Outbound Lead Generation Services
Updated: 5 October 2026
Outbound lead generation services contact B2B buyers who have not found you yet. Newlead runs the whole program by cold email: verified list, dedicated sending domains, tested copy and reply handling. Every interested lead lands in your Slack with name, company, email and phone. The send plan is in writing, and we report replies and leads, not opens.
For B2B companies selling in the US, UK and Europe that want outbound done for them, without hiring SDRs.
Book a 30 minute discovery callWhat is included
A verified lead list
Decision-makers who match the ICP we set together, with verified work emails and phone numbers where available.
A written send plan
Domains, inboxes, daily volume per inbox and the sequence, in writing before launch.
Dedicated sending domains
Domains and inboxes separate from your main domain, warmed up for 14 days before the first emails go out.
Plain-text copy, tested
Emails written for your buyers, without tracking. Several variants run against each other.
Reply handling
Our team handles the replies, so you only hear about the people who want to talk.
Interested leads in Slack
Name, company, email and phone for every interested lead. Meeting booking into your calendar is an optional add-on.
How it works
Agree on the ICP
We agree on markets, company types, job titles and the offer you lead with.
Build the list
We find the decision-makers and verify every work email.
Warm up the sending setup
Dedicated domains and inboxes warm up for 14 days before the first emails go out.
Write the copy
Plain-text emails for your buyers, in several variants to test against each other.
Run the sequence
Each contact gets a four-email sequence over about three weeks, at about four emails per inbox per day.
Handle replies, deliver leads
Our team handles the replies and sends every interested lead to your Slack.
What results look like
These numbers come from our own outbound, the campaigns Newlead runs to win its own clients, not client results. From late 2023 to 10 August 2026 we sent 371,590 emails to 143,319 decision-makers in 24 campaigns.
- 1.89% of the people we contacted replied (unique human replies, auto-replies excluded).
- 202 people contacted per opportunity, meaning a reply positive enough to become a live sales conversation.
- 0.62% bounce rate across all sends.
- 60.0% of replies in our largest campaign came from the first email.
5.33% reply rate across 421,456 people contacted for 33 clients in 2026, 55% above the 3.43% industry average (source: Instantly 2026 Cold Email Benchmark Report). We only count real human replies, not out-of-office. Your result depends on your market, list size and offer. Full data in our cold email benchmarks for 2026.
Client campaigns. From January to September 2026, the campaigns we ran for 33 clients contacted 421,456 people. 5.33% reply rate across 421,456 people contacted for 33 clients in 2026, 55% above the 3.43% industry average (source: Instantly 2026 Cold Email Benchmark Report). We only count real human replies, not out-of-office. One client, Luca, a Swedish accounting and finance partner, got 249 leads from about 48,900 cold emails between June 2025 and June 2026, and those leads brought about $685,000 in revenue. That is one client's result, not a forecast. Read the Luca case study.
Newlead was founded by co-founders Max Erikstedt (CEO) and Vishal Vyas, and is based in Eskilstuna, Sweden. Read more about Newlead or see our reviews on Trustpilot.
What goes into the written send plan?
You get the plan in writing before launch, so you can check every number against our reports. A typical setup, sized to your market:
| Part of the plan | Typical setup |
|---|---|
| Sending domains | 4-6, separate from your main domain |
| Inboxes | 100-250 |
| Emails per inbox per day | About 4 |
| Format | Plain text, no tracking |
| Sequence | 4 emails over about three weeks |
| List size | Up to 10,000 contacts |
| Warm-up | 14 days before the first emails |
About four emails per inbox per day is low on purpose. Smartlead, a cold email platform, advises at most 50 cold emails per mailbox a day, and its median mailbox sends 14 (September 2026). In this example, 100-250 inboxes still add up to roughly 400-1,000 emails a day.
Outbound or inbound: which should come first?
Inbound waits for buyers to find you through search, content or ads. Outbound goes to them first, so it suits companies that can name the buyers they want. The full definition is in our guide to what outbound lead generation is.
| Factor | Outbound (cold email) | Inbound (search, content, ads) |
|---|---|---|
| Who starts | You | The buyer |
| Who you reach | Companies and roles you pick | Whoever finds you |
| Buyer intent | Often not looking yet | Already searching |
| Speed | Weeks, once the setup is warm | Slow for SEO and content, faster with ads |
| Best when | You can name your buyers and need conversations soon | Buyers already search for what you sell |
You can run both. If you sell software, see outbound vs inbound for SaaS.
Why do we lead with email?
- You choose who hears from you. Every contact is a decision-maker on a list you agreed to.
- It covers the whole list, not only the people a rep has time to call.
- It can be tested and measured. Copy variants run side by side, and every send and reply is counted.
When LinkedIn or calls fit better
- A short list of large accounts. Selling our own service to US enterprise companies took 2,500+ contacts per opportunity. A few dozen big accounts are better worked personally, across LinkedIn, phone and events.
- Buyers who live on LinkedIn. A message from a profile they can check may get further. See cold email vs LinkedIn outreach.
- Deals that need a voice early. Some buyers decide on a call. That is a job for your own team.
We run cold email only, with no LinkedIn outreach or cold calling. Every interested lead comes with a phone number, so your team can call while the interest is fresh.
