Cold Email Sequences

---
name: cold-email-sequences
description: Build a complete five-touch cold outbound sequence — opener, value add, social proof, breakup, plus a LinkedIn touch — where every step has a distinct job, a length cap, and a rule for what it may and may not repeat; output is ready to paste into Outreach, Salesloft, Apollo or lemlist. Use when the user asks for a sequence, cadence, follow-up series, or multi-step outbound. Not for a single cold email (see cold-email-fundamentals), warm replies, or nurture newsletters.
version: 1.0.0
license: Licensed per buyer — https://gtm-skills.com/terms
source: https://gtm-skills.com/skills/cold-email-sequences
---

# Cold Email Sequences

Most sequences are one email sent five times with "bumping this" on top. The reader learns nothing new in step 2, so step 3 is deleted unread. A sequence that works gives each touch a different job. The opener earns attention with an observation. The value add gives something useful with no ask. The proof shows a peer got a result. The breakup closes the loop and makes it easy to say no. The LinkedIn touch puts a face on the name between emails. This skill builds the whole thing, enforces the rules per step, and formats it for the tool the user sends from. Total reading time across all five emails should be under two minutes.

## When to use / When not to

**Use when**
- The user asks for a sequence, cadence, campaign, or "follow-ups" to a first email.
- A founder is setting up outbound for the first time and needs the whole structure.
- An SDR has a signal or brief (from `scout-pro` or `signal-based-prospecting`) and needs it turned into five touches.
- A team wants to rewrite an existing sequence that has stopped getting replies.

**Do not use when**
- One email is enough. `cold-email-fundamentals` is free and does that.
- The prospect has replied. That is a reply, not a sequence step.
- The user wants a nurture or newsletter. Different rules; different cadence.
- The user wants more than seven touches. Say no. Past seven, reply rates fall and spam complaints rise.

## Inputs the agent should collect

| Input | Required | If missing |
|---|---|---|
| Persona (title, what they own, what they are measured on) | Yes | Ask. Or pull from `signal-based-prospecting` output if present. |
| The observation or signal for the opener, with date | Yes | Ask. Do not invent one. If the user has none, send them to `scout-pro` or offer a persona-level observation and label it weaker. |
| What the user sells and the problem it fixes, one line | Yes | Ask once. |
| One proof point (number, named-with-permission customer, or peer-company result) | Yes for step 3 | Ask. If none exists, step 3 becomes a second value add and the sequence says so. Never fabricate a customer or a number. |
| One useful asset for step 2 (a benchmark, a checklist, a short teardown) | Preferred | Offer to write a two-line benchmark from the user's own data. Never link to something that does not exist. |
| Sending tool (Outreach, Salesloft, Apollo, lemlist, other) | Preferred | Default to generic `{{first_name}}` syntax and note where it differs. |
| Sender name, company, and sign-off | Yes | Ask. |
| Variables available in the tool (first_name, company, custom fields) | Optional | Default to `first_name`, `company`, `reason`. |

**Never invent facts about a real company, a real customer, or a result.** Placeholders in `[brackets]` are allowed in drafts and must be flagged before send.