Have you ever wondered if it’s possible to send 1,200 cold emails a day about, say, pressure washing services—without your email address collapsing under the weight of spam complaints? Let’s be honest: if you’ve dabbled in B2B outreach, you’ve probably heard horror stories of domain blacklisting or an entire inbox meltdown. But for Marc Lynam, founder of Trade Grow Media, it’s not just possible, it’s also his everyday reality.

Below is the story of how Marc went from a sales rep at a Facebook/Google Ads shop, to the founder of his own specialized agency, harnessing heavy-duty cold emailing for local service-based companies—think HVAC, window cleaning, pressure washing, the works. 

Along the way, he used Smartlead’s domain warm-up, drip scheduling, Slack integrations, and good old-fashioned personalized sequences to bag an avalanche of leads for both himself and his clients. Let’s walk through how he pulled this off.

Marc’s Cold Email Origin Story (And a Lot of Domain Monitoring)

Let’s rewind a bit. Marc started out as a sales rep for an ads agency that targeted local service-based businesses (think Facebook or Google ads for contractors and the like). It was a decent gig, but he kept bumping into the same conversation: “How do we get more leads? Are we missing out on direct email outreach?”

Then Marc discovered a community of fellow hustlers—some specializing in cold emailing, others in e-commerce or SaaS sales. He got a taste of how they used precise, large-scale email campaigns to fill pipelines. Big “aha” moment: If I can figure out how these folks do advanced domain rotations, personalization, and multi-channel sequences, I can build an entire agency.

That’s how he ended up founding Trade Grow Media in 2024, focusing on an AI-driven approach to cold emailing for B2B service-based leads. He jokes that he spent more time watching domain health than Netflix in those early months, because one slip can ruin your deliverability for weeks. So naturally, he needed the right platform to manage that complexity.

The Pain of Scale: Managing 1,200 Emails a Day

When you’re sending a handful of emails, something like a basic Google extension might cut it. But Marc needed to push out hundreds—sometimes over a thousand—daily. That’s borderline mania if you try to do it with the usual free tools. Domain blacklisting is almost guaranteed if you skip warm-ups or reuse the same address for too many leads.

Trade Grow Media also had to juggle multiple subdomains, different languages (English, sure, but some clients might want to break into Spanish-speaking markets), and funnel it all into a streamlined process for responding to inbound interest. The question was: Which tool can unify these insane processes, keep a healthy domain rep, and let me scale?

Marc asked around. Some people recommended simpler solutions, but one name kept popping up among big-scale cold emailers: Smartlead. It boasted robust domain warm-ups, multi-inbox rotation, advanced scheduling, and straightforward Slack or Zapier integrations. Sound too good to be true?

Finding Smartlead: “Took One Pilot Campaign to Convince Me”

So Marc gave Smartlead a whirl. He ran a pilot. He imported a small chunk of leads, set up domain warm-up to ramp from a modest daily send to a more robust volume, then fired away. Right away, a few things stood out:

1. Built for Big Volumes: No seat-based pricing nonsense. If you’re an agency with multiple subdomains, you can manage them from one place.
2. Auto Warm-Up: You can’t just jump from zero to 500 daily sends on a brand-new domain. Smartlead’s warm-up process ramps up volumes slowly, simulating natural sending.
3. Slack Integration: Because Trade Grow Media thrives on Slack. They wanted to pipe new leads or positive replies directly to themselves and their clients, real time.

Within days, Marc realized that manually setting up separate mail merges or messing with half a dozen random tools was a relic of the past. The single dashboard approach let him see how each domain performed, how each campaign was trending, and whether any addresses were nearing spam meltdown.

His verdict: This was “the real deal,” especially if you’re dealing with 1,000+ sends daily. So he hopped in, full steam ahead.

The Big Pressure Washing Campaign: 97 Interested Leads in 4 Days

One of Marc’s proudest results was a pressure washing outreach campaign across the U.S. The math is simple: about 1,200 cold emails daily, targeting owners or managers who needed more bookings. He used Smartlead to carefully warm up each address, space out the sends, and incorporate a short but compelling pitch. By day four:

• 97 people responded with some level of interest.
• A big chunk of them hopped on calls or set up further demos.
• Let’s just say it turned into a wave of new sign-ups for Marc’s service.

If you’ve done cold emailing, you know how wild that is—especially in a niche like pressure washing, which often sees tough local competition. The difference maker, according to Marc, is the platform’s ability to rotate addresses and keep domain rep healthy, so your open rate doesn’t nose-dive on day two. He also points to the importance of immediate follow-up: the second a lead responded, Marc’s Slack channel fired a notification, letting him or his team pounce.

How Two Local Businesses Scaled Fast with Marc’s Cold Email Strategy

The real test, though, is always client ROI. If Marc can do it for himself, that’s cool—but can he replicate it for paying customers? He shared two big success stories:

1. HVAC Company in Atlanta: Over about 15-16 days, they racked up 42 exclusive commercial leads, from new building quotes to large-scale replacements. That’s huge in an industry that typically sees long wait times for inbound. Because each lead was fed into Slack and possibly a CRM, the client was able to respond quickly, bagging multiple deals.

2. Window Cleaning & Pressure Washing in Dayton: In roughly 28 days, they secured 62 commercial leads. That led to a flurry of opportunities with property managers, industrial sites, you name it. Marc stresses that immediate Slack alerts helped the client respond within hours—or even minutes—boosting their close rate.

