# Cold Email Outreach Frameworks

Three frameworks that work, when to use each, and how to apply them with examples.

---

## How to Use This Guide

A framework is a structure, not a script. Use it to organize your thinking, then write in your own voice. If an email sounds like it was written from a template, the framework failed.

Each framework works best in specific situations — the mismatch between framework and context is why most cold emails fall flat.

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## Framework 1: Observation → Problem → Proof → Ask (OPPA)

**Best for:** Prospects where you have a specific, real observation (trigger event, signal, public info). This is the most versatile framework and the default for most B2B cold email.

**What it does:** Starts with something real and specific about them, connects it to a problem they likely have, brings in credibility, and asks a focused question.

### Structure

```
[Observation]: Something specific and true about them right now.
[Problem]:     The logical challenge or risk that creates.
[Proof]:       One concrete piece of evidence you can solve it.
[Ask]:         A single, low-friction question or request.
```

### How to Write Each Part

**Observation** — This must be:
- Specific (not "I see you're in the software industry")
- Recent (not something from 2 years ago)
- Relevant to the problem you're about to raise
- Non-creepy (public info: LinkedIn, press, job postings, tech stack signals)

Good observations:
- "Saw the announcement that you're opening a Berlin office."
- "Noticed you're hiring 4 SDRs simultaneously — unusual to scale the team that fast."
- "Your last three blog posts have all been about compliance — guessing that's a pressure point right now."

**Problem** — This should feel like something they already know is true, not something you're trying to convince them of.

- ❌ "Companies like yours struggle with X."
- ✅ "That scale-up usually surfaces a bunch of process gaps that are invisible when you're smaller."

**Proof** — Keep it tight. One result, one customer name (if allowed), or one specific claim. Not a list.

- ❌ "We work with 300+ companies and have won 7 awards."
- ✅ "We helped a similar-sized team in fintech cut SDR ramp time by 40% in the first quarter."

**Ask** — One ask. Low friction. Makes it easy to say yes or no.

- ❌ "Would you be open to a 45-minute product walkthrough with our sales team?"
- ✅ "Worth 15 minutes to compare notes on how you're handling this?"

### Full Example

**Subject:** your Berlin expansion

> Congrats on the Berlin announcement — Series B followed by a new market in the same quarter is a big move.
>
> The part that usually bites teams at this stage: the go-to-market motion that worked for your home market rarely translates directly, especially if you're dealing with different buyer personas and a cold pipeline.
>
> We've helped three B2B SaaS teams with exactly this transition — the fastest got pipeline moving in Germany within 90 days. Happy to share what worked.
>
> Worth a 20-minute call to compare notes?

---

## Framework 2: Question → Value → Ask (QVA)

**Best for:** Situations where you don't have a strong trigger event, but you understand the prospect's world well enough to lead with a sharp insight or question. Good for segmented outreach to a persona with a known, common pain.

**What it does:** Opens with a question that creates cognitive engagement — they can't help but answer it in their head. Then delivers value before asking for anything.

### Structure

```
[Question]:  A question they're probably already asking themselves.
[Value]:     An insight, reframe, or resource that helps them — before they've agreed to anything.
[Ask]:       Low-friction request to continue the conversation.
```

### How to Write Each Part

**Question** — Not a rhetorical sales question ("Are you struggling with X?"). An actual, thoughtful question they'd ask at a team meeting.

- ❌ "Are you struggling to hit your pipeline targets?"
- ✅ "What's your current approach to EMEA expansion — inside sales, channel, or hybrid?"

The question works because it's specific enough that only a relevant person can answer it, and answering it in their head pulls them into the email.

**Value** — Give something before asking for anything. This is the differentiator. Options:
- A useful insight from your experience working in their space
- A specific data point or benchmark they probably don't have
- A framework or reframe that's genuinely useful
- A short, actionable observation about their situation

This doesn't need to be long. Two sentences of genuine value beats two paragraphs of soft selling.

