Ever sent a whole bunch of cold emails, only to be left hanging with no replies at all? It can be a frightening blow to your confidence—and your bottom line. But let’s acknowledge the reality, standing out in today’s overloaded inboxes isn’t easy. To have attention from busy professionals who are already dodging messages left, right, and center is definitely not a child’s play.

But let’s hear from Patrick Spychalski, co-founder of The Kiln. He stumbled upon something that really changed his marketing game: combining Clay, an innovative data-enrichment platform, with Smartlead.ai, an email automation tool focused on deliverability. What did that result in? Well, out of many other things, it helped him break free from generic, spammy outreach and skyrocket cold email results—helping him generate millions of dollars in pipeline for his clients.

Clay is a name that needs no introduction, but for more details, check out our blog on AI Messaging with Clay-Smartlead

In this case study, we’ll look at how Patrick discovered a new way to send cold emails. We’ll see why deliverability is a huge deal (hint: it’s everything), and we’ll dig into how The Kiln made tactful use of Smartlead’s features to craft campaigns that actually landed—both literally (in the inbox) and figuratively (in the client’s pipeline). Sound good? Let’s make it better!

The Challenge: A Cluttered Market and Invisible Emails

Let’s keep it grounded - Patrick didn’t set out to build a cold email empire. He knew what he was dealing with - the space was crowded, with countless agencies fighting for the same leads. His original focus, was more towards developing Marketing campaigns and creative strategies. 

But along the way, he got a taste of Clay, a platform that personalizes outreach in an almost magical way. You can dig up unique data points, and customize messages based on competitor usage or brand details. You can do many other things to make each recipient feel singled out.

But as Patrick dipped his toes in the world of cold email, he quickly recognized a looming obstacle: getting emails delivered—truly delivered, not shuffled into the spam folder, was far from easy. He could clearly see that without email deliverability, all your fancy personalization is about as useful as an umbrella in a hurricane.

The Cat-and-Mouse Game of Deliverability

We mean it when we say this - Email providers aren’t messing around these days. They have deployed advanced filters, spam detection, reputation scoring, and more. This means if your domain’s been flagged as suspicious—even once—get ready for an uphill climb. Patrick calls it a “cat-and-mouse game”: you try new strategies, email providers quickly adapt. You move, they move. Before long, and now it starts to feel like a never-ending chase.

Another thing he points out is how important it is to use the right tools. “I think people who are at the forefront of the correct tech tools like Smartlead and Clay—people who understand how to set up proper deliverability systems—are going to be the runaway leaders,” Patrick says. In other words, if you take deliverability seriously, you’re already ahead of the crowd.

Why Personalization Alone Wasn't Enough?

This one is important to address. Sure, we agree that Clay can spin up some next-level personalization. Maybe you’re referencing a prospect’s favorite sports team, or noticing their brand new integration with Slack. Using personalised content is cool and definitely helps you stand out. But what if the email never lands in their primary inbox?

All you’ll hear is crickets!!

Worse, what if you hammer out thousands of messages and they all continue to bounce or fall into spam? It goes without saying that your domain reputation will take a serious hit. Now, this leaves you with an even steeper uphill battle. 

So while Patrick was definitely in awe of Clay's potential, he knew it’s failing to address the elephant in the room. Something else was needed—a tool like Smartlead—that specialized in the behind-the-scenes deliverability work

Stumbling onto Smartlead

Patrick describes Smartlead as one of the “best in class” email automation platforms on his radar. But for him, Smartlead had an implicit edge: a really powerful API. For agencies like The Kiln, that’s huge. Integrations, custom dashboards, analytics routing—these things matter when you’re juggling multiple campaigns for multiple clients.

With Smartlead, Patrick found he could sync data seamlessly from Clay, build personalized lines at scale, and pipe everything back into Smartlead for automated sending. Now he isn’t just using another buzzword—he’s implying how this combo is a massive time-saver. As Patrick himself puts it: “I literally just have to put a slash, put the column in with the first line, and then send it over to Smartlead. It’s built specifically for automated outbound.”

Solving the Deliverability Puzzle

But if you ask Patrick what truly sets Smartlead apart, he’ll point straight to deliverability features:

• Domain Warming & Reputation: In cold outreach, you can’t just plug in a fresh domain and go wild. Smartlead walks you through warming your domains steadily so you don’t get flagged as suspicious.
• Spam Monitoring & Smart Deliverability: Their system keeps an eye on your open rates and sending patterns, then adjusts accordingly. That cat-and-mouse game? Smartlead helps tip the odds in your favor.
• Spintax & Personalization at Scale: Even the smaller details—like spinning variations of your email copy—can keep spam filters at bay. When you’re sending large volumes, that’s a game-changer.

