OBSERVATION #001:
PERSONALIZATION IS THEATER
We got another message in the team Slack this morning. Someone shared a post from LinkedIn about "the perfect personalized opener." The comments were full of the usual excitement.
"Saving this."
"Stealing this."
"Love the empathy here."
Management pinned it for visibility.
The post showed an email so hyper targeted it might as well have been a biography. The rep had referenced the prospect's hometown, podcast, old job, and a line from an article they wrote three years ago. Everyone applauded the craft.
Someone finally asked the question. "Did you take the meeting?" The poster replied an hour later. "No, but it stood out."
We get versions of these every week. A podcast mention. A stray line about their favorite team. A compliment disguised as relevance. It is personalization, but in practice it feels like flattery that took too long to write.
We try it anyway. We rewrite subject lines. We hunt for details the prospect forgot they shared online. We add emojis the gurus say "humanize the outreach." Sometimes we even use their own phrasing back at them because it "shows active listening."
Most replies, when they happen, are corrections.
"I haven't lived in Chicago in years."
"I'm not with that company anymore."
"Please update your notes."
More often there is nothing. No open. No click. No reply. Just radio silence.
Around noon, someone posted another "god-tier cold email" from a different guru. Long thread. Lots of analysis about tone, cadence, flow. More praise for the craft. When asked if it led to a meeting, the answer was the same. No.
By the afternoon, leadership reminded us that "personalization drives conversion." The said it with confidence. The chart they attached had no labels.
We still do it. We try to sound thoughtful. We still perform the effort. Not because we think it works, but because no one wants to be the person who sends a generic opener and proves the quiet truth.
Most days end the same way. No matter how personal the email is, the silence is identical. When that happens, the team starts looking around for whatever comes next.
It is usually a hail mary.