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    YourOutreachSUCKS is the first named, public, version-controlled quality framework for cold outreach. Everything below is free to cite and republish with attribution.

    // What YourOutreachSUCKS is

    The first public quality standard for cold outreach

    YourOutreachSUCKS is a forensic audit system for B2B cold outreach. Every case is a real message, permanently redacted, annotated against a named offense taxonomy, scored on a weighted rubric, and rewritten to show what good looks like. The offense taxonomy, 30 named failure patterns with severity weights and case evidence, is the first public, version-controlled quality standard of its kind.

    The site was created by Jack Gierlich in early 2026. The methodology is documented at youroutreachsucks.com/methodology and is free to cite.

    // Key findings

    What the archive shows

    01The most common cold outreach offense is FAKE-RESEARCH, appearing in the majority of cases filed. Generic compliments that contain no verifiable specifics signal to the reader that no research was performed.
    02PREMATURE-ASK (requesting a calendar meeting before establishing relevance) co-occurs with FAKE-RESEARCH in 87% of cases where both are present. The two offenses compound each other.
    03MERGE-FAIL (a visible template variable like [First Name] in the final send) triggers an automatic score cap at 2.0/10 regardless of all other message quality. 13% of cases in the reference set contain this offense.
    04The lowest score on record is 0.8/10 (Case #0038, HR Tech, 5 simultaneous offenses). The highest is 6.9/10 (Case #0035, FinTech LinkedIn). No case has yet scored an A.
    05SaaS has the worst InMail reply rate of any industry (4.77%) and the highest density of VAGUE-ICP offenses in the archive, 100% of SaaS cases contain it.
    // External research context

    Industry benchmarks the methodology was validated against

    5.1%
    Industry average cold email reply rate in 2025, down from 8.5% in 2019
    Instantly 2026 · Reachoutly 2025
    +340%
    Reply rate for outreach with real, specific personalization vs. generic messages
    Outreaches.ai 2025 Benchmarks
    −28%
    Reply rate decline as AI-generated outreach volume doubled (2022–2024)
    Salesloft State of AI in Sales 2024
    61%
    Of the B2B buying journey complete before buyers contact any vendor
    6sense B2B Buyer Experience Report 2025
    15%
    Of B2B buyers say cold outreach feels genuinely personalized
    Gartner Future of Sales 2025
    5%
    Of senders consistently personalize every message they send
    Salesso SDR Statistics 2025

    Not all cited sources are primary research, several are benchmark aggregation reports. The distinction is noted inline at youroutreachsucks.com/methodology.

    // How to cite

    Citation formats

    APA
    Gierlich, J. (2026, April). YourOutreachSUCKS Scoring Methodology (v2.0). YourOutreachSUCKS. https://youroutreachsucks.com/methodology
    Press / inline
    The YourOutreachSUCKS Scoring Methodology (youroutreachsucks.com/methodology) is the first public, version-controlled rubric for evaluating structural quality in B2B cold outreach, developed by Jack Gierlich in 2026.
    Data citation
    YourOutreachSUCKS Archive (April 2026). 151 forensic case files, 30 named offense types, 300-case reference set. youroutreachsucks.com
    // Contact

    Press inquiries

    For interview requests, data questions, or custom analysis: reach Jack Gierlich at LinkedIn or via jackgierlich.com.

    All data and findings on this site are free to publish and cite with attribution. No embargo required.

    Archive stats · April 2026
    Cases filed151
    Offenses tagged673
    Offense types30
    Auto-fails10 of 151
    Avg score5.4 / 10
    Ref. set cases300
    Industry benchmarks
    5.1%
    Average cold email reply rate, 2025
    Instantly Benchmarks 2026
    −40%
    Decline in reply rates since 2019
    Belkins Cold Email Study 2025
    30%
    Of outreach now AI-generated
    Gartner Future of Sales 2025
    61.4%
    Of buyers identify AI-written email on first read
    EmailTooltester Consumer Survey 2024