**Ask** — Same rules as OPPA. One ask, low friction, specific.

### Full Example

**Subject:** EMEA expansion approach

> Quick question — are you planning to open EMEA with a field sales team, or running it remotely from the US for the first 12 months?
>
> I ask because we've seen both approaches play out across about 30 SaaS companies doing this move, and the one that consistently underperforms is the "remote first, hire local later" model — not because of the sales motion, but because of the support/onboarding gap that follows when you close enterprise deals in a timezone you don't cover.
>
> Happy to share a quick breakdown of what the fastest-scaling teams do differently if that's useful. 15 minutes?

---

## Framework 3: Trigger → Insight → Ask (TIA)

**Best for:** When you have a very specific, time-sensitive trigger event and want to move fast. Great for sales teams with intent signals, tech stack changes, funding news, leadership changes, or industry regulatory shifts.

**What it does:** Names the trigger directly, provides a non-obvious insight about what that trigger means, and asks a focused question while the timing is relevant.

### Structure

```
[Trigger]:  Name the specific event/signal you observed.
[Insight]:  Something non-obvious about what that trigger typically means/leads to.
[Ask]:      Direct, time-aware request.
```

### How to Write Each Part

**Trigger** — Be specific and direct. Don't be coy about why you're reaching out.

- ❌ "I was browsing LinkedIn and happened to notice..."
- ✅ "Saw the funding announcement this morning."

**Insight** — The non-obvious part is what separates this from lazy trigger-based outreach. You're not just saying "congrats on the funding" — you're showing you understand what that trigger means operationally.

Pattern: "That usually means [specific operational challenge] that most [their role] underestimate."

- ❌ "Congrats! We'd love to help you grow."
- ✅ "Series A typically means the first real pressure to build repeatable pipeline — and most companies at this stage haven't yet figured out which channels actually scale."

**Ask** — Frame the timing as genuine, not manufactured urgency.

- ❌ "Act now before it's too late!"
- ✅ "First 60 days post-funding is when this gets set up or doesn't — worth a quick call?"

### Full Example

**Subject:** post-Series A pipeline

> Saw the Series A close — congrats.
>
> The next 90 days are when pipeline architecture either gets built properly or gets bolted together in a way that causes problems at Series B. Most founders don't realize until 18 months later that they're paying for shortcuts made now.
>
> We work specifically with post-Series A B2B SaaS teams setting up their outbound motion for the first time. Happy to do a no-strings 20-minute call on what works and what doesn't at your stage.
>
> Useful?

---

## Choosing the Right Framework

| Situation | Use |
|-----------|-----|
| Strong trigger event (funding, hiring, news, tech change) | TIA |
| Good persona understanding, no specific trigger | QVA |
| Mix of trigger + problem knowledge | OPPA |
| Referral or warm intro context | OPPA with referral opener |
| Re-engaging a past prospect | QVA with callback to previous context |

## Combining Frameworks

These frameworks aren't rigid. In practice, the best emails blend elements:
- TIA trigger + OPPA proof
- QVA question + TIA timing
- OPPA observation + QVA value

What you can't blend: two questions, two proof points, or two asks. One of each, always.

---

## Subject Line Frameworks

Subject lines have their own logic — separate from the email body.

### The Blank Subject
Two or three words, no capitalization, feels like an internal message.
- `quick question`
- `cold outreach`
- `your q3 pipeline`

### The Named Trigger
Specific enough to signal you did research, vague enough to create curiosity.
- `your Series A`
- `Berlin office`
- `your ATS stack`

### The Shared Context
Implies a pre-existing relationship or shared frame.
- `re: EMEA expansion`
- `following up on the hiring spike`

### The Named Person (Referral)
Only use if the referral is real — never fake this.
- `[Mutual Name] suggested I reach out`
- `[Name] mentioned you're building out your SDR team`

### Never Use
- `Quick question about your [product category] strategy!`
- `Revolutionize your [function] with [product name]`
- `[FIRST NAME], we have a special offer for you`
- Emojis
- ALL CAPS
- Question marks (feels like an ad)
