Cold Email Specialist — Rebuild & Optimize Outbound

I run a digital marketing agency targeting automotive businesses (detailing, PPF/ceramic, collision, repair) in the US. I need an experienced cold email strategist to diagnose why and rebuild the outbound properly — not just hand me generic templates. This is a diagnosis-first project, not a copy-paste funnel. What I need: Audit my current setup — review my past emails, list approach, and sequence. Rebuild the sequence — a full cold email sequence (initial + follow-ups) tailored to automotive business owners, written to start conversations, not to pitch. Targeting/segmentation guidance — how to angle messaging differently for shops already running ads vs. not. Sending strategy — volume, cadence, and tool setup (I use a separate outreach domain). You're a fit if you: Have run cold email for local/SMB service businesses specifically (not just SaaS/tech — this niche behaves differently) Can show reply-rate results from past campaigns Write in a natural, human voice, not corporate/salesy templates Will diagnose before prescribing In your proposal, tell me: the biggest reason you think most cold email to local businesses fails, and one campaign you've run with real reply-rate numbers.