Are Low Open Rates Killing Your Revenue Pipeline? How SaaS Startups at Various Stages of Growth Can Improve Outreach Results

Key Takeaways

• Major Email Marketing Platforms Are Not Built for Cold Outreach—Platforms like MailChimp, Constant Contact, HubSpot, Salesforce, and most other platforms used by SaaS companies are optimized for permission-based marketing, not cold email outreach. Using them for outbound campaigns results in poor deliverability and low open rates.

  
  

• Cold Email Requires a Different Approach to Deliverability - Cold email platforms stagger email sending, warm up domains, and rotate sending addresses to avoid spam filters. Traditional email marketing tools lack these capabilities, leading to flagged accounts and poor inbox placement.

  
  

• Email Content Affects Deliverability - Emails with too many links, images, and salesy language often trigger spam filters. Cold emails should be plain text, highly personalized, and formatted as natural one-to-one conversations to maximize response rates.

  
  

• Domain Setup and Email Warm-Up Are Critical - Never send cold emails from your main business domain. Instead, set up a dedicated outreach domain and authenticate emails using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to improve sender reputation and inbox placement.

  
  

• Follow-Ups and Performance Tracking Drive Results - Most responses come after 3-5 follow-ups. Tracking open, reply, and bounce rates helps refine subject lines, email copy, and overall strategy to improve engagement and revenue growth.

Introduction

Chances are you’re relying on outbound sales and cold outreach to drive SaaS customer acquisition. But if you’re experiencing poor deliverability, low open rates, minimal leads, and a weak sales pipeline, the problem isn’t necessarily your message—it’s likely the platform you’re using.

Most growing SaaS companies turn to mainstream email marketing platforms like HubSpot, MailChimp, Constant Contact, and Salesforce. These platforms are built for permission-based marketing, meaning they are optimized for sending emails to people who already opted in (1). The result? When used for cold outreach, these platforms deliver abysmal performance and can even harm your sender reputation (2).

In this article, we’ll explore why mainstream email marketing tools are failing your cold outreach efforts and what you need to do to build a successful outbound email strategy.

Why Growing SaaS Firms Must Rely on Cold Outreach

Cold outreach is often the only viable path to acquiring customers for SaaS companies without a robust inbound marketing engine or established brand recognition.

Unlike large enterprises with vast marketing budgets, SaaS firms must engage prospects proactively rather than waiting for leads to come to them.

Key Reasons Cold Outreach is Essential:

• No Established Customer Base – You can’t rely on referrals or word-of-mouth in the early stages.

  
  

• Long B2B Sales Cycles – Building pipeline early is critical for long-term success (3).

  
  

• Inbound Alone Won’t Cut It – Organic traffic and SEO take time, and paid ads can be costly (4).

  
  

• Investor Pressure to Scale – You need fast, repeatable, and scalable revenue growth.

  
  

However, simply sending cold emails isn’t enough. The platform you use directly impacts your results.

The Fatal Flaw: Why Major Email Platforms Fail at Cold Outreach

Most SaaS companies assume that using a well-known email marketing tool will ensure their emails reach inboxes. This is a costly mistake when it comes to cold outreach.

1. Permission-Based Platforms vs. Cold Email Platforms

• HubSpot, MailChimp, Constant Contact, and Salesforce are designed for sending emails to people who have opted in (5).

  
  

• Cold email platforms are built to optimize deliverability for cold outreach (6).

  
  

• Mainstream platforms flag and penalize accounts that send emails to non-opted-in lists, leading to account suspensions or emails landing in spam (7).

  
  

2. Bulk Sending Hurts Deliverability

• Traditional email marketing platforms send emails in bulk, which can trigger spam filters (8).

  
  

• Cold email platforms use staggered sending, mimicking human behavior to improve deliverability.

  
  

• Email service providers (ESPs) like Gmail and Outlook track sending behavior—if they detect bulk sending patterns, they flag your domain.

  
  

3. Domain Reputation Gets Damaged

• Poor domain reputation = low inbox placement (9).

  
  

• Cold outreach platforms rotate sending between multiple email accounts and warm up domains, preventing deliverability issues.

  
  

4. Too Many Links and Images Trigger Spam Filters

• HubSpot and MailChimp templates are filled with images, buttons, and multiple links (10).

  
  

• Cold email best practices favor plain-text emails with minimal links, increasing the chance of landing in the inbox.

