M&A Zing (S2EP7) - Cold Outreach for Acquisitions: Connect with Owners and Unlock Off-Market Deals
Season 2, Episode 8, Aug 21, 09:28 AM
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Cold outreach is the bridge between research and real deal flow. In this solo episode, Alfie shares how acquisition entrepreneurs can build lists, write effective emails, send letters, and avoid legal pitfalls, plus how BizCrunch makes outreach faster and easier.
In this special solo edition of M&A Zing, Alfie dives deep into one of the most misunderstood parts of the acquisition process: outreach.
Finding companies to buy is only the start, earning conversations with owners is what turns research into real opportunities. In this episode, you’ll learn both the manual way to run cold outreach and the modern tools that simplify the process.
Covered in this episode:
- Why outreach matters more than just building lists
- The building blocks of a good target list (manual vs. tools)
- How to set up new domains, DNS records, and inbox warm-ups properly
- Writing cold emails that actually get replies (the “Why them, Why now, What you want” framework)
- Why follow-ups and letters often make the difference with retiring owners
- Tools for sending campaigns manually or at scale
- Legal and ethical considerations of B2B outreach under GDPR
- How BizCrunch takes care of the technical setup so you can focus on conversations
Whether you’re sending your very first cold email or refining a professionalised search process, this episode gives you a field guide to doing outreach the right way.
Timestamps:
[00:13] Welcome & why a solo outreach deep dive
[01:35] Using timestamps; tailoring to experience levels
[02:49] Why outreach matters in acquisitions
[03:07] Finding companies vs earning owner conversations
[04:01] Rising competition (ETA) & the off‑market edge
[04:25] Step 1: list building
[05:17] Define precise criteria (rev/sector/geo/owner profile)
[06:02] Free sources: Companies House, Google, associations
[07:07] Cleaning data & finding decision‑maker emails
[07:25] Tooling spectrum: manual ↔ premium databases ↔ BizCrunch
[08:22] Middle ground: credit tools & trade‑offs
[10:01] Your list quality drives campaign performance
[10:20] Don’t blast from personal inbox; blacklisting risk
[10:39] Setup: new domain & dedicated inboxes
[11:05] DNS essentials: SPF, DKIM, DMARC
[15:28] Inbox warm‑up: tools, timing, deliverability
[18:49] Writing emails that get replies (plain‑text, concise)
[19:14] Framework: Why them / Why now / What you want (+ Who you are)
[22:07] Example first email to an owner
[23:19] Follow‑ups & letters; sequencing that works
[24:56] Staying top‑of‑mind; multiple touches
[25:34] Sending options: manual, Gmail mail‑merge, platforms
[27:29] Platforms & tracking; when integrated tools help
[29:13] Letters + email = effective combo (retiring owners)
[30:14] Legal: GDPR + PECR for B2B outreach
[31:27] Avoid personal emails & PSC/home addresses
[33:07] BizCrunch demo: filters → insights → list → campaign
[35:52] You focus on copy; tech handled for you
[36:12] Recap: outreach process in a nutshell
[36:29] Outro & how to connect
Join our community of acquirers and searchers to share outreach:
https://www.bizcrunch.co/community
Learn about DNS:
https://www.cloudflare.com/en-gb/learning/dns/what-is-dns/
Gmail & Sheets Mail Merge:
https://developers.google.com/apps-script/samples/automations/mail-merge
Connect with Alfie:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alfie-lambert/
Finding companies to buy is only the start, earning conversations with owners is what turns research into real opportunities. In this episode, you’ll learn both the manual way to run cold outreach and the modern tools that simplify the process.
Covered in this episode:
- Why outreach matters more than just building lists
- The building blocks of a good target list (manual vs. tools)
- How to set up new domains, DNS records, and inbox warm-ups properly
- Writing cold emails that actually get replies (the “Why them, Why now, What you want” framework)
- Why follow-ups and letters often make the difference with retiring owners
- Tools for sending campaigns manually or at scale
- Legal and ethical considerations of B2B outreach under GDPR
- How BizCrunch takes care of the technical setup so you can focus on conversations
Whether you’re sending your very first cold email or refining a professionalised search process, this episode gives you a field guide to doing outreach the right way.
Timestamps:
[00:13] Welcome & why a solo outreach deep dive
[01:35] Using timestamps; tailoring to experience levels
[02:49] Why outreach matters in acquisitions
[03:07] Finding companies vs earning owner conversations
[04:01] Rising competition (ETA) & the off‑market edge
[04:25] Step 1: list building
[05:17] Define precise criteria (rev/sector/geo/owner profile)
[06:02] Free sources: Companies House, Google, associations
[07:07] Cleaning data & finding decision‑maker emails
[07:25] Tooling spectrum: manual ↔ premium databases ↔ BizCrunch
[08:22] Middle ground: credit tools & trade‑offs
[10:01] Your list quality drives campaign performance
[10:20] Don’t blast from personal inbox; blacklisting risk
[10:39] Setup: new domain & dedicated inboxes
[11:05] DNS essentials: SPF, DKIM, DMARC
[15:28] Inbox warm‑up: tools, timing, deliverability
[18:49] Writing emails that get replies (plain‑text, concise)
[19:14] Framework: Why them / Why now / What you want (+ Who you are)
[22:07] Example first email to an owner
[23:19] Follow‑ups & letters; sequencing that works
[24:56] Staying top‑of‑mind; multiple touches
[25:34] Sending options: manual, Gmail mail‑merge, platforms
[27:29] Platforms & tracking; when integrated tools help
[29:13] Letters + email = effective combo (retiring owners)
[30:14] Legal: GDPR + PECR for B2B outreach
[31:27] Avoid personal emails & PSC/home addresses
[33:07] BizCrunch demo: filters → insights → list → campaign
[35:52] You focus on copy; tech handled for you
[36:12] Recap: outreach process in a nutshell
[36:29] Outro & how to connect
Join our community of acquirers and searchers to share outreach:
https://www.bizcrunch.co/community
Learn about DNS:
https://www.cloudflare.com/en-gb/learning/dns/what-is-dns/
Gmail & Sheets Mail Merge:
https://developers.google.com/apps-script/samples/automations/mail-merge
Connect with Alfie:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alfie-lambert/