08/06/2026
Your prospect can tell in the first message whether you researched them or just found their name on a list.
Spending 5 minutes on research increases reply rates by 3-5x.
Here's what those five minutes look like:
Step 1: Their LinkedIn activity
Open their profile. Scroll past the bio and find what they posted last week. A frustration, a win or an opinion. That's your first line.
If there's no post, go to comments, still can't find anything? Go to reactions.
Step 2: Their company page
Open the company page and look for new hires, funding round, product launch, expansion into a new market. Something that tells you where they are right now.
Step 3:Their job title
Forget the title itself. Think about what someone in that role actually worries about day to day. That's your angle.
Now take one thing from each step and write a single sentence connecting it to why you're reaching out. Not a paragraph. One sentence.
Your prospect reads a hundred emails a day. Most of them could have been sent to anyone. Yours shouldn't be :)