Why Your CRM Is Killing Your Cold Email Results

Hey there,

Kevin from Astris Partners here with edition 15.

We recently onboarded a client who had been struggling with outbound for months. When we audited their setup, we found the problem: they were running cold email campaigns through HubSpot.

Their main business domain was blacklisted. Customer invoices bounced. Support emails landed in spam. Internal communication broke.

All because they thought using their CRM for cold email was efficient.

The Fundamental Problem

HubSpot, Salesforce, and similar CRMs are excellent tools built for nurturing leads who already know you and managing customer relationships.

But they're the wrong tool for cold outbound.

They're not built for volume cold outreach: CRMs are designed for targeted communication with prospects who've shown intent. Blasting hundreds of cold emails from one account triggers every spam filter.

They use your primary infrastructure: You're sending from your main business domain - the same one for customer communication, invoices, and team collaboration.

They lack critical features: No email warm-up, no mailbox rotation, no infrastructure for cold email deliverability. These aren't optional for cold outbound.

What Actually Happened

Our client thought a few campaigns wouldn't hurt.

Their bounce rate shot up. Recipients marked them as spam. Within days, deliverability collapsed across all email communication.

Customer invoices failed. Support messages bounced. Team emails disappeared into spam folders.

Fixing a blacklisted domain takes months and costs thousands. Sometimes it can't be fully repaired. They became invisible to their own customers because of one shortcut.

Beyond the technical damage, there's the reputation cost. Being marked as a spammer makes your business look unprofessional. That first impression is nearly impossible to undo.

The 3-Step Solution

Step 1: Protect your primary domain

Never send cold emails from your main company domain. Buy secondary domains (getcompany.com instead of company.com). If the outreach domain gets flagged, your main business domain stays safe.

Step 2: Use dedicated cold email tools

Platforms like Instantly, Smartlead, Lemlist, and Woodpecker include email warm-up, mailbox rotation, and infrastructure designed for cold outreach.

Step 3: Use your CRM correctly

Only move prospects into your CRM after they book a call. They're no longer cold contacts - they're engaged leads. Now you can use your CRM's tools to nurture relationships and close deals without domain risk.

The Strategy

Cold outreach: Secondary domains + dedicated platforms

Booked calls: Move to CRM for relationship management

Customers: All communication from your protected primary domain

This separation lets you scale outreach safely while protecting business communication.

The Bottom Line

Your CRM excels at managing relationships with people who already know you. Using it for cold email is the wrong tool with expensive consequences.

Our client learned this the hard way. You don't have to.

Talk soon,

Kevin

P.S. If you're running cold email through your CRM and want to know how it's affecting your deliverability, book a complimentary strategy call with me.