Last week Zayd Ali, founder of Valley, joined me to break down what actually works in LinkedIn outbound right now. And its kinda wild because the middle ground approach that most teams are doing is basically dead. The old playbook of blasting 50k templated messages per month and hoping for 2% reply rates doesnt cut it anymore. Instead two extremes are working now. Either go massive volume like a million emails per month which requires tons of infrastructure, or go super targeted with warm signals and micro campaigns. Most teams should probably do the targeted route because the other one is just a pain to set up and maintain.

What we covered

The session was mostly about how to use AI to scale outbound without sounding like a robot. Zayd walked through Valley's actual workflow which is built around intent signals, deep research, and writing in your real voice. Not the garbage casual/formal/funny options that most AI tools give you.

Here are the big takeaways.

1. Start with intent signals Stop building lists from filters alone. Instead pull from pricing page visitors using tools like RB2B, content engagers on LinkedIn, people who engage with your competitors content, and companies posting SDR job openings. These are people showing they're actually in market.

"I think that two extremes are working," Zayd said when talking about the shift away from mid volume campaigns.

2. Do actual research at scale

Valley runs like 40+ research agents on every prospect. Recent news, blogs, newsletters, hiring trends, competitor moves, press releases. Then it builds a knowledge graph and only uses whats relevant in the message. Zayd mentioned if a human has a 1% chance of finding something, Valley has a 100% chance. Which honestly explains why their messages dont feel templated.

3. Train the AI like you'd train a BDR

Most tools give you four tone options and they all suck. Instead you need to tell the AI exactly how you write. Punctuation style, casing, words you use, stuff you never say. Zayd showed us Valleys writing style builder and its basically a list of dos and donts you'd write on paper for a new hire. You can also paste in your best performing sequences and let AI add light personalization on top.

4. Keep LinkedIn follow ups tight

"I never like to send more than three follow ups," Zayd said.

His cadence is usually 3 days after accept, then 2 days, then 1 day. Dont annoy people. And heres something most people dont know, LinkedIn open profiles let you send way more inmails than you think. If you target sales leaders about 40% have open profiles which means those inmails dont cost credits. Valley found one of their customers was able to send 800 inmails per month this way. 5. Content and outbound work together When someone gets your message they check your profile. If your LinkedIn is dead or you havent posted in months it kills trust. Posting consistently gives you credibility and actually raises your LinkedIn sending limits. Zayd also mentioned he runs campaigns targeting his own profile viewers and content engagers which is basically the warmest outbound you can do.

How to actually apply this

If you want to try how to actually book meetings with outbound using this approach, pick your lane first. Either commit to massive infrastructure for volume or go targeted with signals. Most early stage teams should go targeted. Then consolidate your intent sources in one place so reps arent duct taping five tools together. Score leads for ICP fit plus intent and only message the top slice. Teach your AI your actual writing rules with examples of what works. And pair it all with consistent LinkedIn content so when people click your profile they see youre real.

"The trick there is send good messaging. Super simple," Zayd said when asked about avoiding spam flags.

Winners in 2026 are gonna be the teams that figure out how to scale personal outreach without losing the human touch. If you want to see more about what Valley built check out Valleys pipeline machine or grab our LinkedIn pipeline 60 day playbook to start building this motion yourself.

• (0:00–3:00) Cold open + stakes: what changed in outbound in 2025–2026

• (3:00–8:00) Zayd intro + Valley in 60 seconds (what it is / who it’s for)

• (8:00–15:00) The new outbound reality: two extremes that work + why most teams should go targeted

• (15:00–25:00) Signals that beat list filters: top triggers, scoring, and routing rules

• (25:00–40:00) Live workflow walkthrough: signal → research → message → follow-up → booked meeting

• (40:00–50:00) Personalization that doesn’t feel AI: research selection + “write in your voice” training

• (50:00–58:00) LinkedIn mechanics: cadences, “rule of 3,” open profiles/InMail, and messaging frameworks

• (58:00–1:08:00) Ops + guardrails: approvals, sending limits, account safety, reply handling

• (1:08:00–1:15:00) Content/outbound loop: what to post, profile checklist, retargeting engagers/viewers

• (1:15:00–1:25:00) Benchmarks + KPI dashboard: what ‘good’ looks like by segment

• (1:25:00–1:30:00) Audience Q&A + closing: 3 actions to implement this week