# Cold Outreach Readiness Quiz

> A 15-question, self-scored diagnostic across targeting, messaging, and cadence: take it before you burn through a fresh prospect list, not after the replies stop coming.

Free assessment/quiz for sales reps. Topic: [Cold Email, LinkedIn & Social Selling](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/topic/cold-email-linkedin-social-selling/). Published by PeerLab in the [Sales Enablement Resource Library](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/). Source: https://www.peerlab.ai/library/cold-outreach-readiness-quiz/

## How to use it

Score yourself honestly against the current list and draft you're about to send, not the version you plan to fix later, then total each section separately; a low section score tells you exactly which part of the system to fix before you launch.

## What's inside

- 5 targeting questions (ICP, triggers, multi-threading, list hygiene)
- 5 messaging questions (specificity, persona pain, jargon, CTA, forward-test)
- 5 cadence questions (touch count, spacing, channel mix, exit rules, suppression)
- 0–2 scoring scale per question with concrete answer bands
- Section subtotals (/10 each) to isolate your weakest leg
- Overall score bands: Not Ready / Partially Ready / Ready to Launch
- A retake trigger rule for after every 100 sends

Answer all 15 questions against the **actual list and draft you're about to send**, not a hypothetical better version. Score each 0, 1, or 2 using the bands given. Add up your total out of 30, and add up each section out of 10.

---

## Section 1: Targeting (/10)

**T1. Can you name the 3+ filters that define your ICP for this list (not "mid-market SaaS")?**
- 0: No, I'm working whoever's on the list I was handed
- 1, I have 1 filter (e.g. industry only)
- 2, I have 3+ filters and can defend each one

**T2. In the list you just pulled, what % of contacts match your ideal persona's actual job title?**
- 0, Under 50%
- 1, 50–80%
- 2, Over 80%

**T3. Do you know the trigger event (funding, hire, tech change, expansion, news) that makes each account worth prioritizing right now?**
- 0: No trigger; worked the list top to bottom
- 1: Sometimes, for a few accounts
- 2: Yes, for every account you plan to touch this week

**T4. Have you excluded accounts your company has already burned: churned customers, active support escalations, existing champions elsewhere?**
- 0, Haven't checked
- 1, Checked CRM only
- 2, Checked CRM + support history + existing relationships

**T5. Can you name who else at the account should be looped in (multi-thread) before touch #1?**
- 0: No, targeting one contact only
- 1: Have a guess, haven't mapped it
- 2: Yes, 2+ stakeholders identified

**Section 1 subtotal: ___ / 10**

---

## Section 2: Messaging (/10)

**M1. Does your opening line reference something specific to this account, not the industry generally?**
- 0: No, same opener for everyone
- 1: Sometimes
- 2: Yes, every send

**M2. Can you state the one problem this specific persona loses sleep over, in their words, not your product's?**
- 0: No
- 1: Roughly
- 2: Yes, verbatim language from their world

**M3. Have you stripped all internal jargon, feature-speak, and acronyms from the draft?**
- 0: Haven't checked
- 1: Removed some
- 2: Yes, read-aloud test passed

**M4. Is your CTA a single, low-friction ask, not "let me know if you're interested"?**
- 0: No CTA, or a vague one
- 1, Clear CTA but high-friction (e.g. "grab 30 minutes on my calendar")
- 2: Single low-friction ask (a yes/no question, or one time slot)

**M5. Would this email survive being forwarded to their boss without embarrassing them?**
- 0: No, too salesy or pushy
- 1: Probably
- 2: Yes, reads like a peer sharing something useful

**Section 2 subtotal: ___ / 10**

---

## Section 3: Cadence (/10)

**C1. Do you have a defined number of touches (8–12) and channels mapped before touch #1 goes out?**
- 0: No plan, improvising
- 1, Rough plan
- 2, Full sequence mapped and written

**C2. Is there at least 1 business day of spacing between touches in week 1?**
- 0: No
- 1: Mostly
- 2: Yes, enforced spacing

**C3. Does your sequence include at least 2 channels, not email-only?**
- 0: Email only
- 1: 2 channels
- 2: 3+ channels (email, LinkedIn, call, video)

**C4. Do you have a defined exit signal (positive reply, hard no, or max-touch reached) that stops the sequence?**
- 0: No, runs indefinitely
- 1: Informal sense of when to stop
- 2: Documented exit rule, enforced in the tool

**C5. Have you checked this list against suppression rules: do-not-contact, recent unsubscribe, another rep already engaged?**
- 0, No
- 1, Checked CRM only
- 2, Checked CRM + team channel for active threads

**Section 3 subtotal: ___ / 10**

---

## Scoring

**Total score: ___ / 30**

| Score | Verdict | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 0–14 | **Not Ready** | Stop. Don't send. Fix your lowest-scoring section first: it's usually where the real problem lives, not the one you feel worst about. |
| 15–22 | **Partially Ready** | Fix the specific questions you scored 0 on before sending to more than a 20-account test batch. |
| 23–30 | **Ready to Launch** | Send. Re-take this quiz after every 100 sends or every new segment, readiness isn't a one-time state. |

**Retake trigger:** any time reply rate drops below half your trailing 4-week average, retake this quiz against the current list and draft before sending more volume. Volume on top of a broken system just burns the list faster.