Instant Impact – How to break through a crowded digital inbox

Every day, the average knowledge worker navigates an estimated 117 emails and 153 Microsoft Teams messages. Layer on a constant stream of texts and social media notifications, and it’s hard to see how anyone keeps up – let alone engages meaningfully with each message.

For sales professionals, particularly those engaged in cold outreach, this reality presents a significant challenge. With inboxes more crowded than ever, how do you effectively break through the noise?

Eric Janssen, Ivey Entrepreneurship Lecturer and Director of Ivey’s Executive Education Sales Program, sees today's sales environment is a study in contrasts.

“Yes, inboxes are crowded, but today's digital tools give us an incredible window into the people we're trying to reach,” said Janssen. “We know more about our prospects than ever before, which should make building meaningful connections easier, not harder.”

Yet even with this level of insight, many sales professionals still struggle to break through. According to Janssen, the issue comes down to one thing:

"We've become more personalized, but less human," he said.

With the rise of new sales tools, much of today's outreach has started to look the same: automated, templated, and increasingly shaped by AI. In the push to personalize at scale, communication often ends up feeling less personal.

The result is more noise, but not more connection.

Standing out, Janssen argues, requires more than a new tool or technique. It requires a return to the human side of selling.

He outlines four principles to put this into practice:

1. Do your homework.
Rather than sending thousands of generic messages, focus on fewer, better-targeted contacts. Effective outreach begins with research that ensures the right message reaches the right person.

2. Personalize meaningfully.
Once the right contact is identified, ground your message in genuine insight – drawing on what they have shared, created, or contributed to.

“These small details signal that this communication is real, and that their attention matters to you,” said Janssen.

3. Follow up.
“One message isn’t a strategy,” said Janssen.

In many cases, it takes five or six touchpoints before a message is even noticed. Breaking through requires consistent, thoughtful follow-up that keeps the conversation present without becoming intrusive.

4. Think beyond a single channel.
Email remains important, but it is no longer the only way to reach decision-makers. Engaging across platforms – such as LinkedIn or even a phone call – builds familiarity over time. And familiarity, in turn, builds trust.

Taken together, Janssen says, these principles reflect a simple truth about sales that endures regardless of the tools being used.

“Every era of sales brings new tools and new challenges, but the fundamentals don’t really change. At its core, it still comes down to one thing: how well you understand and connect with another person.”

Eric Janssen is a full-time faculty member at Ivey Business School, where he teaches sales and entrepreneurship, serves as Director of Ivey’s Executive Education Sales Program, and hosts the Sales Reframed podcast. An entrepreneur turned educator, he has founded and worked with multiple venture-backed startups across B2B and B2C markets. He remains active in the startup ecosystem as founder of The Founder Sales Sprint, and a Limited Partner at Stage 2 Capital. Known for his engaging teaching style and practical, research-backed frameworks, Janssen has been recognized with the David G. Burgoyne Award (2021, 2024) and named one of Poets & Quants’ 50 Best Undergraduate Business Professors in 2024.