Outbound for early-stage B2B founders

Find the message.
Build the traction.

You’ve built something worth testing. Now you need to know who cares—and how to explain it. I run outbound experiments to help you find message-market fit. Already seeing traction? I help you turn it into a more repeatable way to win customers.

Sönke VenjacobSDR → AE → Agency Owner → Fractional GTM
Find message-market fitBuild on existing tractionDirect access to Sönke
What are buyers telling us?The feedback loop I run with you
01 / FIND

A buyer hypothesis

Choose a group.
Name the problem.

ICPAccount list
02 / UNDERSTAND

A message to test

Explain the value.
Make the ask clear.

ProblemValueNext step
03 / REACH

A focused campaign

Reach relevant people.
Keep track of the test.

EmailLinkedIn
04 / LEARN

A founder decision

Read replies and call notes.
Choose what changes next.

CRMFeedback
Replies and founder conversations shape the next test. Silence also needs investigation.Test → Listen → Decide
01 / What working together looks like

I run the tests.
You hear the market.

You don’t need a finished sales playbook to start. Bring your product, your best assumptions, and time for buyer conversations. I handle the research, campaign build, and iteration.

Account research
Who do we help?ICP
Where do they fit?Segment
Why reach out now?Context

Buyer & message hypotheses

I help turn your product explanation into a few specific reasons a buyer might care. We choose what to test first and what evidence would make us change our minds.

  • Buyer groups, use cases & exclusions
  • Problems, value propositions & next-step offers
  • A test plan with assumptions made explicit
Account list + research
↓
Enrich → Check → Prioritize
↓
Relevant campaign

Data & automation

I source the people for each test, check the data, and keep the groups separate so we can understand the response.

  • Company and contact sourcing
  • Enrichment, verification & deduplication
  • Clear test groups & sequence logic
Campaign review
Interested replyFollow up
Timing objectionLearn
Wrong contactRefine

Campaigns & learning

I launch the outreach and bring you the replies with context. Together, we look at objections, interest, and what happened on the calls.

  • Email and LinkedIn campaign management
  • Reply tagging, CRM sync & owner routing
  • A weekly test log, findings & next actions
Sending foundation
Domains & mailboxesConfigure
Authentication & healthCheck
Limits & exclusionsProtect

Infrastructure & deliverability

I set up and monitor the sending foundation, with volume matched to readiness.

  • Domain, mailbox & authentication setup
  • Sending ramp, bounce checks & monitoring
  • Unsubscribe and suppression handling
Work directly with Sönke.I research the market, write the outreach, build the workflows, and work through the findings with you.
02 / Start where you are

Still testing the story?
Already winning customers?

Both are good starting points. The work changes with the question you need outbound to answer.

For founders still finding the message

Learn what gets the right buyer to lean in.

Your product makes sense to you. Buyers may describe the problem differently. I build outreach around a small set of ideas and bring back the response for us to examine.

The aim: a clearer account of who responds, what they care about, and which next step they will take.

INPUTYour product + early feedback + buyer assumptions
↓
BUILDChoose an audience → Test an angle → Review conversations
↓
HANDOFFA record of the evidence and a decision on the next test
Look for buyer commitment.Interest → Real problem → Agreed next step → Commercial outcome
03 / How the work unfolds

A clear question.
A test worth running.

We agree on the first learning goal, build the outreach, and review the evidence. Each round ends with a decision about what to keep, change, or stop.

Phase 01

Frame the question.

Product, offer & founder context
Initial buyers & problem assumptions
Stack, data & infrastructure audit
Learning goal & success signals agreed
Phase 02

Prepare a focused test.

Source a defined buyer group
Configure sending & data workflows
Write distinct angles & approve copy
Track what each test changes
Phase 03

Talk, learn, decide.

Verify data, sending health & exclusions
Launch the first campaign
Review replies, objections & call notes
Keep, revise, stop—or expand

Setup and launch timing depend on your data, infrastructure, access, and feedback.

You can start before the playbook is clear

Early doesn’t mean
too early to learn.

You may have a working product and a few conversations, or paying customers without a repeatable sales motion. We start with what you know and make the unknowns explicit.

01

Something a buyer can evaluate

A working product, demo, pilot, or concrete service—and a problem you believe it can solve. You don’t need polished case studies to begin.

02

People we can learn from

An initial idea of who has the problem and a practical way to reach them. Finding the strongest buyer group can be part of the work.

03

A founder ready to listen

Time for buyer conversations, honest feedback, and room to change an assumption. I run the outbound; your product knowledge stays central.

Sönke Venjacob
Sönke
Venjacob

SDR → AE → Agency Owner
→ Fractional GTM

The person on the call
is the person doing the work.

I’ve worked across SDR, AE, agency, and fractional GTM roles. I bring that mix of hands-on sales and systems work to your first experiments—and the campaigns you build once something starts working.

04 / Client experience

Working together.
In their words.

05 / Before we talk

A few things
you might
want to know.

What do you mean by message-market fit?

A clear connection between a specific buyer, a problem they recognize, and a reason to take the next step with you. We look for patterns in replies and actual conversations, then check whether interest turns into action. A strong reply rate alone does not prove product-market fit.

Can we work together before we have traction?

Yes. If you have something concrete for a buyer to evaluate, we can use outbound to test your assumptions. We’ll agree on the questions and what to measure before spending on a bigger campaign. The work can reveal that the offer or audience needs to change.

What if we already have customers?

We start with the deals, messages, and buyer patterns you already have. I handle the campaign build and operations, then help you test whether that traction repeats in a wider account list or a new audience.

What will we have at the end?

The campaign assets and workflows in the agreed scope, a log of the tests and responses, and a recommendation for the next step. That may be to expand a promising campaign, revise the message, or revisit the offer. Finding fit is a goal, not a guaranteed deliverable or deadline.

Will I work directly with you?

Yes. I’m your point of contact and the person working on your strategy, setup, and campaign reviews.

What is included in the managed service?

Targeting and campaign strategy, account and contact research, enrichment, sending infrastructure, copy, campaign management, reply routing, CRM handoff, and performance review. We agree on channels, campaign scope, and responsibilities before starting.

What do you need from me?

A concrete product or offer, your current assumptions, access to the agreed systems, and time for buyer calls and approvals. A proven message or established outbound channel is not required.

Who pays for tools and data?

I review your existing stack first. The proposal separates my service fee from any sending, mailbox, enrichment, or data costs, so you can approve the full operating budget before we start.

What does it cost?

Pricing depends on the work, the systems involved, and the level of ongoing support. We agree on the scope and fees before starting.

Do you guarantee a number of meetings?

No. Results depend on the offer, market, timing, and follow-up. We agree on what counts as a qualified conversation and track outcomes beyond send volume. I use those results to decide what to improve, pause, or scale.

Who handles calls and live sales conversations?

You or your sales lead own discovery, objections, and closing. For an early-stage startup, those conversations are also research. I make sure you have the outreach context and capture the feedback for the next round.

Let’s find your next useful signal

What do buyers
need to hear?

Tell me what you’re building, who you think it helps, and what you’ve heard so far. We’ll discuss the next question to test—or how to build on the traction you already have.

Book a call ↗You’ll speak with me, Sönke.