Reach the clients you need with the right outbound tools
Unbiased reviews, comparisons, and consulting from someone who's implemented these tools. From solo founder to 20-person teams.
My Recommended Stack (2026)
Tested, trusted, and currently in use
Clay.com
Contacts
ExpertThe ultimate enrichment tool. Finds and qualifies leads dynamically, acting as a programmable data expert.
Best For
Reply.io
Outreach
IntermediateMultichannel engagement platform handling email and LinkedIn steps in one flow. The engine for sending.
Best For
Mailforge.ai
Email structure
BeginnerInfrastructure for cold email. Warms up inboxes and auto-rotates domains to maintain deliverability. $29/mo
Best For
HubSpot Sales Hub
CRM
IntermediateAll-in-one CRM platform. Great entry point that scales well up to mid-market.
Best For
A Realistic Cost of Scaling for Founders
If you have more than a few functional braincells, this setup can be done in less than a few days. It is significantly cheaper than hiring a dedicated person, and more reliable than hoping for a viral TikTok post or blasting ads on Facebook.
HubSpot
Clay
Reply.io
Mailforge
Apollo
Total Stack Cost: ~$350 - $500/mo vs. $4,500/mo for a single SDR.
Experience Across SaaS Companies & Team Sizes
I've worked across SaaS, Fintech, and Traditional sales companies from early-stage to scale-up - spanning from 5-figure ARR startups - 7-figure ARR companies. I've set up sales operations for:
Companies I've Worked With
SORSEO
Whatagraph
RoyaltyRange
GPSWOX
Walk15
CTO2B
HEMES
Glassique Cadeau
FinfraI'm a Head of Sales + RevOps consultant with under 5 years of Marketing experience and 6+ years of Sales experience. I've built B2B teams and outbound systems targeting North America, LATAM, and EMEA.
First, the volume of questions I kept getting about tool stacks and outbound setups was getting more frequent. It made sense to put everything in one place so people can find answers fast in this library.
Second, founders waste too much time and money on modular, gimmicky tools. Outbound is simpler than you think. With the right setup, anyone can run it themselves and feel confident doing it.
Why Outbound?
Paid Advertising
The Bad
- Pay to learn
- Bot traffic
- At scale: diminishing returns
The Good
- Fast top-of-funnel scale (if budget is big)
- Easy to test multiple ICPs (if you enjoy burning money)
Organic Marketing
The Bad
- 6-18 months delayed ROI
- Google controls your fate
- Requires heavy consistency
- Hard to track real attribution
The Good
- Long-term compounding ROI (if it hits)
- Lower maintenance (after years of effort)
Outbound (My Way)
The Great
- Full control over volume and targeting
- Works with zero brand awareness
- Direct line to decision-makers
- Instant validation & low upfront cost
- Highest ROI channel in B2B
- Re-usable engine
The Reality
- Requires experience (which I'm sharing)
- Can burn lists if done badly
- Needs regular optimization
- Requires thick skin (You'll get told off)
Common Questions
Honestly, you'll only know when you test. Your goal is to provide a solution to businesses. I generally do not recommend fixing a problem for industries you do not understand.
With this setup you have 9 mailboxes, 3 domains, and you're using warm-ups to make sure the risk of being flagged as spam is less likely. The lists you generate from Clay.com or Apollo are fully GDPR and Data Privacy laws compliant. Even if you do get marked as spam - you're okay, it will happen. You'll also be told to F off multiple times as you are outreaching cold. It comes with the territory.
Under 2 weeks you'll have a very good understanding if there is a product market fit (demos booked or trial requests), and if the messaging is good (open rate, reply rate).
This setup costs under $500 a month. An SDR will cost you 30-50k annually. You do the math.
Get The Full Playbook
It's a full Notion setup for getting started with outbound, including message templates, Clay setup, checklist.