Own sales channel, B2B cold outreachBuild

    Outreach Engine

    A clean cold-email stack, plus a tested own-build core as an option

    rund 26.000 Kontakte

    In einem Durchlauf angereichert, klassifiziert und segmentiert, auf 44 Datenfelder je Kontakt, ohne dass der Aufwand mit der Menge wächst.

    rund 19.500 Euro

    Was eine externe Outreach-Betreuung im ersten Jahr kostet, konservativ am unteren Rand des Marktes gerechnet, danach rund 18.000 Euro jährlich.

    %

    Positive Rückmeldungen im stärksten Einsatz, gegen rund 0,64 Prozent Marktreferenz aus einer Auswertung von über zwei Millionen Kaltkontakten.

    Overview

    Anyone doing cold outreach in B2B faces a data problem before they face a copy problem. Bought lists are outdated, incomplete, or duplicated. An entry without a contact person can't be addressed, one without a valid address can't be delivered to. By the time a list is send-ready, significant work has gone into it, and a large share of the entries still don't carry. Behind that sits a second hurdle that's even less visible. Whether a message lands in the inbox or in spam is decided by sending domains, authentication, warmup phase, and send behaviour. A well-written sequence on poorly prepared infrastructure reaches no one, and a single mistake can permanently damage a domain's reputation. Together, these explain market pricing. External management for cold outreach in the German-speaking market starts at a four-figure setup and monthly costs from around 1,500 euros, full service considerably higher. What's paid for is mostly not the writing, but the data work and the deliverability behind it. On top come data-provider credits billed per enriched record, which become the largest line item for larger audiences. Both hurdles are regular. Which source steps in for which missing value, which contact belongs in which segment, when which domain may send how much: that follows fixed criteria and can be fully described.

    Starting point

    What was blocked

    • Performance and deliverability data needed to be captured systematically instead of manually
    • Lead enrichment needed a resilient fallback chain instead of a single data source
    • A proprietary send channel needed to be specified and tested before going into production
    Voyage Digital's role

    Infrastructure owner and operations lead for both strands: full end-to-end ownership on the completed client build, concept and own-build of the infrastructure on Voyage's own send channel.

    Approach

    How we thought about it

    • 01A deterministic Python CLI plus cron instead of autonomous AI agents, for both strands
    • 02A multi-stage enrichment fallback chain (website, commercial register, neural search, Google My Business, imprint)
    • 03A round-robin inbox pool with a per-inbox daily limit, warmup gate, and jittered rate limiter for the own channel
    • 04A transport-adapter core specified and tested against the real client seam
    Stations

    The stations

    1. 01 Building the audience

      A defined target audience becomes a contact base, captured automatically across regions and industries, with duplicate detection and safe checkpoints. Contacts already captured are kept and topped up on every further run instead of being re-sourced.

    2. 02 Enriching via staged sources

      What a contact needs to become reachable, the engine pulls from several sources in sequence: its own website, the commercial register, semantic search, industry directories, imprint pages. If one path finds nothing, the next takes over. Without this staging, a significant share of any audience stays unreachable, because no single source is complete.

    3. 03 Classifying and segmenting

      Every contact is classified by company type, size band, and affiliation, producing segments and send waves. This classification is rule-based, not run through a language model. That means even a five-figure contact base incurs no per-record cost.

    4. 04 Building outreach per segment

      Personalisation here comes from data depth: every segment gets its own variant, drawn from the fields collected, instead of sending one generic template to everyone. Variants are tested against each other to see which message carries in which audience.

    5. 05 Securing deliverability and sending

      Dedicated sending domains, full authentication, a controlled warmup phase, contacts distributed in rotation, and sends only within defined time windows after a quality check. Without this preparation, even flawlessly written sequences land in spam.

    6. 06 Turning responses into a close

      Opens, clicks, and bounces flow back into the data pool and sharpen the next wave. Anyone who says yes is routed directly into a connected booking and payment flow, with a handover into the CRM. The chain reaches all the way to a paid close, not just a reply.

    Execution

    What was built

    The client build ran as a working, semi-automated outreach engine in production and produced paying customers. On Voyage's side, the bought send infrastructure has already sent three send waves, the own transport core is built and tested as an alternative.

    Impact

    What it produced

    The engine replaces the usual chain of list purchase, enrichment credits, sending tool, and management with a setup that's built once and then runs. The effort doesn't grow with the number of contacts. Whether three thousand or twenty-six thousand addresses are processed changes nothing about the work, because it isn't done by hand.
    Because enrichment and classification are rule-based and no language model sits in the send path, no cost accrues per record. That's where the usual tools' business model lives: enrichment credits are billed per contact, and for five-figure audiences that line quickly exceeds the management cost itself.
    The predictability is deliberate. In a channel where a single mistake permanently damages a domain's deliverability, a traceable process is worth more than a freely acting agent. Language models therefore work in preparation, not in the live send.
    The engine isn't built for one industry. Audience, sources, and outreach are set during setup; the mechanics underneath stay the same.
    In use

    Two applications, two audiences

    Anonymised client, real estate industry

    Around 3,000 contacts automatically sourced and enriched across forty cities, nearly a thousand of them contacted. Open rates between 33 and 39 percent in the strongest sequences. Booking and payment were connected, and paying customers came out of the funnel. That means the chain is proven all the way to revenue, not just to a reply.