Does outbound still work in 2026?
Yes, but average reply rates are low and the spread is wide. Each source counts replies differently, so compare with care.
| Source | Sample | How replies are counted | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smartlead | 850M+ emails, 25 Sep 2026 | Replies per contact | Median 0.74%, top 10% at 2.63% |
| Woodpecker | 56,614 campaigns, last 90 days of 2025 | Not stated | Median 1.5% |
| Saleshandy | 53.1M emails, Jan-Jun 2026 | Replies per email delivered | Average 3.7%, top campaigns above 10% |
| Newlead's own outbound | 143,319 people, to 10 Aug 2026 | Unique human replies per person, auto-replies excluded | 1.89% |
The gap between the median and the top comes from relevance, not volume:
- Fewer emails per inbox, more replies. In Woodpecker's data, mailboxes sending 1-20 emails a day had a 2.0% median reply rate, against 0.5% at 101-200 a day.
- Buyers avoid irrelevant senders. 73% of B2B buyers actively avoid suppliers who send irrelevant outreach, according to a Gartner survey of 632 B2B buyers (June 2025).
- The message moves results. In one campaign of our own outbound, two first-email variants got 0.67% and 0.25% reply rates, a 2.6x difference.
So outbound works when the list is tight, the email fits the reader's job and each inbox sends a few emails a day. More in does cold email still work. Third-party figures last checked 3 October 2026.
What do we report?
- Volumes: emails sent and people contacted, checked against the send plan.
- Replies: how many people answered, and how many were interested.
- Interested leads: each one already in your Slack, so the report matches your pipeline.
No open rates. We do not track opens, and a reply says far more about interest. If you want it, you get these numbers in a monthly report.
How does this compare with an SDR, another agency, LinkedIn or ads?
| Option | What you get | What to weigh |
|---|---|---|
| In-house SDR | Someone who can email, call and use LinkedIn | Hiring, ramp-up, tools and turnover sit with you. See outsourced SDR vs in-house. |
| Another agency | Often a similar promise | Ask if they send from your main domain, how much each inbox sends a day and what counts as a lead. See how to choose a lead generation agency. |
| LinkedIn outreach | Messages from a profile buyers can check | Slower to scale through personal profiles |
| Paid ads | Reach while people browse | You pay for attention, not replies, and leads stop when spend stops. See cold email vs paid ads. |
What this costs
We do not publish prices. Scope depends on your market, volume and setup, and we work it out with you on the discovery call.
What moves it: how many markets and languages you target, list size, the domains and inboxes the volume needs, and whether you add meeting booking. You can also choose a one-time implementation, where we build the outbound system and you own it.
For market price ranges with sources, see what B2B lead generation costs.
Who this is for
- B2B companies with a clear offer and a buyer you can describe by industry, size and job title.
- Teams selling to the US, UK, Sweden or the rest of Europe without an in-house SDR team.
- Service firms (accounting, fractional CFO, consulting, law, financial advice) and SaaS companies.
- Founders who want a written send plan and every lead in Slack, not an activity report.
- Teams that can call or email each lead the day it arrives.
Who this is not for
- You need LinkedIn outreach, cold calling or ads as your main channel. We run cold email only.
- You sell to consumers rather than businesses.
- You target a short list of large enterprise accounts. Account-based work across several channels fits better.
Common questions
Does outbound lead generation still work in 2026?
Yes, when the list and the message are relevant. 2026 reports still show replies. Smartlead puts the median at 0.74% of contacts and Saleshandy the average at 3.7% of emails delivered. In Newlead's own outbound, 1.89% of the people contacted replied. Tight lists, relevant messages and low volume per inbox separate top campaigns from the median.
How long does it take to get the first leads?
Sending starts after 14 days of warm-up. The dedicated domains and inboxes need that long before the first emails go out, and we build the list and write the copy meanwhile. Each contact then gets four emails over about three weeks. Replies come early. In the largest campaign of our own outbound, 60.0% came from the first email.
How do you keep cold email from feeling like spam?
We keep it small, relevant and plain. Each inbox sends about four emails a day from dedicated domains, separate from your main domain. Emails are plain text without tracking, written for one defined group of buyers, and every address is verified first. In our own outbound, the bounce rate across all sends was 0.62%.
Should we hire an SDR or use an outbound agency?
Use an agency if you want outbound running without hiring, training and managing a team. An in-house SDR can also call and use LinkedIn, but hiring time, ramp-up, tools and turnover are on you. We bring the list, sending setup, copy and reply handling as one service. If you need a phone-first rep, hire one.
Do you run LinkedIn outreach or cold calls?
No. Newlead runs cold email only, because email reaches every contact on the list, can be tested and is easy to measure. Every interested lead we deliver comes with a phone number, so your own team can call. If LinkedIn or phone is your main channel, we are not the right fit.
What do you need from us?
Your input on the ICP and offer, a Slack channel for leads, and fast follow-up. At kickoff we agree on markets, company types, job titles and the offer. Then we run the list, sending, copy and replies. Your part is to follow up quickly on each interested lead we deliver.
Let's see if this fits your ICP
Thirty minutes. We will run the outbound maths for your market and tell you straight.
Book a 30 minute discovery call