  
  

5. Lack of Personalization Kills Engagement

• Email marketing tools use template-based mass emailing, which feels robotic and generic (4).

  
  

• Cold email platforms allow advanced personalization with first names, company names, pain points, and recent activities, driving higher responses.

Top B2B Email Marketing Platforms

How to Fix Your Cold Email Strategy for Maximum Deliverability and Results

If you want to book more meetings, build pipeline, and drive revenue, here’s the right way to approach cold email marketing:

1. Use a Cold Email Platform

• Contact us to find out what we recommend based on our extensive research. Not all cold email platforms are up to the task.

  
  

• These platforms prioritize email warming, staggered sending, and domain rotation to maximize inbox placement (2).

  
  

2. Set Up Your Domain Properly

• Never send cold emails from your main business domain (e.g., yourcompany.com) (6).

  
  

• Set up an alternative domain (e.g., yourcompany.io) with separate email accounts.

  
  

• Configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to authenticate emails and avoid spam filters.

  
  

3. Warm Up Your Emails Before Sending Cold Outreach

• Email providers flag new email accounts that suddenly send hundreds of emails (9).

  
  

• Use email warm-up tools for 2-4 weeks before sending cold emails.

  
  

4. Write Emails That Feel Like One-to-One Conversations

• Avoid Salesy Language: No excessive promotions, discounts, or hard pitches.

  
  

• Keep It Short: 3-5 sentence emails perform best.

  
  

• Use Personalization: Reference recent company news, roles, or pain points.

  
  

5. Limit Links and Images

• Best practice: 0-1 links (best if none) and no images (10).

  
  

• Avoid signature images, tracking pixels, and unnecessary formatting.

  
  

6. Follow Up Strategically

• Most responses come after 3-5 follow-ups (5).

  
  

• Space follow-ups every 3-4 business days.

  
  

• Make follow-ups value-driven, not just “checking in.”

  
  

7. Monitor and Improve Your Email Performance

• Track Open, Reply, and Bounce Rates.

  
  

• If open rates are below 40%, adjust subject lines and sender reputation.

  
  

• If reply rates are below 5%, improve personalization and value propositions.

Conclusion: Cold Outreach Can Work—If Done Right

If your SaaS offering struggles with cold outreach, the problem isn’t your offer—it’s your approach. By using platforms like HubSpot, MailChimp, or Salesforce for cold email campaigns, you’re crippling your deliverability, reducing open rates, and losing potential revenue (7).

To fix this, you must:

• Use a cold email platform, not a permission-based marketing tool.

  
  

• Set up dedicated domains, warm up emails, and follow deliverability best practices.

  
  

• Write personalized, plain-text emails with a strong value proposition.

  
  

By making these changes, your cold outreach will stop being an exercise in frustration and drive real business growth. Need help optimizing your sales outreach? Let’s chat and build a strategy that suits your unique revenue growth requirements.

Beyond Solutions, a Strategic Partnership

Engaging The Rinna Group goes well beyond email marketing. You gain access to a wealth of sales and marketing expertise and experience, focused on every aspect of your go-to-market efforts to optimize revenue growth.

We effectively augment your in-house team without a W2 commitment. We work as an extension of your company, collaborating to achieve your unique growth objectives.

Remember, you're not alone in this journey. Let's partner to transform your challenges into stepping stones for fueling revenue growth!

Sources:

1. HubSpot vs. Mailchimp: Which Marketing Tool is Right for You? – Zapier.

2. How to Grow Your SaaS Through Cold Email Marketing – QuickMail.

3. Why You Shouldn't Send Cold Emails from Your Marketing Automation System – The OBO Agency.

4. Cold Email Guide for B2B SaaS: My Formula for Higher Reply Rates – SaaS Camp.

5. HubSpot Cold Email - Is It Allowed Or Not? + Alternatives – Woodpecker.

6. The Complete Guide to Cold Emailing for SaaS Products – Mystrika Blog.

7. Mastering Cold Email Outreach for B2B SaaS: Strategies for Success – Growth Rhino Inc.

8. Cold Email Marketing: SaaS Strategies for Customer Acquisition – Lighter Capital.

9. Cold Email Copywriting Frameworks for SaaS Companies – Clay.

10. Mastering Cold Email: Best Practices for Revenue Operations Success – ScaleStack.ai