id: sales-and-growth/cold-email-engagement-first-outreach
slug: cold-email-engagement-first-outreach
title: "Cold Email Engagement-First Outreach: An Agent Skill For 2026 Cold Campaigns"
description: A source-lineaged root combo skill for planning, drafting,
  auditing, and rewriting cold outreach. Distilled from seven cold-email source
  analyses into one master playbook for high-volume campaigns, strategic
  accounts, single-target relationship outreach, reply revival, investor
  fundraising, founder-led outreach, recruiting, PR, partnerships, and customer
  research.
public_url: https://build-os.com/agent-skills/cold-email-engagement-first-outreach
raw_skill_url: https://build-os.com/agent-skills/cold-email-engagement-first-outreach/skill.md
portable_skill_url: https://build-os.com/agent-skills/cold-email-engagement-first-outreach/portable/SKILL.md
bundle_url: https://build-os.com/agent-skills/cold-email-engagement-first-outreach/bundle.zip
runtime_skill_id: cold_email_engagement_first_outreach
skill_type: combo
skill_category: sales-and-growth
providers:
  - YouTube source analysis
  - BuildOS YouTube library
compatible_agents:
  - BuildOS-compatible agents
  - Claude Code
  - Codex
  - portable Agent Skills
stack_with:
  - landing-page-scorecard-funnel
  - hook-craft-short-form
lineage_people:
  - Connor Murray
  - Aaron Shepherd
  - Austin Schneider
  - Sam McKenna
  - Florin Tatulea
  - Steli Efti
  - Michael Seibel
lineage_profiles:
  - name: Connor Murray
    slug: connor-murray
    url: https://build-os.com/skills/people/connor-murray
  - name: Aaron Shepherd
    slug: aaron-shepherd
    url: https://build-os.com/skills/people/aaron-shepherd
  - name: Sam McKenna
    slug: sam-mckenna
    url: https://build-os.com/skills/people/sam-mckenna
  - name: Steli Efti
    slug: steli-efti
    url: https://build-os.com/skills/people/steli-efti
  - name: Michael Seibel
    slug: michael-seibel
    url: https://build-os.com/skills/people/michael-seibel
lineage_sources:
  - title: 10 Years of Expert Cold Email Advice in 36 Minutes (B2B Sales)
    creator: Connor Murray
    creatorType: Person
    creatorUrl: https://www.youtube.com/@Connor-Murray
    url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLsAAnNaFOc
    sourceType: youtube_video
    channelName: Tech Sales With Higher Levels
    channelUrl: https://www.youtube.com/@techsales-higherlevels
  - title: I Sent 1,500,000 Cold Emails Last Month, Here's What Works in 2026
    creator: Aaron Shepherd
    creatorType: Person
    creatorUrl: https://www.youtube.com/@AaronxShepherd
    url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFZuljj6DrU
    sourceType: youtube_video
    channelName: Aaron Shepherd | GrowthFlare
    channelUrl: https://www.youtube.com/@AaronxShepherd
  - title: The New Way of Cold Emailing in 2026
    creator: Austin Schneider
    creatorType: Person
    creatorUrl: https://www.instagram.com/theaustinschneider
    url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8u840Wm-BI
    sourceType: youtube_video
    channelName: Instantly
    channelUrl: https://www.youtube.com/@InstantlyAI
  - title: The End of the Line for Cold Calling (& What's Replacing it)
    creator: Sam McKenna
    creatorType: Person
    creatorUrl: https://www.samsalesconsulting.com/
    url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ln1cGTzXTg
    sourceType: youtube_video
    channelName: Closing Time
    channelUrl: https://www.youtube.com/@InsightlyCRM
  - title: "Cold Email Showdown: Rookie Sales Rep vs 10-Year Director"
    creator: Florin Tatulea, Evan Greek, Jason Bay
    creatorType: Person
    url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag-6pB51s5o
    sourceType: youtube_video
    channelName: 30 Minutes to President's Club
    channelUrl: https://www.youtube.com/@30MinutesToPresidentsClub
  - title: Get 457% more replies to your sales emails with the 1, 2, 3 hack
    creator: Steli Efti
    creatorType: Person
    creatorUrl: https://www.close.com/
    url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmuMkXntbH0
    sourceType: youtube_video
    channelName: Close
    channelUrl: https://www.youtube.com/@close
  - title: How To Cold Email Investors
    creator: Michael Seibel
    creatorType: Person
    creatorUrl: https://www.ycombinator.com/people/michael-seibel
    url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3MmYbH1hbs
    sourceType: youtube_video
    channelName: Y Combinator
    channelUrl: https://www.youtube.com/@ycombinator
lineage_stats:
  sources: 7
  primitives: 17
  sourceClaims: 23
  edges: 49
  referenceModules: 5
  integratedPriorSources: 1
gallery:
  display_title: Cold Email Engagement-First Outreach
  family: Cold Outreach
  domain_id: sales-and-growth
  output_shapes:
    - campaign plan
    - email draft
    - reply routes
  workflow:
    - Choose the outreach mode.
    - Validate deliverability and segmentation.
    - Draft the offer and researched bridge.
    - Audit the ask, cadence, and reply routes.
  use_cases:
    - Plan a cold outbound campaign.
    - Draft a strategic one-to-one cold email.
    - Audit an outreach sequence before sending.
  guardrails: &a1
    - Do not send outreach automatically.
    - Do not mix personas or segments in one campaign.
    - Do not use this for opted-in newsletter or lifecycle email.
  starter_prompts:
    - Help me design an engagement-first cold outreach campaign for this ICP.
    - Audit this cold email and tell me what must change before sending.
  source:
    curated: true
    runtime: true
    blog: true
    fallback: false
  trust:
    eval_status: not-covered
    last_updated: 2026-05-15
    safety_notes: *a1
references:
  - id: cold_email_engagement_first_outreach.public_mode_router
    path: references/public-mode-router.md
    summary: Portable public routing guide for choosing the right cold-outreach
      mode, required inputs, child skill handoffs, and output shape.
    when_to_load:
      - When using the portable bundle outside BuildOS.
      - When the task needs a fast decision between campaign, strategic-account,
        single-target, investor, recruiting, PR, partnership, or
        customer-research outreach modes.
