Who actually writes better cold emails — the AE in the trenches, or the sales leader coaching from the sidelines?
We wanted to find out.
So we put Evan Greek, a first-year AE at Gong, head-to-head with Florin Tatulea, a seasoned sales leader at Common Room, to see who could actually write the better cold email.
And because every showdown needs a judge, we brought in Jason Bay, one of the best in outbound, to pick the winner.
The result: a 3-round Cold Email Showdown where both had to build emails live — same product, same ICP, same rules.
For today’s Noozy, we’re breaking down one cold email highlight from each round that you can steal for your own outreach:
- Round 1: Florin’s Scroll Stopping Subject Line
- Round 2: Evan’s Social Proof/Dream Outcome Hook
- Round 3: Evan’s Low Pressure, High Value CTA
Let’s jump right in.
Round 1 Highlight: Florin’s Scroll Stopping Subject Line
Most AEs write subject lines that are generic, product-focused, and way too long — think “Leveraging AI-Driven Optimization Synergies for ACME Corp.”
That’s guaranteed to get flagged by spam filters or instantly glossed over because it’s no different than the other 100+ messages sitting in a prospect’s inbox.
For Round 1, we had Florin and Evan write cold emails to McDonald’s CRO Jason about recent market share losses to Burger King — plus Ronald McDonald potential resignation.
Florin took the round with a perfect score for his subject line:
“Ronald’s beef isn’t with us.”
Florin keeps subject lines short (3-5 words), client-focused (Ronald mention), and nothing like what the CRO is used to seeing.
He calls it scroll-stopping — and it dramatically increases the odds your email actually gets opened because it genuinely piques your prospect’s curiosity.
Round 2: Evan’s Social Proof/Dream Outcome Hook
Even when a prospect opens an email, most AEs lose them by making it about the product — not the outcome the buyer actually wants.
For Round 2, we had both contestants act as realtors and write to Jason, a first-time homebuyer, to convince him to work with them using a first-time homebuyer credit.
Evan took the round by using social proof to build credibility and paint a clear dream outcome of a partnership together:
“A couple of my clients jumped on this credit and walked away with five-figure savings and homes they didn’t think they could afford.”
In one sentence, Evan:
- Proves other buyers like Jason have used the credit successfully
- Shows what success actually looks like when working with her
- Makes the reader picture themselves getting the same result
Now she’s completely piqued the prospect’s interest and is way more likely to land a meeting.
Round 3: Evan's Low Pressure, High Value CTA
Even when an AE earns interest in the body of their email, most lose the meeting by ending with a weak, self-serving CTA.
They ask for “15 minutes,” a “quick chat,” or a “demo” — without giving the prospect a real reason to say yes.
For Round 3, we had both contestants write emails for their opponent’s SaaS product, one neither had ever sold before.
The round ended in a tie, but Evan’s CTA was the highlight.
Instead of just asking for a meeting, she made her prospect a valuable, low pressure offer:
“I found three signals that could especially be relevant for your team. Open to 30 minutes to walk you through them best?”
Evan offered something immediately useful to the prospect, and kept the ask low-risk.
This makes it far easier for the prospect to say yes — which is exactly why this CTA earns replies.
This was just a highlight from each round, so if you want to see who took home the trophy, check out the full video on our YouTube channel.
PS: This week, get $60 off Jason Bay's Cold Email AI Course with code "showdown".