In both cases, it’s the synergy: domain warm-up + advanced personalization + real-time response. The upshot is bigger business for these local service-based companies, who might otherwise rely on slow inbound or small Google Ads budgets.

The Boost from “Smart Servers”: Going from 4% to 7% Reply Rate

Halfway through the journey, Smartlead introduced something called “smart servers”—an advanced feature for even greater deliverability. At first, Marc didn’t pay it much mind. He was content with how everything worked already. But after hearing success stories from peers, he tested it.

Result: He saw his average reply rate jump from around 4% to roughly 6.7-7.5%, with zero changes to his copy or domain sets. That might not sound earth-shattering in theory, but when you’re shipping out 1,200 emails daily, that’s a significant bump in actual leads. For each single percentage increase, you might be adding 10 or more replies a day. In a month, that’s hundreds more potential deals.

Marc’s conclusion: “If a small tweak can yield a big chunk of extra leads, it’s a no-brainer.”

The Three Big Pluses: Support, Training, Integrations

When asked about his top positives, Marc highlights:

1. Responsive Support: He can toss a question into Slack or the in-app chat, and someone from Smartlead often helps within minutes. That’s critical for big campaigns, where waiting days for a bug fix or domain question is not an option.
2. Smartlead University: An in-app training section with videos or docs explaining how to set up webhooks, sequences, or personalizations. Marc found it invaluable, especially early on.
3. Multi-Integration Automations: Slack alerts, Zapier flows, or hooking up with CRMs is easy. That means no more manual exporting or messy CSV files. Data flows seamlessly.

He jokes: “If you’re pumping out hundreds of leads, the last thing you want is a meltdown because you can’t see your unsubscribes or can’t push leads to Slack in real time.”

What Could Make Smartlead Even Smarter, According to Marc

Of course, Marc has a tiny wish list:

• Mobile Web App: Many of his clients are in the field—like a pressure washer who’s literally on a job site. A more optimized phone interface would let them reply to leads or check their Master Inbox easily.
• Minor UI Glitches: He’s spotted occasional page loading hiccups, especially when toggling from Master Inbox to Campaigns. Usually a quick refresh fixes it, but it’s on his radar.

He’s quick to say these don’t overshadow the core functionality, but they’d help round out the experience for “blue-collar” businesses that aren’t always in front of a desktop.

Marc’s Advice: “Cold Outreach is About Hustle and Quick Follow-Up”

While the technology might sound fancy—talk of domain rotation, AI sequences, Slack integrations—Marc emphasizes it’s also about consistent outreach and fast follow-up:

1. Outreach Like a Maniac: If you’re only sending 20 emails a day, you might see minimal results. In his first weeks, he hammered out thousands. The quantity matters when you’re building an entire business from scratch.
2. Respond Immediately: The moment a lead shows interest, you pounce. That might mean Slack alerts at odd hours or phone calls on your lunch break. Speed kills in B2B.
3. Segment & Personalize: You can’t just send the same pitch to an HVAC manager and a window cleaning CFO. The messaging has to reflect their niche. Marc tries to incorporate short references to local context, ROI, or job complexities.

As he sees it, “Yes, the domain warm-up keeps you from being flagged, but your content also needs to speak to the prospect’s real pain. That’s how we pull 97 interested replies in four days from 1,200 daily sends.”

What Scaling to 15,000+ Leads/Month Actually Looks Like

So, how is Trade Grow Media holding up as of now? Marc claims he’s built an entire stable of B2B service-based clients—dozens of them focusing on trades or local services who collectively rely on him for lead flow. He’s orchestrating some campaigns that reach 15,000+ leads a month across multiple subdomains, all without domain meltdown. That’s the real testament to synergy between the right approach (trigger-based messaging + immediate follow-up) and a robust platform (Smartlead).

And if you’re thinking, “That’s all well and good for him, but could it work for me?” Marc’s short answer is “Heck yes, if you follow the formula.” The formula being:

1. Warm up your domain properly.
2. Keep your sequences short, to the point, and targeted.
3. Send at scale, but only if your domain is warmed and you’re rotating addresses.
4. Use immediate Slack or phone follow-ups so you never miss a hot lead.

If you’re an agency or a sales manager considering massive outreach, that’s a useful reality check.

“Smartlead is Built For That Next Level”

Trade Grow Media is living proof that even local service-based businesses—like HVAC or pressure washing—can see impressive ROI if from cold email if they do it right. With Smartlead, Marc overcame the usual meltdown issues and built a thriving agency for trades. He soared from a basic sales rep gig to a founder who helps dozens (if not hundreds) of businesses snag more deals off simple, short, automated emails.

In Marc’s words: “You can try it with cheaper or simpler tools, but once you hit a few hundred daily sends, you’ll outgrow them. Smartlead is built for that next level.”

Thinking of doing the same? Start small: warm up your domain, experiment with short sequences, push leads to Slack, and see how quickly you can respond. Once you see those conversions rise, scale up to multiple inboxes. But watch your domain rep. Tools like Smartlead handle the grunt work, so you can focus on building real relationships. Marc’s experience shows it’s absolutely possible to saturate an industry with targeted outreach if you do it right.

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