12 manufacturing executives confirmed from cold email.
How a boutique leadership consultancy used cold outbound to fill an invite-only boardroom session in Vancouver, instead of relying only on referrals.
Linda FontanaManaging Director, CEO Resource BoardWith about 4,400 cold emails across two campaigns, Volente got 38 qualified responses and 12 manufacturing executives to confirm for CEO Resource Board's invite-only roundtable in Vancouver. 6 senior leaders attended in person, exactly the profile the consultancy wanted, from a business whose lead generation had been 100% referral based.
Who is CEO Resource Board?
CEO Resource Board is a boutique consultancy, led by Managing Director Linda Fontana, that helps executives grow through strategy, peer learning and leadership refinement. Its model is intimate: small, curated groups of decision-makers in boardroom-style sessions.
What was the challenge?
Lead generation was 100% organic and referral based, which meant hours of manual networking and a reach limited to one personal network. The challenge to us: can cold outbound fill a private boardroom session in Vancouver with 10 manufacturing executives, deliver value first and then introduce the core services? We owned the front end: campaign ideas, list building, copy and outbound strategy.
What was the offer?
"An invite-only roundtable session with 10 manufacturing leaders in Vancouver." No bait and switch, just a clear, relevant, exclusive invite designed to attract senior operators.
How did the campaigns run?
- Campaign 1: CEOs, COOs, founders and senior operators at manufacturers in the Greater Vancouver Area, with 4 to 5 short, curiosity-driven variations written the way that audience talks. Interested replies got the event link and an invite.
- Campaign 2: campaign one performed so well that we kept the copy and added urgency, because the event was about a week away. Prospects responded to it.
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Cold emails sent (both campaigns) | About 4,400 |
| Qualified responses | 38 |
| Confirmed attendees | 12 |
| Attended in person | 6 |
Why did it work?
- Local targeting: hyper-specific to the Vancouver area instead of everyone
- Authentic offer: real value delivered in the room
- Matched tone: written for seasoned manufacturing leaders, not junior marketers
- Quality filtering: we disqualified people who were not a fit for a small, focused group
With the front end handled, Linda could focus on improving the roundtable format and serving existing clients, knowing new leads were coming through the door.
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Matt leads strategy at Volente and makes sure every client's KPIs get hit. Volente is a full outbound team of GTM engineers, SDRs, senior warm callers and specialists that sends 150,000+ cold emails a month for agencies and B2B SaaS companies across the US and Canada. Connect on LinkedIn.
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