Michael Gardiner is the founder of Done For You, an agency that delves into cold email marketing. This agency works with B2B companies seeking to scale client acquisition and sales process improvement through cold emails.
From navigating numerous challenges to consistently adapting to clients' diverse needs, Michael's journey with Done For You is rich in lessons learned, challenges overcome, and successes celebrated.
As we delve into this case study, we'll explore the hurdles that Michael and his team faced, the strategic decisions that propelled Done For You to new heights, and how their partnership with Smartlead has been instrumental in their growth.
How It All Started: The Story of Michael Gardiner and Done For You
Michael Gardiner is an entrepreneur and a thought leader in the field of cold email marketing. Michael's journey of starting his agency, Done For You, began after his initial success in using cold email as a primary tool for outreach and client acquisition.
With experience using cold email since 2015, Michael acquired a deep understanding of the nuances and strategies that make cold email campaigns successful. He saw an opportunity to offer his expertise to other companies struggling with their cold email efforts. And that’s how Done For You started.
Done For You caters to B2B companies with cold email strategies to help them acquire clients and improve their sales processes. It specializes in managing cold email campaigns, consulting on email deliverability, and setting up cold email systems, including technology, strategy, and training for small sales teams.
Michael’s agency focuses on the efficiency and effectiveness of cold email campaigns without relying heavily on fancy features like AI, images, or GIFs. Instead, they prioritize consistency, deliverability, and the strategic use of text-based emails. Reflecting back on his journey so far, Michale fondly acknowledges the role Smartlead played in his success story.
Challenges Faced Along the Way
Michael Gardiner and his agency, Done For You, faced several challenges in their use of cold email and in managing campaigns for their clients.
One of the main challenges is the need for consistent uptime of the cold email tools. For an agency that relies heavily on cold emailing for both acquiring their own clients and managing campaigns for others, software downtime significantly impacted their operations.
Before moving to Smartlead, Michael noticed that the features released by their chosen tool weren’t working accurately as advertised. Michael also notes that almost every warm-up tool they have used has shown a high bounce rate from late February to mid-March. This period of adjustment negatively impacted the deliverability of their campaigns.
Done For You also faced difficulty setting up their warm-up processes correctly. While not explicitly a challenge, managing diverse client needs and expectations was a complex aspect of their business.
These challenges highlight the need for reliability, consistency, and adaptability in cold email marketing tools and strategies. He also mentioned the importance of understanding and navigating the technical aspects of cold email marketing.
Notable Achievements
Done For You has generated over a million dollars in revenue through cold email campaigns for their own business, along with millions more for their clients.
Michael also shared the data of the best-performing campaign so far. The best-performing campaign generated a 20% reply rate and an impressive 48.5% of those positive replies.
This campaign alone led Done For You to close deals with four new clients.
The agency's emphasis on the importance of consistent uptime and reliability of its chosen cold email tool, Smartlead, is noteworthy.
Done For You successfully catered to a diverse range of clients, from small sales teams requiring comprehensive cold email setup and training to larger corporations seeking specialized consulting on deliverability.
Key Factors Contributing to Success
The agency's foundational strength lies in its deep expertise and extensive experience in cold email marketing. Having used cold email since 2015, Michael has a nuanced understanding of how to craft and execute campaigns that resonate with target audiences. This served as the biggest success factor for Done For You.
A significant factor in their success is the emphasis on reliability and consistency, particularly in terms of the tools they use. Michael highlights the consistent uptime in Smartlead and how it helped them deliver consistent results to their clients.
The agency's strategy of using plain-text emails without relying on complex features or visuals contributes to its success. By focusing on the message and its relevance to the recipient, they achieve higher engagement and response rates.
Done For You tailored their services to meet the specific needs of their clients, whether it's managing entire campaigns, consulting on deliverability, or setting up cold email systems for small sales teams. This flexibility and willingness to adapt their approach based on client size, industry, and specific challenges allow them to deliver value in various contexts.
According to Michael, networking and referrals have played a significant role in acquiring new tools, resources, and possibly even clients, contributing to the agency's growth and success.
Despite the challenges associated with email warm-up processes and deliverability, Smartlead provided solutions for the agency with automated and unlimited email warmups.
Smartlead's ability to cater to the agency's specific needs, whether through customizable features, adaptable services, or whitelabeling, played a role in their success.
Michael mentions the exceptional support from Smartlead compared to other tools they've used. It helped them resolve issues quickly, get advice on best practices, and ensure that campaigns ran smoothly without interruption.
Team members at Done For You found Master Inbox 3.0 useful for inbox management. In summary, Smartlead has contributed to the agency's success through a combination of reliable and functional features, excellent support, customization options, and tools that enhance campaign management and execution.
Looking Ahead for Success Powered by Smartlead
Michael's agency, in partnership with Smartlead, aims at an ambitious future in cold email marketing. They're set to expand their offerings using Smartlead's latest features, aiming for more personalized and automated campaigns.
A big focus will be on making sure emails hit the inbox every time, using analytics and machine learning to sharpen their deliverability. They're also excited about integrating AI to create more dynamic campaigns.
Beyond tech, Michael is looking to break into new markets, ensuring each client feels valued with tailored success programs. Plus, they're keen on aligning their growth with sustainable and ethical practices, aiming to lead not just in business but in contributing positively to the community.
Sattwik Das
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Frequently asked questions
What is Smartlead's cold email outreach software?
