Who We Don’t Work With
Scaled outbound is not a universal growth channel. It works exceptionally well for B2B companies with validated offers, sufficient deal economics, and the capacity to close — but it actively wastes money for companies that do not meet those conditions. This page explains exactly who we turn away, why the economics do not work, and what to do instead if you are not a fit yet.Why We Publish Our Disqualifiers
Most agencies will take your money and figure out fit later. We do the opposite — we screen for fit before signing a contract because failed engagements cost both sides. A company that spends 7K per month on outbound without the right foundation will burn budget, blame the channel, and miss the window where outbound would have actually worked for them. Every disqualifier below comes from real patterns across hundreds of client evaluations. These are not judgments about your business — they are economic and operational realities that determine whether outbound generates ROI or generates frustration.B2C Companies or Consumer-Focused Products
Cold email and LinkedIn outreach are built for reaching professional decision-makers at their work identities — people who check a business inbox, maintain a LinkedIn profile tied to their job title, and evaluate vendors as part of their role. Consumer buyers do not operate in this context. A cold email to someone’s personal Gmail about a consumer product produces reply rates below 0.1%, compared to 3-8% for well-targeted B2B outreach. The infrastructure itself is designed for B2B. Our targeting relies on firmographic data (company size, industry, revenue, tech stack) and professional titles — none of which apply to consumer audiences. List-building tools like Apollo, ZoomInfo, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator index business contacts, not consumer profiles.Deal Sizes Under $2K
Here is why the economics break down. A well-run outbound program costs 7K per month in agency fees plus infrastructure. That program typically generates 15-25 qualified meetings per month. At a 15-20% close rate from meeting to deal (which is strong), you are closing 3-5 new customers per month. If each customer is worth 6K-3K-$7K in outbound costs — leaving almost no margin after accounting for fulfillment, overhead, and the time your sales team spends on those calls. Contrast that with a 45K-$75K in revenue, delivering 5-10x return on outbound spend. The channel is identical — the economics are completely different.| Average Deal Size | Meetings/Month | Close Rate | Monthly Revenue | Outbound Cost | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | 20 | 15% | $3,000 | $4,500 | -33% |
| $2,000 | 20 | 15% | $6,000 | $4,500 | +33% |
| $5,000 | 20 | 15% | $15,000 | $4,500 | +233% |
| $15,000 | 20 | 15% | $45,000 | $4,500 | +900% |
| $50,000 | 20 | 15% | $150,000 | $4,500 | +3,233% |
No Product-Market Fit
Outbound is a scaling channel, not a discovery channel. Every element of a successful outbound campaign — targeting criteria, messaging angles, proof points in the email copy, objection handling in the sequences — depends on already knowing what works. When we write cold email copy, we pull from real client outcomes: “We helped [similar company] achieve [specific result] in [timeframe].” Without those proof points, copy becomes generic and reply rates drop by 50-70%. Companies without product-market fit also change their offer frequently. They will tell us to target CFOs one month and CTOs the next. They will pivot their value proposition mid-campaign. Each change resets the optimization cycle — new lists, new messaging, new sequences — which means the first 4-6 weeks of data (the most expensive part of any campaign) gets thrown away every time. The signals that you have product-market fit are concrete: you have paying customers who renew or expand, you can describe your ideal buyer in specific terms (industry, title, company size, pain point), and you have at least 2-3 results you can reference by name or anonymized detail.Teams That Cannot Handle 15+ Meetings Per Month
This disqualifier catches more companies than any other, and it is usually the most fixable. “Capacity” is not about headcount — it is about three operational realities. Calendar availability. Fifteen meetings per month at 45 minutes each (including prep and notes) equals roughly 12 hours of dedicated sales time. If your founder is also running product, managing a team, and handling customer success, those 12 hours do not exist. The result: meetings get rescheduled, prospects lose interest during the delay, and show rates drop from 70% to below 40%. A system to track pipeline. Every meeting we book needs to be logged, followed up on, and tracked through your pipeline. Without a CRM (even a basic one), leads fall through cracks. Companies without pipeline tracking systems see 40% lower conversion rates because nobody knows which prospects need a proposal, which ones went dark, and which ones are ready to close. A follow-up process for no-shows. Roughly 25-30% of booked meetings result in no-shows. Companies with a defined 3-touch recovery cadence convert 60% of those no-shows into rescheduled calls. Companies without one lose them permanently — that is 4-6 meetings per month that simply evaporate.Other Signals That Timing Is Not Right
Beyond the four primary disqualifiers, several secondary factors consistently predict poor outbound performance. Your offer changes month-to-month. If you are experimenting with pricing, packaging, or positioning more than once per quarter, outbound messaging cannot stabilize. Every change requires new copy, new A/B tests, and a reset of the optimization cycle. We need at least 90 days of consistent offer framing to build a high-performing sequence. You need a 6-month pilot before committing. Our system is designed for companies that move fast. First meetings are booked within 14 days. Clients who need months of internal deliberation before acting on a booked meeting create a mismatch — the pipeline moves faster than their decision-making process. Your total addressable market is under 10K contacts. High-volume multi-channel outreach burns through small TAMs in weeks. If your entire market is 10,000 people or fewer, you need a hyper-personalized account-based approach, not a scaled outbound engine. We recommend dedicating a senior rep to manual 1:1 outreach for TAMs this size. You have no existing sales follow-up system. We generate the meetings. Your team runs the sales process from there. If nobody is prepared to run discovery calls, send proposals, or negotiate contracts, the meetings we book have nowhere to go. The pipeline does not convert itself.The Honest Assessment Framework
