--- title: "Cold Email Case Studies: Real Results | FirstSales.io" description: "See how sales teams improved inbox placement by 27-62% using FirstSales. Higher reply rates, more meetings booked." canonical: "https://firstsales.io/case-study/" --- [Home](/) Case Studies Real results from running the AI SDR loop # The AI SDR loop in action. 87% inbox. Meetings booked. See how founders and SDRs switched from Instantly, Lemlist, and Smartlead to FirstSales, tripled reply rates, and cut costs by 70%. The loop finds leads, writes, sends, follows up, and books, and 87% of it lands in the primary inbox. * Finds leads by scraping the web, no list to upload * Writes, personalizes, sends, and follows up around the clock * Books meetings to your calendar on autopilot * 87% lands in the primary inbox, not spam [Get same results](https://app.firstsales.io)[See pricing](/pricing/) $1 for 3 days · Cancel anytime · Live in 8 minutes Loved by founders & SDRs Companies 500+ Inbox Rate 87% Warm-up 21-day Before FirstSales 60-70% inbox placement After FirstSales 87% inbox placement Proven Results 87% Inbox Rate <2% Bounce $29 Per Month Overall SuccessExcellent Automated warm-up List cleaning included Inbox placement focus Setup 8 min Warm-up 21-day Pricing $29/mo Results Overview ## Numbers that **matter.** Built for consistent inbox placement. Real results. Measurable impact. 87% **Average Inbox Placement** \- +27% vs competitors 3.2x **Reply Rate Increase** \- Before FirstSales $828 **Annual Savings** \- Per company <2% **Average Bounce Rate** \- Across sends What Good Looks Like ## A B2B SaaS team goes from 62% to 89% inbox placement in 30 days. [Get Started](/pricing/) 89% Inbox Placement +43% 6.2% Reply Rate +312% $828 Annual Savings \-70% 30 days To Results Fast ### The Challenge A B2B SaaS team was paying $97/month for cold email tooling. Despite the cost, their emails were going to spam and reply rates were flat. 62% inbox placement (38% lost to spam) 1.5% reply rate (industry average) Domain reputation declining weekly Paid $97/month for poor results ### The Solution Switched to FirstSales with automatic warm-up, free list cleaning, and real-time monitoring. Setup took 8 minutes. 89% inbox placement within 30 days 6.2% reply rate (4x improvement) Domain health score: 94/100 Only $29/month (70% savings) Illustrative outcome When a team fixes their infrastructure (warm-up, list cleaning, monitoring), inbox placement typically jumps from the 60% range to 87%+ within 30 days. Reply rates follow: teams commonly see 3x to 4x improvement once emails actually reach the inbox. What Good Looks Like ## A solo founder cuts email costs from $97/mo to $29/mo while improving results. [Get Started](/pricing/) 87% Inbox Rate +35% 4.8% Reply Rate +220% $816 Annual Savings \-70% 14 days First Results Fast ### Before: Previous Tool Cost $97/month Inbox Placement 52% Reply Rate 1.5% Monthly Replies \~15 List Cleaning $47 extra ### After: FirstSales Cost $29/month Inbox Placement 87% Reply Rate 4.8% Monthly Replies \~50 List Cleaning FREE included Illustrative outcome Switching from a $97/mo tool to FirstSales at $29/mo typically recovers $816/year. More importantly, inbox placement improves from the 50-60% range to 85%+, which directly drives 3x to 4x more replies from the same list. Behind the scenes ## How FirstSales delivers 87% inbox placement A multi-layered deliverability engine runs before, during, and after every send. This is the part every other AI SDR skips. 01 ### Smart Warm-Up Activates 21-day gradual warm-up mimics genuine human behavior. Variable timing, positive engagement signals to Gmail, Outlook, and all major providers. Domain reputation builds automatically. 02 ### List Cleaning Runs Every list is scanned before sending. Invalid emails, spam traps, and inactive accounts are removed automatically. Bounce rates stay under 2%. Competitors charge $47/mo for this. 03 ### Real-Time Monitoring Hourly checks on inbox placement, sender health, and domain reputation. Issues caught in hours, not weeks. Automatic pausing if problems are detected before damage is done. 04 ### Campaigns Launch Your cold emails send at maximum deliverability. 