Introduction
In this article we show you which software you can use to send messages & automate cold outreach with it.
The overview
| Vendor | Headquarters | Channels | Copy in German | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SalesXMachina | Germany | Email, LinkedIn | yes, as standard | Signal as trigger, high personalisation, with images and videos, focus on Germany, Austria & Switzerland |
| Lemlist | France | Email, LinkedIn | yes | Personalisation, images and videos |
| Waalaxy | France | LinkedIn, Email | yes | LinkedIn automation, easy start |
| Instantly | USA | limited | Deliverability, high volumes | |
| Saleshandy | India | limited | Cold email, low-cost entry | |
| Apollo | USA | Email, LinkedIn, Phone | limited | Database and sending in one |
| Overloop | Belgium | Email, LinkedIn | yes | Multi-channel sequences |
| Amplemarket | USA / Portugal | Email, LinkedIn | yes | Signals plus sending |
What makes the German-speaking market different
Cold outreach in the German-speaking region definitely works differently from the rest of the world. In DACH, templates that barge straight in and try to sell your product right away work very poorly.
What works much better is an approach that builds a personal relationship with the other person & shows that you have looked into them and their company in depth.
In the German-speaking region, people also pay close attention to tone (often the formal "Sie" is used instead of the informal "Du") & a message should always build trust, i.e. no links, a photo of the sender must be included and an unsubscribe button must be included in an email.
We have found that taking these factors into account leads to a significantly higher reply rate.
LinkedIn matters more than email
This is the clearest finding from our more than 50,000 messages sent in summer 2026: LinkedIn beats email by a factor of 3.7.
| Channel | Reply rate |
|---|---|
| LinkedIn direct message | 11.39 % |
| LinkedIn connection request | 6.33 % |
| 3.09 % |
German law is considerably stricter than in other countries
Under Section 7 of the German Unfair Competition Act (UWG), promotional emails to recipients in Germany generally require consent. For purely business-related outreach, courts increasingly recognise legitimate interest under Article 6(1)(f) GDPR if the message has a recognisable factual connection to the recipient's business and the origin of the address can be documented.
In practice this means: you always need a reason, and you must be able to document it. A tool that only works through lead lists does not help you with that. With our signal-based approach & clear documentation of why a lead is contacted, we are more successful here.
Happy selling, Axel