Weird wins deals 🦄 Cold Email RIP 💀 Timing beats copy ⏰

Well folks, it's official! The "blast 10,000 emails and hope for the best" era has shuffled off this mortal coil. In 2025, your prospects' inboxes are drowning in AI-generated slop, and they can smell a template from three subject lines away. The good news? The reps who are winning have cracked the code: obsess over who and when, not just what you say. This week we're diving into the new outbound playbook, from surgical list-building tactics to why being a little weird might be your biggest competitive advantage.

Modern Outbound Strategy

10 lessons I learned about outbound in 2025

In a landscape saturated by automation, this retrospective from Florin Tatulea highlights the critical shift from volume to quality. The article breaks down why "spray and pray" is officially dead and offers actionable insights on integrating AI without losing the human touch that closes deals.

Source: Florin Tatulea | Prospecting from the Trenches

Mass Outreach won’t work like it used it

With AI-generated spam flooding inboxes, the effectiveness of high-volume cold email has plummeted. This piece argues that the era of the "numbers game" is over, urging sales professionals to pivot toward lower-volume, higher-relevance outreach strategies to cut through the noise.

Source: The Follow Up

Why This is Critical For Outbound Success

Many sales reps fear burning through their Total Addressable Market (TAM), but this article argues that list building and timing are far more important than the perfect email copy. It explains how to build a comprehensive market list to streamline campaign creation and ensure you are contacting prospects when they are actually ready to buy.

Source: The Practical Prospecting Newsletter

Scrape the Companies

A tactical guide for B2B reps on how to build precise prospect lists using modern tools. It details the process of using Sales Navigator and Clay to scrape and identify companies that match your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), moving beyond basic firmographics to find accounts that are actually a good fit.

Source: The Practical Prospecting Newsletter

Differentiation & Sales Psychology

When Everyone Looks the Same, Do the Opposite (Van Leeuwen Case Study)

While focused on a consumer brand, this case study offers a masterclass in positioning for sales professionals. It demonstrates how stripping away industry clutter and adopting a minimalist, cohesive narrative can help a product stand out against competitors who are all shouting the same features and benefits.

Source: Growth Newsletter

The complete guide to building Reddit karma

Reddit is an often-overlooked channel for social selling and market research. This guide explains how to authentically engage in communities where your prospects hang out, helping you build reputation and trust without coming across as a spammy salesperson.

Source: Foundation

Will you be able to sell in 2026 if you aren’t tapping into AI budgets?

An exploration of the importance of targeting AI-specific budgets for sales growth in the coming year.

Source: The Follow Up

Productivity & Enablement

Google recaps its biggest AI moments of 2025, plus 40 helpful tips

A summary of AI advancements in conversational search and autonomous agents, useful for understanding the tech landscape.

Source: Superhuman

New banking records prove Deel paid thief who stole trade secrets from Rippling

A case study in corporate competition and ethics, detailing evidence of trade secret theft between major B2B tech competitors.

Source: Lenny's Newsletter

Brian Chesky’s new playbook

An exploration of unconventional leadership and strategy approaches from Airbnb's CEO.

Source: Lenny's Newsletter

Leadership & Market Context

AI Search is evolving fast. These are the brands that won in 2025

Data from Semrush's AI Visibility Index showing which brands are leading in AI search visibility.

Source: Superhuman – Zain Kahn