Smartlead's cold email outreach tool helps businesses scale their outreach efforts seamlessly. With unlimited mailboxes, fully automated email warmup functionality, a multi-channel infrastructure, and a user-friendly unibox, it empowers users to manage their entire revenue cycle in one place. Whether you're looking to streamline cold email campaigns with automated email warmups, personalization fields, automated mailbox rotation, easy integrations, and spintax, improve productivity, or enhance scalability with subsequences based on lead’s intentions, automated replies, and full white-label experience, our cold email tool implifies it in a single solution.
How does Smartlead's unlimited mailboxes feature benefit me?
Our "unlimited mailboxes" feature allows you to expand your email communications without restrictions imposed by a mailbox limit. This means you won't be constrained by artificial caps on the number of mailboxes you can connect and use. This feature makes Smartlead the best cold email software and empowers you to reach a wider audience, engage with more potential customers, and manage diverse email campaigns effectively.
What do you mean by "unibox to handle your entire revenue cycle"?
The "unibox" is one of the unique features of Smartlead cold email outreach tool, and it's a game-changer when it comes to managing your revenue cycle. The master inbox or the unibox consolidates all your outreach channels, responses, sales follow-ups, and conversions into one centralized, user-friendly mailbox.
With the "unibox," you gain the ability to:
1. Focus on closing deals: You can now say goodbye to the hassle of logging into multiple mailboxes to search for replies. The "unibox" streamlines your sales communication, allowing you to focus on what matters most—closing deals.
2. Centralized lead management: All your leads are managed from one central location, simplifying lead tracking and response management. This ensures you take advantage of every opportunity and efficiently engage with your prospects.
3. Maintain context: The "unibox" provides a 360-degree view of all your customer messages, allowing you to maintain context and deliver more personalized and effective responses.
Can Smartlead help improve my email deliverability rates?
Yes, our cold emailing software is designed to significantly improve your email deliverability rates. It enhances email deliverability through AI-powered email warmups across providers, unique IP rotating for each campaign, and dynamic ESP matching.
Real-time AI learning refines strategies based on performance, optimizing deliverability without manual adjustments. Smartlead's advanced features and strategies are designed to improve email deliverability rates, making it a robust choice for enhancing cold email campaign success.
Can I integrate Smartlead with other tools I'm using?
Certainly, Smartlead cold email tool is designed for seamless integration with a wide range of tools and platforms. Smartlead offers integration with HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Clay, Listkit, and more. You can leverage webhooks and APIs to integrate the tools you use. Try Now!
What is Smartlead, and how can it enhance my cold email campaigns?
Smartlead is a robust cold emailing software designed to transform cold emails into reliable revenue streams. Trusted by over 31,000 businesses, Smartlead excels in email deliverability, lead generation, cold email automation, and sales outreach. A unified master inbox streamlines communication management, while built-in email verification reduces bounce rates.Additionally, Smartlead offers essential tools such as CNAME, SPF Checker, DMARC Checker, Email Verifier, Blacklist Check Tool, and Email Bounce Rate Calculator for optimizing email performance.
How does Smartlead, as a cold emailing tool, automate the cold email process?
Smartlead’s robust cold email API and automation infrastructure streamline outbound communication by transforming the campaign creation and management processes. It seamlessly integrates data across software systems using APIs and webhooks, adjusts settings, and leverages AI for personalised content.
The cold emailing tool categorises lead intent, offers comprehensive email management with automated notifications, and integrates smoothly with CRMs like Zapier, Make, N8N, HubSpot, Salesforce, and Pipedrive. Smartlead supports scalable outreach by rapidly adding mailboxes and drip-feeding leads into active campaigns Sign Up Now!
How does Smartlead ensure my emails don't land in the spam folder?
Smartlead, the best cold email marketing tool, ensures your emails reach the intended recipients' primary inbox rather than the spam folder.
Here's how it works:
1. Our "unlimited warmups" feature is designed to build and maintain a healthy sending reputation for your cold email outreach. Instead of sending a large volume of emails all at once, which can trigger spam filters, we gradually ramp up your sending volume. This gradual approach, combined with positive email interactions, helps boost your email deliverability rates.
2. We deploy high-deliverability IP servers specific to each campaign.
3. The ‘Warmup’ feature replicates humanized email sending patterns, spintax, and smart replies.
4. By establishing a positive sender reputation and gradually increasing the number of sent emails, Smartlead minimizes the risk of your emails being flagged as spam. This way, you can be confident that your messages will consistently land in the primary inbox, increasing the likelihood of engagement and successful communication with your recipients.
What features does Smartlead offer for cold email personalisation?
Smartlead enhances cold email personalisation through advanced AI-driven capabilities and strategic integrations. Partnered with Clay, The cold remaining software facilitates efficient lead list building, enrichment from over 50 data providers, and real-time scraping for precise targeting. Hyper-personalised cold emails crafted in Clay seamlessly integrate with Smartlead campaigns.
Moreover, Smartlead employs humanised, natural email interactions and smart replies to boost engagement and response rates. Additionally, the SmartAI Bot creates persona-specific, high-converting sales copy. Also you can create persona-specific, high-converting sales copy using SmartAI Bot. You can train the AI bot to achieve 100% categorisation accuracy, optimising engagement and conversion rates.
Is Smartlead suitable for both small businesses and large enterprises?
Smartlead accommodates both small businesses and large enterprises with flexible pricing and comprehensive features. The Basic Plan at $39/month suits small businesses and solopreneurs, offering 2000 active leads and 6000 monthly emails, alongside essential tools like unlimited email warm-up and detailed analytics.
Marketers and growing businesses benefit from the Pro Plan ($94/month), with 30000 active leads and 150000 monthly emails, plus a custom CRM and active support. Lead generation agencies and large enterprises can opt for the Custom Plan ($174/month), providing up to 12 million active lead credits and 60 million emails, with advanced CRM integration and customisation options.