# First manual cold outreach test

Use this record to prepare one batch of 10 B2B prospects. Completing it doesn't send a message or authorize an agent to contact anyone.

## 1. What I am testing

**Product or service:**  

**Who I think gets the best result:**  

**Problem I think they may recognize:**  

**My reason for testing cold outreach now:**  

**What I want to learn from this batch:**  

**One assumption I may change afterwards:**  

## 2. Sender and delivery check

Record `yes`, `no`, `unknown` or `not applicable`.

| Check | Status | Owner or next action |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The sending address clearly belongs to my business |  |  |
| Somebody monitors replies to the address |  |  |
| SPF is configured for the sending service |  |  |
| DKIM is enabled and aligned |  |  |
| DMARC is published and monitored |  |  |
| Each recipient address has been checked before sending |  |  |
| Bounces and opt-outs will be suppressed from future sends |  |  |
| Tracking pixels are removed from this manual test |  |  |
| My planned volume stays at or below 30 cold emails from this inbox today |  |  |

**Sending domain or subdomain:**  

**Service used to check authentication:**  

**Anything requiring technical review:**  

## 3. Recipient and legal check

**Recipient countries in this batch:**  

**Recipient business structures, where known:**  

**Official guidance checked:**  

**My lawful basis or applicable business-marketing rule:**  

**Privacy information supplied where required:**  

**How I identify myself and the business:**  

**Opt-out route:**  

**Suppression list location:**  

**Anything requiring legal review:**  

## 4. Ten prospects

Complete one row per person. A recent event is preferred, although another specific reason can be recorded when the person and company fit are strong.

| # | Person, role and company | Why this person | Why this company | Current reason to write | Public source and date | Contact route | Keep, research or remove |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 2 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 3 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 4 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 5 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 6 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 7 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 8 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 9 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 10 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## 5. First message

**Prospect:**  

**Subject:**  

**Opening words shown in the inbox preview:**  

**Real reason I am writing:**  

**Pressure or result they may recognize:**  

**How I can help, in one sentence:**  

**Proof I have:**  

**What that proof can't establish:**  

**Buying signal:** weak / moderate / strong / unknown  

**Next step that fits that signal:**  

**Draft:**  

> 

**Word count:**  

## 6. Follow-up plan

The total ceiling is five messages, including the first. A row can remain unused.

| Message | Earliest timing | New job or information | Draft needed? | Stop condition checked? |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Initial contact | Establish relevance and ask an easy question | Yes |  |
| 2 | At least 48 hours later |  |  |  |
| 3 |  |  |  |  |
| 4 |  |  |  |  |
| 5 |  | Close the loop and stop |  |  |

**The sequence ends immediately after:**  

- [ ] An opt-out
- [ ] A direct no
- [ ] A clear lack of fit
- [ ] A bounce
- [ ] A legal or platform concern
- [ ] A completed next step
- [ ] Another pre-agreed condition:  

## 7. Human approval

- [ ] I checked every public source myself.
- [ ] Every person, company and reason for contact can be defended without invented information.
- [ ] The message contains no private, sensitive or irrelevant personal detail.
- [ ] The message doesn't imply a customer result I don't have.
- [ ] The next step matches the buying signal.
- [ ] The subject and opening preview work together.
- [ ] The recipient type and jurisdiction have been checked.
- [ ] The delivery checks are complete.
- [ ] I have approved this individual message.

**Human approver:**  

**Decision:** send / revise / remove / hold  

**Reason:**  

## 8. Results

| # | Sent date | Delivered | Reply | What the reply taught me | Objection or refusal | Meeting or next action | Opt-out | Bounce | Silence at review date |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 2 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 3 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 4 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 5 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 6 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 7 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 8 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 9 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 10 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## 9. Review the batch

**Right people?**  

**Right companies?**  

**Subject and inbox preview?**  

**Message and next step?**  

**Website and founder profile?**  

**Delivery and legal checks?**  

**What I learned:**  

**What remains unknown:**  

**The one meaningful change for the next batch:**  

**Whether I am ready for another manual batch:** yes / no / unknown  

**Whether the evidence supports automation yet:** yes / no / unknown