Hey Niepodam,

I want to talk about the most ignored stage in outbound.

The messy middle.

I was working with a mid-market team last week.

Strong inbound.
Decent outbound.
Healthy top-of-funnel.

But deals just… sat there.

No hard nos.
No next steps.
Just polite decay.

So I pulled a HubSpot report: Accounts that had engaged once, then gone quiet.

Web visit.
Demo six months ago.
Reply that said “interesting, not now.”

Thousands of them. Nobody was touching them. 

Why?

Because reps treat mid-funnel like leftovers.
Too warm to prospect.
Too cold to prioritize.

That’s where most pipeline dies.

So we changed the strategy completely.

New rule:

Mid-funnel emails don’t earn attention. They create clarity.

You’re not selling anymore.
You’re helping them decide yes or no.

That means no triggers.
No “just checking in.”
No pretending this is still discovery.

Instead, we used what I call Decision Forcing Emails.

Here’s the framework.

The D.E.A.D. Email (seriously)

If your email doesn’t move the deal forward, it’s dead anyway.

D — Define the decision
Call out what they’re likely stuck deciding.

E — Expose the tradeoff
What happens if they delay or do nothing?

A — Anchor to prior context
Remind them why this was relevant before.

D — Direct the next step
Advance or exit. No limbo.

Here’s a real example we sent to mid-market buyers:

Subject: Should we pause this?

Hey {{First Name}} — last time we spoke, you were weighing whether fixing {{problem}} this quarter was worth pulling resources from {{other priority}}.

Totally fair tradeoff.

What usually happens is teams wait, the problem compounds, and it becomes a fire drill later.

Do you want to:

1. Park this until later in the year, or
2. Spend 15 mins pressure-testing whether it’s worth moving now?

Either way works — just want to close the loop.

—

This email didn’t feel “salesy.”

It felt relieving.

Why it works in mid-market:

• Buyers already understand the problem
• They’re blocked by priority, politics, or timing
• They want permission to say no — or move forward cleanly

We saw three outcomes:

• Some said “not now” (great, disqualified)
• Some said “let’s revisit” (real timing)
• Some said “yeah, we need to decide” (meetings booked)

Zero ghosting.

That’s the real goal of mid-funnel outbound.

Not excitement.
Not urgency.

Resolution.

Here’s the test I give reps:

If this deal disappeared tomorrow, would the buyer feel relief or regret?

Your mid-funnel emails should answer that question with them.

Stop chasing new conversations.

Start finishing the ones you already earned.

Want me helping you and your team within your sales efforts? Let’s talk.

Or book me here directly for a Free Strategy Call

Alan "Modern Seller" Ruchtein.

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