    Voyage Digital’s own sales channel

    From a raw list of nearly 28,000 entries, around 26,000 usable contacts gained, enriched to 44 data fields, close to 16,000 domains classified and segmented by company type. That produced three send waves, plus twelve own sending domains with full authentication and an ongoing warmup phase.

    Next stages

    What comes next

    01

    Individually worded outreach per recipient

    Today, personalisation comes from data depth and segment variants. The next stage writes the message per recipient from their own collected data, without giving up predictability in the send path. The data foundation for that already exists, with the 44 fields collected per contact.

    02

    A dedicated sending core

    Sending today runs through a bought tool. The own build is prepared and tested as a component, with mailbox rotation, per-mailbox daily limits, and a controlled send pace. That removes the dependency on a vendor and its ongoing licence costs.

    Scope and pricing

    What the setup includes and what operations are based on

    One-time setup

    3,900 euros

    Audience and offer intake: who to reach, with what promise, against which competition. Building the contact base and enrichment sources for this audience. Segment logic and outreach variants per segment. Sending infrastructure: domains, authentication, warmup phase. First full wave through to a live sequence.

    Ongoing operation

    by volume

    Operating and monitoring the channel. Contact resupply and ongoing enrichment. Maintaining deliverability and sender reputation. Evaluating responses and sharpening the outreach. The amount depends on audience size and send volume, because that’s what the actual effort hangs on.

    Visuals
    Die gestaffelten Quellen als eigenes Schema, mit dem Anteil, den jede Stufe beisteuert. Vergleichbare Angebote zeigen diese Ebene selten, deshalb lohnt sie ein eigenes Bild.
    Übersicht der Versanddomänen mit grünen Prüfwerten. Beleg für den unsichtbaren Teil der Arbeit, an dem die meisten Kampagnen scheitern.