If you are reading this page and wondering whether you fall into “fit” or “not a fit” territory, here is a quick self-assessment.| Question | Green Light | Yellow Light | Red Light |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who buys your product? | Other businesses | Mix of B2B and B2C | Individual consumers |
| Average deal size? | $15K+ | 15K | Under $2K |
| Can you name your ICP? | Yes — specific industry, title, size | Roughly — still refining | Not yet — still experimenting |
| Proof points? | 3+ case studies with metrics | 1-2 informal results | None yet |
| Who handles meetings? | Dedicated AE or founder with blocked calendar | Shared responsibility, flexible schedule | No one assigned |
| CRM in use? | Active pipeline tracking | Set up but inconsistent | None |
What Happens When You Are Ready
Most companies who are not a fit today become a fit within 3-6 months. The progression is predictable: validate the offer through founder-led sales, stack up 3-5 proof points, hire or assign a closer, and set up basic pipeline infrastructure. Once those pieces are in place, outbound becomes the fastest path to scaling pipeline from 5 meetings per month to 20+. When you are ready, explore how our outbound system works or review the ideal client profile to confirm you match the criteria.Who We Work With
Full breakdown of ideal client criteria, best-fit industries, and what to have ready before launch.
Our Services
How the multi-channel outbound system works — cold email, LinkedIn, infrastructure, and deliverability.
Not sure where you fall? Book a 15-minute call and we will give you a direct, honest assessment — no pitch if the fit is not there.
What if my deal size is right at the $2K threshold?
What if my deal size is right at the $2K threshold?
At exactly $2K per deal, outbound can work but the margins are thin. The key variable is your close rate from meeting to deal. If you consistently close above 20% of qualified meetings, the economics are positive. If your close rate is closer to 10-15% (which is typical for companies still refining their sales process), you will break even at best. We recommend companies in this range focus on increasing deal size through annual contracts, upsells, or bundled pricing before investing in scaled outbound.
Can I use outbound to find product-market fit?
Can I use outbound to find product-market fit?
Technically, yes — but it is the most expensive way to do it. Running outbound campaigns as market research costs 7K per month and takes 2-3 months to generate meaningful signal. Founder-led outreach (10-15 personal emails per day) produces the same learning for zero agency cost and builds relationships that become your first case studies. Use outbound to scale what works, not to figure out what works.
What if I only need 5-10 meetings per month, not 15-25?
What if I only need 5-10 meetings per month, not 15-25?
We can calibrate volume downward, but there is a minimum threshold where the economics of a managed outbound program make sense. Below 10 meetings per month, the cost-per-meeting rises significantly because the fixed costs of infrastructure, copywriting, and list building are spread across fewer opportunities. For low-volume needs (under 10 meetings/month), a trained internal SDR or virtual assistant running a simple sequence tool is often more cost-effective.
We are B2B but sell low-ticket products — is there any path to outbound?
We are B2B but sell low-ticket products — is there any path to outbound?
If your initial deal is under 15K through renewals, expansions, or upsells, outbound can work. The metric that matters is customer lifetime value, not first-deal size. A 18K — which puts you firmly in viable outbound territory. Share your retention and expansion data during an evaluation call and we will model the true economics.
How long does it take to go from 'not a fit' to 'ready'?
How long does it take to go from 'not a fit' to 'ready'?
The most common timeline is 3-6 months. Companies that need product-market fit validation take the longest (4-6 months of founder-led sales). Companies that just need to hire a closer or set up a CRM can be ready in 30-60 days. The “what to do instead” sections on this page give you the specific steps — work through them sequentially and you will arrive at fit faster than trying to shortcut the process.
Will you tell me honestly if we are not a fit on a sales call?
Will you tell me honestly if we are not a fit on a sales call?
Yes. We turn away roughly 30-40% of companies that book evaluation calls because the fit is not there. A bad-fit client costs us more than a lost sale — it creates a failed case study, burns account management time, and damages our reputation. We would rather point you toward the right path and have you come back in 6 months as a strong-fit client than take your money and deliver poor results.
Do you have any resources for companies that are not a fit yet?
Do you have any resources for companies that are not a fit yet?
This page is the primary resource — the “what to do instead” recommendations under each disqualifier are the exact steps we would give you in a paid consulting session. Beyond that, our knowledge base covers outbound strategy, deliverability, and cold email benchmarks that apply whether you are running outbound in-house or preparing to hire an agency. Use those resources to build your foundation, then engage us when the economics line up.