The Outreach Fix: How email deliverability really works

In this Outreach Fix episode, we dive into one of the most complex topics in B2B outreach: email deliverability.

Sopro’s Kit Smith and Rob Harlow explore why deliverability remains such a challenge. From the rise of spam filters that learn on the fly to the wave of low-quality senders flooding inboxes, making it into the right folder is far from simple.

They cover what most B2B teams get wrong, why deliverability can’t be solved with a checklist, and what it really takes to maintain strong performance. You’ll also hear why response rate is the only reliable indicator of success, and why so many teams realise too late that something’s gone wrong.

What you’ll learn

• Why email deliverability has always been a challenge
• How modern spam filters work and why they’re hard to predict
• Why inbox placement is difficult to measure
• How poor setups and shortcuts are harming outreach
• What to prioritise to improve long-term deliverability

Key takeaways

Deliverability isn’t a checklist. It’s a moving target that needs constant attention and deep technical understanding.

You don’t always see the problem. Most teams only realise there’s an issue when response rates drop, and by then it’s hard to reverse.

There’s no quick fix. You can’t buy deliverability or solve it after the fact. It takes proactive management and early investment.

Quality beats quantity. Sending fewer, better-targeted emails is far more effective than ramping up volume.