    Voices

    What the collaboration says

    Alicia Brandt — Portrait
    “Anyone who wants to bring order into complex topics and take their marketing to the next level needs you on the team. You gave my team essential support in setting up a well thought through CRM strategy, building automated lifecycle journeys and establishing the right processes. Together with you we made the leap from simple newsletter sending to real, working CRM. You are extremely clear, structured and honest, you combine strategic foresight with pragmatic solutions, you think along actively and you stay reliably on top of the projects. Throughout the whole time you were a firm part of the team for us and a great sparring partner on equal footing. Thank you for your outstanding commitment!”
    Alicia Brandt — Marketing Lead VAN RYSEL, Decathlon Germany
    Joshua Wenzel — Portrait
    “Together we developed a solid CRM strategy, built a lifecycle system with automated journeys and designed and rolled out the processes that go with it. That is how our classic newsletter turned into real CRM. What makes the collaboration so valuable beyond that: alongside his pragmatic and structured way of working, we also value him enormously on a personal level. With his genuine interest in the projects and his consistently open, helpful manner he is a real asset you can rely on 100 % at any time.”
    Joshua Wenzel — CRM Project Manager, Decathlon Germany
    Tristan Hain — Portrait
    “With Andy we built and automated our entire lifecycle system, among other things. Working with him was always clear and structured, we could rely on him, and we never lost the fun on the way to the goal.”
    Tristan Hain — CRM Project Manager, Decathlon Germany
    Merle Walter — Portrait
    “Over the past five years or so you have always been a constant and reliable point of contact for me across different stations and for the most varied projects. From process development and optimisation through coding and technical topics, the holistic view and consolidation of the CRM area, all the way to strategic direction and the implementation of a wide range of subject areas, I could always count on you. With your way of working you were able to give us, and me, structure and guidance. Setting up the automated post purchase strategy was, I think, our most intensive collaboration. I was able to benefit and learn an incredible amount from you, and for that I am immensely grateful. Working with you throughout was always great fun, and I really valued that we could talk about more than just work while keeping productivity high. I will definitely miss our regular exchanges.”
    Merle Walter — Loyalty Manager, Decathlon Germany
    Sebastian Schermer — Portrait
    “Andreas is the structuring element most teams are missing. Focused, targeted execution. Maximum ownership. Ruthless prioritisation. He takes topics that look difficult and complex at first and brings them to the finish line. If need be, he takes them over himself. Anyone looking for someone who takes ownership instead of just advising is in the right place with him.”
    Sebastian Schermer — Founder & CEO, digitalforce
    Johannes Auffermann — Portrait
    “Andi held our delivery together. Projects, infrastructure, coordination, that was on him. Weeklies and dailies ran without me, and for me that was the real proof. I never had to ask whether the status was accurate. On the bigger calls, offers, partners, budgets, he was my counterweight, even when that was not comfortable for him. No agency speak, straight answers.”
    Johannes Auffermann — Founder & Managing Director, Astral
    Jonny Crawford — Portrait
    “Andy and the team rebuilt my whole online presence from the ground up. What changed is who shows up: every qualification call I took in the first month closed. Three out of three. Anyone landing on my page now can see straight away that I'm an exclusive high ticket coach. So impressed with you lads and what you've built, this is phenomenal.”
    Jonny Crawford — Founder & Coach, Project Knight
    Eric Lehmann — Portrait
    “Andreas kept the overview in a complex project, including when things around it got chaotic. Thank you for your commitment and your overview in the shared chaos. Without him a lot would have been lost on the agency side. I very much hope we work together again.”
    Eric Lehmann — CTO, Constantin Film
    Cihan Erben — Portrait
    “In Andreas I have a professional partner who is able to think across industries and to look at my business model afresh from his perspective. That lets me steer my company toward the future with more confidence and keep challenging it.”
    Cihan Erben — Founder & CEO, Erben Bau
    Konstantin Doerr — Portrait
    “Andreas stands out through an exceptional strategic understanding and the ability to consistently think from the outcome backwards. He reliably supported our CRM team in structuring processes and prioritising projects efficiently. Beyond strategy development, his strengths include leading workshops and producing concise management presentations. With his direct communication he is a valued sparring partner on equal footing.”
    Konstantin Doerr — CRM Team Lead, Decathlon Germany
    Sarah Krone — Portrait
    “Andy built the whole thing for me in like no time, and it was a banger. What amazed me most is that he got my tone of voice right straight from my instagram, I didn't even have to explain it. Changes I asked for were often live the same day. And he kept delivering even when things got messy on my side. I'm really grateful for all he's doing, it means a lot.”
    Sarah Krone — Tattoo Artist, Kroneink
    David Solk — Portrait
    “Thank you for everything you did for us. It was genuinely seen and appreciated. You worked closely with both our team and the people doing the work, helping to keep things moving and well coordinated.”
    David Solk — CEO & Co-Founder, SOLK
    Marvin Burmester — Portrait
    “Andy and I have exchanged regularly on product, data and strategy for years. Beyond his technical expertise, I value his entrepreneurial drive: he meets challenges with vision and openness. He sees opportunity where others fear complexity. What makes him stand out for me is that he doesn't just develop concepts, he digs rigorously into the details of digital products, as his own online shop shows. Andy never shies away from conflict and always gives a direct, honest picture. A fearless sparring partner you'd want at your side.”
    Marvin Burmester — Founder & CEO, Growing Forward
    Solveig Schmerer — Portrait
    “With Andreas we were able to run a highly successful AI workshop and develop a well-founded AI roadmap for our team. He did an excellent job of making the opportunities and possibilities of AI tangible – without stoking fears, but with a clear focus on real potential. Together we developed AI solutions that took our work in Customer & Market Research to a new level. Andreas supported us perfectly with his expertise, his neutral perspective and enormous solution orientation. He was a sparring partner and a reliable advisor at once – always honest, structured, pragmatic and to the point. The partnership was consistently on equal footing. What I particularly value is that it did not stay in grey theory, but created real, lasting value for our everyday work. The result has a noticeable impact on my daily work and my professional development. Thank you so much for your outstanding support!”
    Solveig Schmerer — Insight Analyst, Decathlon Germany
    Deni Panknin — Portrait
    “Andreas and I kept overlapping over the years: me deep in the technical implementation, him in the strategy and the process above it. That fit together cleanly. He operates more strategically than most people you deal with on projects like these. Strictly speaking he is only half a service provider, at his core he builds business models.”
    Deni Panknin — Salesforce Architect, Aviando
    Michael Bauer — Portrait
    “My collaboration with Andreas has been with me and Decathlon since 2023. What started back then in CRM with automating customer journeys in email marketing and support in day-to-day operations has grown over the years into a genuinely strong partnership. As head of the Customer & Market Insights team it was clear to me that I wanted Andreas at my side again in 2025. He was instrumental in developing the strategy for our team and the project. His AI expertise was a huge gain: through his hands-on training and the implementation of deep-research projects he moved the team forward enormously. But what truly sets Andreas apart for me goes far beyond the technical side: over the years the purely business relationship has grown into a real, trusting foundation – and a friendship. Andreas is both a sparring partner and a coach to me. He knows how to motivate me again and again, to see things from a new angle and to push my own projects forward boldly. What I value enormously: he is never too proud for anything. He acts lightning-fast, helps me sort topics correctly and shares his wealth of experience completely without fuss. For me Andreas brings exactly that rare mix of deep expertise, real hands-on mentality and human class that you wish for in a partner. Thank you for the great support over all these years!”
    Michael Bauer — Insight Team Lead, Decathlon Germany

    Conversation, not pitch

    Understand first, then decide. We take time for an initial conversation, without sales pressure, without obligation.

    Schedule a call