Xevolution · Free file 04
A reply lands. You have about an hour before answering it feels like a form letter. This is the tree I use: one branch per kind of reply, one action per branch, and the three timing rules that matter more than the wording. It is file 04 of seven in The Outreach Operating System. This one is yours to keep, print, and pass on.
A reply arrives. You have about one hour before it feels like a form. Open this, find the branch, do the action. One page per branch.
Classify it in five seconds, then act. Do not re-read a hostile reply three times.
| The reply is… | Branch |
|---|---|
| Auto-reply / out of office / bounce | A |
| "Not now" / "not this quarter" / "too busy" | B |
| "We already have someone" / "we do it in-house" | C |
| "Send me some info" / a question about price or scope | D |
| "Yes, let's talk" / a calendar suggestion | E |
| Angry, "how did you get this", "stop emailing me" | F |
| Anything you cannot classify | G |
Do: nothing, except note the return date. Put the address back in the queue for 3 days after that date, in the same thread. Do not: reply to it. Replying to an out-of-office is how a thread becomes noise.
Do: one line back — "Understood. I'll leave it there and check back after [their date]." Then put it in the 60-day file with the date they named. Do not: ask "when would be a better time?" That is the question they already answered. If they named no date, the check-back is 90 days, one email, then archive.
Do: acknowledge it in one line and make one non-pushy offer: "If that ever changes, or if you want a second pair of eyes on deliverability before your next campaign, I'm here." Do not: argue, compare, or trash the incumbent. Ever. That reply gets screenshotted.
Do: answer the actual question asked, in the body of the email, in under 150 words. Then one line: "Want me to send the one-page version you can forward?" Do not: send a PDF deck to someone who asked a question. Answering the question is the demo.
Do: within the hour, offer two specific slots with a timezone, plus "or send me a time that works". Confirm in the calendar yourself. Do not: send a booking link as the first response. A link is a wall; two times is a decision.
Do: answer in one line, truthfully, with the source: "Your address is published on yoursite.com/contact. I've removed you and you won't hear from me again." Then remove them permanently and record it. Do not: explain your process, defend cold email, or ask them to reconsider. The only goal is to end the conversation cleanly. One reply, then silence.
Do: reply with one honest sentence that names what you think they meant and asks a single yes/no question. If the reply is hostile in any way, treat it as F.
Every reply gets one of these tags, in one place: `auto`, `later:date`, `incumbent`, `info`, `meeting`, `stop`, `unclear`. The `stop` file is permanent and is checked before every future batch. If you keep that one file honestly, you will never have a complaint you cannot answer.
File 04 of seven. Everything on this page is quoted in full from The Outreach Operating System by Xevolution. No tracking, no email capture, no expiry — save it, print it, hand it to someone who answers their inbox.
The other five free files: /free (90-Day Sending Calendar), /free/target-list-standard (Target List Standard), /free/permission-and-compliance-sheet (Permission and Compliance Sheet), /free/objection-library (Objection Library) and /free/failure-runbook (Failure Runbook).
Questions about your own setup: support@xevolution.biz