the relevance)

  3. Email Sendin= g & Deliverability Infrastructure (yes, they=E2=80=99re different)

  4. Messaging and P= ersonalization

You might think "good enough" is acceptable here=E2=80=94but= you'd be wrong.

Here's w= hy: the most critical piece=E2=80=94campaign selection and design=E2=80=94s= till requires deep, human insight. Sure, AI can create "lookalike"= ; audiences based on your existing customers. But think about this: your cu= rrent customers probably aren't a perfect representation of your future= customers. Likely, your list includes a mix of early adopters, perfect-fit= recent clients, some less-than-ideal fits, and possibly emerging segments = you're just now exploring.

Ma= ybe you're about to attend a conference and want to target last year= 9;s attendees specifically, or perhaps a new vertical has suddenly become r= elevant. These nuanced decisions=E2=80=94picking precisely who to target an= d how to resonate with them right now=E2=80=94require human judgment. AI ca= n automate parts of this process, but making the connections and crafting r= elevant messaging is something only humans can truly excel at.

<= /td>

It=E2=80=99s not for a lack of trying, we=E2= =80=99ve been experimented with training models to output these exact types= of =E2=80=98designs=E2=80=99 internally, tried out a bunch of vendors that= make these claims, and nothing has been able to beat a human in the loop. =

Here's the bottom line:

  1. =

    You still need a human in t= he loop to establish relevance and timing.

  2. You can=E2= =80=99t outperform your competitors if you're using the same "all-= in-one" platforms that they are.

AI-driven SDR tools will undoubtedly become incred= ibly effective someday=E2=80=94but that day isn't quite here yet= . (from the article, <= span style=3D"color:rgb(44, 62, 80);">=E2=80=9CWe were losing 70-80% of = customers that came through the door,=E2=80=9D one employee said.) Saved you a click.

Back to my client's question. I created som= ething in Clay faster than it took me to write this newsletter. Here=E2=80= =99s the Clay template (and my affiliate link) I put together as an example. It's = not perfect=E2=80=94I built it quickly as a demo=E2=80=94but it still does = the thing. Am I going to use this for my outbound? No - it=E2=80=99s an ove= rused attention hack. But did I do a thing really quickly? Yep. Am I a litt= le to proud of myself about it? Probably.

Here=E2=80=99s the quick tl;dr how it works: the input is a compa= ny=E2=80=99s LinkedIn profile link, it enriches their profile, finds their = case study page, creates an account classifier prompt, runs a lookalike acc= ount search, and uses the classifier to output the top 3 results.

If you plan to use this approach, here ar= e two things to consider:

Once I come up wit= h an idea for a campaign, I can just throw a big company list in and good f= it companies/contacts get filtered by the classifiers and added to my campa= ign automatically. Once you=E2=80=99ve seen it in action, it feels like mag= ic.

Why is this my go-to strateg= y? Simple: control and quality. Once set up, it's straightforward to ex= ecute, combines human insight with automated efficiency, and enables you to= consistently use best-in-class tools without compromises.

So, how do cold email agencies know your best c= ustomers? They don't=E2=80=94not precisely. They're just leveraging= smart tools and good-enough guesses. But if you want to go from good enoug= h to exceptional, blend human strategy with specialized tools. That=E2=80= =99s how you win.

Happy cold em= ailing and thanks for reading. You=E2=80=99re awesome.

Collin

PS = - do you like easter eggs? The kind that developers hide in games=E2=80=A6 = Well, here=E2=80=99s one just for you, loyal reader that made it to the PS.= Here=E2=80=99s a simple Contact Classifier G= PT I put together.=

How to use it: Record a call where you talk about the= types of companies that are a great fit for you, paste the transcript in, = and it=E2=80=99ll output a prompt that you can use in Clay to filter any ta= rget list you feed it into Good Fits / Bad Fits.

PPPS - receive any good cold emails that you=E2=80=99d like me to rec= reate a Clay template for? send =E2=80=98em my way and I might try this aga= in next week.

= <= /td>
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