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In research · Releases Q4 2026
THE OUTREACH PLAYBOOK
A · A
THE

OUTREACH
PLAYBOOK

B2B sales with AI agents — from cold email to multi-touch stack.

Thorsten Pätzold
Amazing Agents
Book · Q4 2026 · Hardcover

The Outreach
Playbook.

How B2B sales teams triple their pipeline with AI agents — without sacrificing the human factor.

320
Pages
(planned)
30+
Sequences
tested
14
Industries
analyzed
Q4·26
Release
date
Why this book

Outreach is broken.

Cold email still works — just not the way it used to. Reply rates under 3 percent are the norm today; five to seven percent counts as very good. The problem isn't the format, it's the scaling of mediocrity. When everyone sends the same generic sequences, the recipient's inbox turns into a slaughterhouse.

AI agents change the game — if you use them right. They can research in seconds what a human can't manage in 20 minutes. They can personalize at a scale that used to be impossible. They can recognize reply patterns and adapt follow-up sequences. But: they can also wreck everything if they're used as nothing more than a "mass-mail amplifier."

That exact balancing act is what the playbook is about: How do you use AI agents so your outreach gets better instead of worse? Not "more emails per day," but "more qualified replies per email." Not "less human effort," but "human effort in the right places."

3.4×
Pipeline size
after setup
12.4%
Reply rate
vs. 2.8% before
68%
Time saved
SDR team

These numbers come from real setups we've implemented over the last 18 months — no simulation, no best-case assumptions. Medians from 47 production outreach setups across the DACH region. In the book, we show exactly how we got there — step by step, including every mistake and correction.

Contents

12 chapters from cold email
to multi-touch stack.

01 What outreach really needs in 2026 — and what no longer works 22 pp.
02 ICP & targeting: finding the right 1,000 with research agents 28 pp.
03 Your first mail agent: setup in 14 days 32 pp.
04 Personalization at scale — without turning into spam 26 pp.
05 Sequences that provoke replies — 30+ field-tested templates 38 pp.
06 Reply classification and automated follow-up actions 22 pp.
07 Multi-channel stack: orchestrating email + LinkedIn + phone 30 pp.
08 CRM auto-update — the invisible secret weapon 20 pp.
09 Deliverability, compliance, and GDPR in an outreach context 26 pp.
10 Measuring what actually matters: KPIs beyond open rates 22 pp.
11 14 industry playbooks — from SaaS to mechanical engineering 42 pp.
12 The outreach operator: why humans remain indispensable 18 pp.
Preview

6 of 30+ sequences.

Every sequence in the book includes: complete email wording, timing between touches, expected reply rate, the most common reply patterns, and industry adaptations. Six examples as a preview:

SEQ · 03 5 touches · 21 days

The Trigger Hunt

Outreach triggered by a concrete event — new job, press release, funding round. Highly personalized, zero mass-mail tone.

14.2%
Reply rate
B2B
SaaS · Mid-Market
SEQ · 07 3 touches · 9 days

The Quick Question

A short, closed-ended question as the first email. Low barrier, high reply rate. Escalates to a concrete offer in email 2.

18.6%
Reply rate
Solo
Up to 25 employees
SEQ · 11 7 touches · 42 days

The Slow Burn

A long-term sequence for enterprise targets. Value-focused in touches 1–4, conversation-open in 5–7. Works where fast sequences fail.

9.8%
Reply rate
ENT
500+ employees
SEQ · 14 4 touches · 12 days

The Multi-Channel

Coordinated touches across email, LinkedIn voice message, and SMS. Works well when classic channels are heavily clogged.

22.4%
Reply rate
DACH
Tech & Consulting
SEQ · 19 3 touches · 6 days

The Bump

Reactivating leads that have gone cold. References the previous conversation, a fresh hook, a clear question. Ideal for CRM cleanup.

16.1%
Reply rate
All
Re-engagement
SEQ · 24 5 touches · 18 days

The Referral Loop

When the original contact doesn't reply — or declines — a sequence for a referral within the same company. Higher conversion in many industries.

11.7%
Reply rate
B2B
Complex sale
Industry Playbooks

14 industries, 14 strategies.

Outreach in B2B SaaS works differently than in mechanical engineering. Differently than in consulting. Differently than at recruiting firms. Chapter 11 contains 14 specific playbooks — each with its own sequence selection, tone of voice, and timing.

💻
B2B SaaS
Tech
🎨
Marketing Agency
Agency
👔
Consulting
Services
🔍
Recruiting
HR-Tech
🏭
Mechanical Engineering
Industry
🛍️
E-Commerce
B2C/B2B
⚖️
Legal / Tax
Professional
🏥
Health-Tech
Regulated
🏗️
Construction & Real Estate
Long-Cycle
📊
Financial Services
Compliance
📦
Logistics
Operations
🎓
Education / EdTech
B2B/B2I
🏨
Hospitality
Service
⚡
Energy & Cleantech
B2B Long
Audience

Who it's written for.

So you don't find out after 80 pages that this book isn't for you:

✓ Written for
  • B2B managing directors with a small sales team (1–10 people)
  • Founders who still do sales themselves and want to systematize it
  • SDR and sales leads who need to scale pipeline on a small budget
  • Marketing leaders who want to build outbound channels
  • Ops or RevOps leads who own the tooling
✗ Not written for
  • Pure inbound strategies — other books cover that better
  • Pure B2C / D2C — the audience and channels are different
  • Enterprise sales teams with 100+ SDRs and established stacks
  • Spammy mass outreach — if that's what you're after, you're in the wrong place
  • Anyone just looking for "quick hack" tips
Author

Who's writing this book.

Thorsten Pätzold
Thorsten Pätzold
CEO & Architect · Amazing Agents

Implemented 47 production outreach setups across the DACH region over the last 18 months — from solo consultants to 50-person sales teams. Writes only about methods he's tested himself. Promises no miracles, and documents what didn't work too.

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