As a Series A SaaS founder, you’ve proven your product works and secured funding. Now comes the hard part: scaling customer acquisition without losing the scrappy, personal touch that got you here. Cold email remains one of the most effective channels for B2B SaaS growth—but at Series A, the stakes are higher.
Investors expect predictable growth and clear acquisition metrics. Your cold email strategy needs to be sophisticated enough to stand out, but structured enough to scale with your team. Here’s how to get it right.
1. Master Your Funnel Metrics
At this stage, vanity metrics like opens and clicks aren’t enough. Track your cold email funnel end-to-end:
- Reply rate – Are you breaking through the noise?
- Meeting booked rate – How often does a reply lead to a call?
- Cost of acquisition (CAC) – How does cold email stack up against other channels?
You should know exactly how many cold emails equal one qualified lead—and how that translates to revenue. With SaaS sales cycles often stretching months, make sure you’ve set up attribution that tracks cold email influence all the way to closed deals.
2. Scale Personalisation Beyond Merge Tags
Generic templates don’t cut it at Series A. Prospects expect relevance. Research each account for:
- Recent funding, hiring, or expansion news
- Industry-specific challenges
- Tech stack or tools they’re using
If you’re targeting a retailer opening new locations, for example, mention how your platform supports operational scaling. Tools that surface technographic and firmographic insights can help your team scale this research efficiently.
3. Build Sequences That Add Value
A single cold email rarely converts—but a well-timed sequence can. Structure your outreach so each touchpoint gives something useful:
- Email 1: Call out a pain point and hint at your solution
- Email 2: Share a case study or relevant insight
- Email 3: Offer a resource (e.g. playbook, calculator, or benchmark data)
- Email 4+: Make the ask for a call or demo
Space messages 3–5 days apart initially, then slow to weekly. The goal isn’t to pester—it’s to stay helpful and relevant.
4. Obsess Over Subject Lines
Your subject line decides if you even get opened. Keep them short, curiosity-driven, and value-focused:
- “Quick question about [Company]’s churn strategy”
- “Could [Company] cut onboarding costs by 20%?”
Stay under 50 characters for mobile visibility, and avoid spam triggers like “free,” “guaranteed,” or “limited offer.”
5. Think Multi-Channel, Not Just Email
Cold email is stronger when combined with other touches:
- LinkedIn: Visit profiles before emailing to trigger a “profile view” notification, then follow up with a connection request referencing your email.
- Phone calls: For high-value accounts, a call after your third email can cut through.
- Direct mail: For enterprise targets, a physical touchpoint can stand out when inboxes are flooded.
This orchestrated approach feels natural, not pushy.
6. Time It Right
General benchmarks suggest Tuesday–Thursday, mid-morning or mid-afternoon, perform best. But test against your audience:
- Execs may reply late at night or early morning
- Managers often respond during work hours
- Industry-specific behaviours (e.g. retail vs SaaS) can differ
Test, segment, and adapt. Don’t batch-blast—stagger sends for consistent visibility.
7. Protect Deliverability Like an Asset
Your emails are useless if they land in spam. Safeguard your sender reputation:
- Warm up new domains gradually
- Use SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication
- Monitor deliverability with reputation-tracking tools
- Regularly clean lists—remove bounces and disengaged contacts
Think of deliverability as the infrastructure underpinning your growth engine.
8. Test and Iterate Relentlessly
With Series A resources, you can finally run structured experiments. A/B test:
- Subject lines
- Call-to-actions
- Send times
- Sequence length
Run tests with enough volume (100+ per variant) and only change one variable at a time. Document learnings and share them with your team to build a knowledge base.
9. Scale Without Losing Quality
As your SDR team grows, resist the temptation to equate more emails with more results. Quality > volume. Train new hires on proven templates, but encourage them to adapt for each prospect.
Invest in tools that support scaling without sacrificing personalisation: warm-up tools, enrichment platforms, and analytics dashboards that surface what’s working.
Final Thought
At Series A, cold email isn’t just a hustle tactic—it’s a channel you need to professionalise and prove as a scalable, repeatable growth lever. Done right, it becomes a predictable engine for qualified pipeline. Done wrong, it burns domains, damages brand credibility, and wastes investor capital.
Remember: you’re not just chasing meetings. You’re laying the groundwork for long-term customer relationships that fuel your SaaS growth well beyond Series A.