87% hit primary inboxes. Reply rates climb. Pipeline fills with qualified leads that the AI SDR found by scraping the web. 05 ### Results Compound As domains age and reputation grows, results improve month over month. The loop runs 24/7\. Finds leads, writes, personalizes, sends, follows up, and books meetings without you. Why FirstSales works ## Four pillars. One result. Everything FirstSales does is designed to maximize your inbox placement and protect your domain reputation so the AI SDR loop actually books meetings. 87% ### 87% Inbox Placement Smart 21-day warm-up, automatic list cleaning, and real-time monitoring deliver 87% average inbox placement. The industry average is 60-70%. $816 ### $816 Saved Per Year Same features. Better results. $29/mo vs. $97/mo. That is $816 back in your pocket every year, and you get more for less. Free ### Free List Cleaning Competitors charge $47/mo extra for list cleaning. We include it because protecting your domain reputation is not a premium feature. 1 hr ### Real-Time Monitoring See exactly where your emails land, updated every hour. Catch deliverability problems within 2 hours, not 2 weeks. Results timeline ## From zero to 87% inbox in 21 days See exactly how your results unfold during the first 30 days. The loop runs automatically the whole time. Day 1 ### Setup Complete Connect email, DNS configures automatically, import leads. 8-minute average setup time. The AI SDR loop starts immediately. Day 1-7 ### Warm-Up Begins Low-volume sending with positive engagement. Domain reputation starts building. No inbox risk during ramp. Day 8-14 ### Volume Increases Gradual volume increases as reputation grows. First replies start coming in. The loop writes, sends, and follows up automatically. Day 15-21 ### Full Warm-Up Full sending capacity reached. Inbox placement hits 80% and above. Reply rates climb. Meetings start booking to your calendar. Peak Day 30+ ### Peak Performance 87% inbox placement sustained. Domain health score 90 and above. The AI SDR works 24/7 with no input needed from you. Common outcomes ## Founders and SDRs. Same transformation. These are the outcomes customers see when they run the full AI SDR loop. Finds leads, writes, sends, follows up, books meetings, and lands in the inbox. 87% inbox placement vs. 60-70% industry average, sustained after 21-day warm-up 3% to 7% reply rate seen by customers who completed warm-up and cleaned lists before sending $816 saved per year $29/mo vs. $97/mo representative competitor price, list cleaning included free Under 2% bounce rate automatic list cleaning before every send removes invalid emails and spam traps Why people switch * Switched from Instantly because inbox placement was stuck at 60% * Switched from Lemlist to get list cleaning included, not as a paid add-on * Switched from Smartlead to get hourly monitoring instead of daily updates * Switched from Woodpecker because the AI SDR loop books meetings, not just sends [Start your success story](https://app.firstsales.io) Before and after ## Switching to FirstSales means better everything. Compare what you are getting now with what FirstSales delivers. Every metric improves. Every cost drops. MetricInstantly.aiFirstSales Monthly cost $97/mo (representative) $29/mo Inbox placement 60-70% 87% average List cleaning $47/mo add-on Included free Monitoring Daily updates Hourly updates Setup time 30+ minutes 8 minutes Warm-up Manual or basic 21-day smart auto Ready to run the loop? ## Your AI SDR works 24/7\. It books the meeting. Join founders and SDRs running FirstSales. Plans from $29/mo. 87% inbox placement. List cleaning included free. * Finds leads by scraping the web, no list to upload * Writes, personalizes, and sends on autopilot 24/7 * Follows up automatically until they reply * Books meetings straight to your calendar * 87% lands in the primary inbox, not spam * $1 for 3 days, cancel anytime [Start your $1 trial](https://app.firstsales.io)[See pricing](/pricing/) Setup in 8 minutes · Cancel anytime · $1 for 3 days ## FAQs Your questions answered Can't find what you're looking for? Contact our [customer support team](mailto:support@firstsales.io) ### General ### ### ### ### Deliverability ### ### ### Can't find what you're looking for? Contact our [customer support team](mailto:support@firstsales.io)