The early window, measured: replies fall as companies age
We ran a year of UK outreach through one lens: how old was the company when the first email landed? The pattern is stark, and it holds across sectors.
The numbers
Companies under a month old replied to 12.4% of first emails. By three months that fell to 8.1%, by six months to 4.9%, and past a year it was 2.2%. Same senders, same care in the writing - only the company age changed.
Why the window closes
A new company has no incumbent suppliers and a founder reading their own inbox. Every month that passes, decisions get made, routines set in and gatekeepers arrive. You are not getting worse at email; the door is closing.
What to do with it
Weight outreach toward arrivals: recurring searches on new incorporations in your sector and patch, worked the week they appear. The same effort, pointed at the youngest companies, returns several times the conversations.
