The Dave Gerhardt Show

B2B Outbound Best Practices: What’s Working Now with Cold Email and Paid Ads (with Alex Fine)


Listen Later

#245: Cold Email | Danielle Messler sits down with Alex Fine, co-founder of Understory, the agency behind some of the most effective outbound and paid strategies in B2B right now. Alex is leading the charge on a smarter approach to outbound called “Allbound”, a tightly integrated blend of outbound, paid media, and LinkedIn tactics that actually convert.


If you’re tired of cold emails that go nowhere or ad campaigns that burn cash without ROI, this one’s for you.


Danielle and Alex cover:

  • Why most B2B outbound strategies fail and how Allbound fixes the disconnect between ads, email, and LinkedIn
  • The cold email deliverability tactics that actually work in 2025 (including tools like Instantly, Smartlead, and Clay)
  • Real-world examples of hyper-personalized, AI-powered outreach that book meetings with high-ACV prospects

Timestamps

  • (00:00) - – Intro
  • (03:08) - – What Is “Allbound”?
  • (05:08) - – Cold Email Isn’t Dead (But It’s Evolved)
  • (07:38) - – Tools to Improve Deliverability
  • (09:53) - – Personalization That Actually Works
  • (11:23) - – Real Example: Fraud Detection SaaS Cold Email Strategy
  • (13:08) - – How to Keep Messaging Consistent Across Channels
  • (15:08) - – Treating Each Channel Differently
  • (18:43) - – Ads as a “Cheat Code” in B2B
  • (21:13) - – Building Genuinely Personalized Emails at Scale
  • (24:13) - – From Swiffer to SaaS
  • (27:43) - – What Sales Teaches Marketers
  • (36:28) - – Where to Find Alex + Upcoming Exit Five Event Plug

  • Join 50,0000 people who get our Exit Five Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
    Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/

    ***

    Today's episode is brought to you by Knak.

    Email (in my humble opinion) is the still the greatest marketing channel of all-time.

    It’s the only way you can truly “own” your audience.

    But when it comes to building the emails - if you’ve ever tried building an email in an enterprise marketing automation platform, you know how painful it can be. Templates are too rigid, editing code can break things and the whole process just takes forever. 


    That’s why we love Knak here at Exit Five. Knak a no-code email platform that makes it easy to create on-brand, high-performing emails - without the bottlenecks.

    • Frustrated by clunky email builders? You need Knak.
    • Tired of ‘hoping’ the email you sent looks good across all devices? Just test in Knak first.
    • Big team making it hard to collaborate and get approvals? Definitely Knak.

    And the best part? Everything takes a fraction of the time.

    See Knak in action at knak.com/exit-five. Or just let them know you heard about Knak on Exit Five.


    ***

    Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.

    • They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
    • Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
    • Visit hatch.fm to learn more
    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    The Dave Gerhardt ShowBy Dave Gerhardt

    • 4.7
    • 4.7
    • 4.7
    • 4.7
    • 4.7

    4.7

    43 ratings


    More shows like The Dave Gerhardt Show

    View all
    This Week in Startups by Jason Calacanis

    This Week in Startups

    1,287 Listeners

    The Digital Marketing Podcast by Daniel Rowles and Ciaran Rogers

    The Digital Marketing Podcast

    112 Listeners

    Social Media Marketing Podcast by Michael Stelzner, Social Media Examiner

    Social Media Marketing Podcast

    1,437 Listeners

    The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors by SaaStr

    The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

    172 Listeners

    Marketing School - Digital Marketing and Online Marketing Tips by Eric Siu and Neil Patel

    Marketing School - Digital Marketing and Online Marketing Tips

    1,253 Listeners

    Social Media Marketing Talk Show by Michael Stelzner, Social Media Examiner

    Social Media Marketing Talk Show

    82 Listeners

    Uncensored CMO by Jon Evans

    Uncensored CMO

    36 Listeners

    GTM Live by Passetto

    GTM Live

    201 Listeners

    The Marketing Millennials by Daniel Murray

    The Marketing Millennials

    153 Listeners

    The Artificial Intelligence Show by Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput

    The Artificial Intelligence Show

    184 Listeners

    Marketing Made Simple by StoryBrand.com

    Marketing Made Simple

    293 Listeners

    The Startup Ideas Podcast by Greg Isenberg

    The Startup Ideas Podcast

    203 Listeners

    Marketing Against The Grain by Hubspot Media

    Marketing Against The Grain

    352 Listeners

    Using AI at Work: AI in the Workplace & Generative AI for Business Leaders by Chris Daigle

    Using AI at Work: AI in the Workplace & Generative AI for Business Leaders

    18 Listeners

    AI Explored by Michael Stelzner, Social Media Examiner—AI marketing

    AI Explored

    84 Listeners