Glossary

What is cold outreach?

Cold outreach is contacting a person who does not know you and has not asked to hear from you, by email, LinkedIn, phone or message, to start a business conversation. It differs from warm outreach, where there is a prior link such as an introduction or a visit.

Published by Sellinger AI. Numbers and settings checked on 19 October 2026 against the fact register. Report an error.

How is cold different from warm outreach?

Cold and warm
	Cold	Warm
Prior contact	None	Introduction, event or website visit
First message	Explains why you wrote	Refers to the link
Typical reply	Lower	Higher
Opt out risk	Higher	Lower

What makes it acceptable?

Relevance and respect. Write to people whose job fits what you offer, say who you are, ask one thing, and stop when asked. A weak or unclear no should be read by a person, not guessed at.

Local law adds conditions that differ by country and by channel, for example on consent for email, text messages and calls. Treat this page as a general definition, and ask a lawyer about your own markets before you start a campaign.

How Sellinger handles it

When a contact replies with an opt out such as STOP or unsubscribe, in English, Bulgarian or German among other forms, the contact goes on the team's suppression list, the agent stops and the lead is closed out. For a weak or unclear phrase the agent stops and a person decides. Before every send on email, LinkedIn and WhatsApp, the platform checks the team's suppression list and refuses the send when the contact is on it or when the check cannot be completed.

Automatic replies from helpdesks, no reply senders, satisfaction surveys and empty messages are marked as machine mail. They do not count as a human reply, the agent does not answer them, and the lead goes to a person with a named reason. See the outreach rules, cold email and reply rate.

Common questions

Is cold outreach spam?

Not if it is relevant, honest and stops when asked. Spam is bulk, untargeted and ignores opt outs.

Does Sellinger send cold messages on WhatsApp?

It can send first messages through your connected account at a small daily volume, and it answers people who write first.

What if someone says stop?

The contact goes on the suppression list and the agent stops. An unclear phrase is passed to a person.

Sources and method

Sellinger suppression and opt out code (classify opt out, assert can send), checked 19 October 2026.