📋 The 7 rules that close ICP deals. Built from 1,200+ emails and 318 deals (50+ homes). Not principles — the actual patterns separating won from lost.
Do: Write a first touch specific to that prospect — their property count, market, or a detail that shows you looked.
Don't: Send a template cold.
The data: Personal first touch = 27% reply rate. Template = 7%. That gap doesn't close no matter how good the template is.
Do: Reply with roughly the same number of words they used. 0.75–1.25x is the win zone.
Don't: Write paragraphs when they gave you 2 sentences.
The data: Diana's reply weight in won deals is 1.17x. In lost deals it jumps to 2.18x. More words don't save a dying deal — they accelerate the silence.
Do: Set a follow-up for 5–7 days any time a prospect goes quiet.
Don't: Wait 14 days (that's the lost-deal average).
The data: Won deals follow up in 5–7 days. Lost deals wait 10–14 days — by which point the prospect has mentally moved on.
Do: Ask the one question that moves the deal forward if they answer it. One question.
Don't: Send 3–4 questions in a single email.