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Jacob TuwinerI recently sat down with Joe Rhew, the founder of The Workflow Company, to talk about our experiences running outbound “Claygencies” over the past year.
We delved into the shared challenges we encountered with outbound marketing—from its inherent unpredictability and scalability issues to the constant battle with deliverability and the erosion of inbox goodwill (what we call the tragedy of the commons).
We also discussed why both of our agencies ultimately pivoted and what exciting new direction we’re taking by focusing on CRM enrichment and data hygiene.
Watch the Conversation on YouTube
Challenges with Outbound
Outbound sales is a complex, multi-layered process, and while it can generate results, the challenges often outweigh the benefits.
Unpredictability
Even when everything seems to be running smoothly—great messaging, well-targeted lists, and active campaigns—results can drop off unexpectedly. One moment your client is receiving steady leads, and the next, their inbox goes to zero opens and zero responses overnight. This unpredictability leaves you constantly on edge, wondering which external factor will derail the next campaign.
Hard to Scale
Running outbound is a full-time commitment. Large organizations employ entire teams of SDRs, managers, and even VPs to drive this process. You’re juggling list building, targeting, copywriting, and continuous campaign monitoring. When you scale this across multiple clients, each with their unique needs and nuances, maintaining quality and consistency becomes exponentially harder.
Deliverability Woes
One of the most frustrating challenges is deliverability. Even if you nail the creative and targeting, there’s no guarantee that your carefully crafted emails will reach the intended inbox. I’ve seen cases where a client’s lead flow was robust until, suddenly, all emails bounced or ended up in spam folders. The root causes can be elusive, sometimes tied to factors outside of our control, such as ISP algorithms or strict corporate firewalls.
The Tragedy of the Commons
As more businesses embrace outbound strategies—often using the same platforms and tactics—the shared resource of inbox goodwill is gradually eroded.
Yet another outbound lead gen bro posting about his awesome results on LinkedIn…
When everyone starts blasting out mass emails, the effectiveness of a well-crafted, personalized outreach diminishes. It’s a classic tragedy of the commons: when the collective use of a resource isn’t managed, everyone pays the price.
(Again) The Deliverability Dilemma
If you haven’t caught on already, deliverability is not a one-time hurdle—it’s a recurring battle. In our experience, even when a campaign is working well, a slight change in external conditions can cause deliverability to plummet. This inconsistency isn’t just stressful for the team—it leaves clients in a lurch, questioning whether the issues lie with our strategy or forces beyond our control.
Why We Pivoted
After a year and a half of battling these issues, it became clear: the outbound model, despite its initial promise, was simply too unpredictable. We were continuously at the mercy of external variables—email providers, spam filters, and corporate firewalls—that could nullify our best efforts overnight.
We realized that we couldn’t be held accountable for outcomes that were so heavily influenced by factors outside our control. Our clients deserved a service where success wasn’t dictated by the whims of ever-changing algorithms or the “tragedy of the commons” in the email ecosystem. This led us to ask: What’s the foundation of every great go-to-market strategy? The answer was clear—a clean, reliable CRM.
What We're Doing Now Instead
Today, we’ve pivoted away from full-service outbound and have committed ourselves to CRM enrichment. Our new focus is to ensure that our clients’ CRM systems are a solid foundation for all their marketing and sales efforts. Here’s what that looks like:
- Data Cleanup & Enrichment:
- Custom Integration with Tools Like Clay:
- Ongoing Automation & Maintenance:
- Strategic Consulting on GTM Operations:
We work with clients to clean up messy records, eliminate duplicates, and standardize key fields (like company names, titles, and contact information). A pristine CRM means that every outreach effort starts with accurate, high-quality data.
Clay has been an instrumental part of our journey. Now, instead of solely using it for outbound list building, we’re integrating it deeply with CRM platforms (starting with HubSpot). We map your data model, create custom code when needed, and even backdate your entire CRM database to ensure historical consistency.
Data, like any other asset, degrades over time. We set up ongoing automation to re-enrich and cleanse your CRM data, so you’re always working with up-to-date and actionable insights. This includes monitoring for job changes, company shifts, and even new data coming from form fills—before it even enters your CRM.
Beyond just cleaning data, we’re expanding our services to help clients strategize their entire go-to-market approach. Whether it’s refining their total addressable market or designing targeted outreach strategies that leverage personalized micro landing pages, we’re here to ensure every piece of your sales puzzle fits perfectly.
This pivot is not just about avoiding the pitfalls of outbound; it’s about building a more resilient, long-term foundation for our clients’ growth. With clean data, your entire marketing strategy—from reporting to targeted campaigns—becomes more effective and insightful. It’s a strategy that isn’t subject to the unpredictable nature of email deliverability and the other challenges we once faced.