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All 108 frameworksCold Outreach — AIDA
Your cold emails and LinkedIn messages get ignored. You're writing about your product
The prompt
Copy & paste readyLabelsReplace theseSwap the role below
Pro tip, from the book
The single biggest improvement to cold outreach response rates is the first sentence. Write it about them, not about you. Reference something real and specific a post they wrote, a company announcement, a problem specific to their industry right now. AI can research this context - use it.
Who should run this prompt
Module role profileWho should prepare and run your sales conversations? Every stage of a sale requires a different mindset. The person who writes great cold outreach thinks differently from the person who closes enterprise deals. The buyer's procurement officer thinks differently from both. Use internal roles to prepare and execute. Use outside perspectives to find the objections, hesitations, and real decision criteria before they surface in a live conversation.
Choose any role to drop it into the prompt above. Only the highlighted opening clause changes — the rest of the prompt stays exactly as printed.
◆◆◆◆◆ → ◆ seniority, board level down to specialist◈ outside the organisation
How to make any role sharper
- Add years of experience: "...with 15 years in enterprise SaaS" produces different depth than just the title.
- Add what they care most about: "You care most about [X]" shapes every word of the output.
- Add their communication style: "Be direct. Flag risks first. No jargon." changes the tone entirely.
Use this when
The problem it solveswhen the prospect hasn't yet agreed that they have a problem. Your outreach sounds like everyone else's.
How the framework works
From the printed pageAIDA is one of the oldest marketing frameworks in existence, created by Elias St. Elmo Lewis in 1898. It maps the journey from cold contact to action: Attention (stop the scroll - make them read the first line), Interest (build relevance - make them feel this is about them), Desire (create urgency - make them want the outcome), Action (clear single next step). Most cold outreach fails at Attention. The first line of any message must be so relevant or intriguing that not reading the rest feels like a loss.
The method, in four moves
Do these in orderWrite three variations of your opening line before sending, the best one is rarely the first.
Never start a cold message with your name, company, or what you do.
The Action step should be frictionless, a question, not a calendar link.
Personalise the Attention line for each prospect, generic attention doesn't work. Write messages that get opened, read, and replied to The most expensive STP mistake is targeting the largest segment instead of the most winnable one. A smaller segment where you have a clear advantage will outperform a large segment where you are one of many.
Where the framework comes from
Elias St. Elmo Lewis — AIDA model, 1898
Pairs well with
As printed with this frameworkModule 04 — Sell Like a Pro
Build a machine that turns cold strangers into paying customers.
11 frameworks, printed on pages 91–112.
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