“Learning how to do deliverability by yourself,” Patrick says, “is such an annoying and technical process.” In plain English, it’s stressful. And we agree! But what changes when you have a platform that does all the heavy lifting for you? Patrick knows this very well!

Patrick realized quickly that “high-scale” was the keyword. Clay plus Smartlead gave him the chance to run large campaigns, to put it more precisely - thousands of emails—without looking like a shady spammer. As soon as he put these campaigns into action, he saw results that were off the charts. And what’s the next step he took? He started doing it for others.

The Kiln Grows From One-Man Show to 14-Person Team

Initially, The Kiln was just Patrick servicing a handful of clients. But after he started mixing Clay with Smartlead, word spread. Potential clients saw the impressive personalization, the inbox landings that were consistently effective, and the jaw-dropping metrics—and they all came knocking. Within six months, he’d brought on a co-founder, Matthias, and they were scaling the agency’s offerings. Now, they’re at 14 people and counting.

Patrick says, “We’ve had several clients that we’ve generated millions of dollars for, just using Smartlead campaigns.” You read that right—millions. Let’s talk about one campaign in particular that stands out. 

The Kiln targeted lookalike accounts based on a client’s competitors. They snagged text or usage signals from those competitors, built a specialized list, and used Smartlead to deliver ultra-personalized emails.

Believe it or not, it resulted in an eye-popping four to five million dollars in new pipeline for that single client!! 

Shaking Up the Lead Gen Industry

Let’s see the bigger picture now, It’s not just about the numbers. For Patrick, it’s about playing at a higher level in a saturated space—providing value that typical “spray and pray” agencies can’t. He very tactfully married personalization with deliverability, and carved out a niche where they excel. While other agencies churned out generic pitches that got flagged left and right, The Kiln soared on open rates, reply rates, and (most importantly) conversions.

Learnings Shared By Patrick‍

1. Deliverability is (Still) King

One consistent reinforcement that we can take from Patrick’s story is that no matter how fancy your personalization feels, if your emails are going to spam, you’re toast. Patrick can’t say it enough—deliverability is the foundation. It’s getting trickier with each passing month, but also more rewarding for those who do it well. What he suggests is focusing on:

- Proper Domain Setup: Warming your domains step by step and using dedicated tools to maintain a good sender reputation.

- Monitoring & Tweaking: Analyzing what’s hitting spam or being ignored and adjusting your approach.

- Staying Current: Email providers evolve day in and out. Don’t get stuck on best practices from previous decade. Adapt and Grow!

If you don’t keep an eye on these details, you’ll watch your potential leads (and revenue) slip through your fingers.

2. Authentic, Personal Outreach Is the Future

Gone are the days when you could send the same bland pitch to 10,000 people and expect miracles. Patrick believes the future belongs to those who put real effort into personalization—and that means pulling unique data about each prospect. For The Kiln, that data comes from Clay. But you can use any tool that fits your style, as long as it helps you learn something specific about each person or company you’re reaching out to.

And remember: “personalized” doesn’t have to look “creepy.” It should always be referencing something relevant—maybe a new funding round they raised or a product gap your solution fills.

3. Ongoing Improvements: Analytics & Partner Badges

Even with the wins, Patrick has some suggestions for Smartlead’s future. He’d love a more robust analytics dashboard to track key metrics (like positive response rates, A/B test performance, etc.) at a glance. Agencies often build their own dashboards, but a built-in solution could help smaller teams or DIY founders access high-level insights quickly. He also hopes Smartlead might offer an official partner badge, so agencies like his can proudly display their relationship.

Level up with the Clay + Smartlead

Patrick’s story is an undeniable proof that you don’t have to settle for mediocre cold email results—or a seat in the spam folder. By combining Clay’s data prowess with Smartlead’s deliverability-focused automation, The Kiln built campaigns that not only reached prospects but truly engaged them. The payoff was insane! A multi-million dollar pipeline, a fast-growing agency, and a solid reputation in an incredibly crowded field.

So what does this mean for you?

If you’re…

• …tired of seeing low open rates and zero replies,

• …frustrated with the “spray and pray” method,

• …ready to tap into real personalization and top-tier deliverability,

Smartlead could be your best bet. Whether you’re a one-person show or an established agency, the right tools let you focus on what matters: creating genuinely good emails for the right audience—emails that won’t vanish in spam.

Ready to see how Smartlead can power your cold email success story?

Click here to check out the platform and discover how you can transform your campaigns—just like Patrick did.