What's up, it's Zayd.

I keep hearing the same story from new Valley customers: they're excited about AI-powered outbound, but frustrated when the first messages don't sound exactly like them.

One customer recently shared: "It can be a little daunting at first while you are seeing messaging that isn't in your voice."

Here's what I tell everyone: give it 30 days.

Most people expect AI to work perfectly out of the box. They think they can flip a switch and suddenly have an army of AI SDRs writing perfect messages in their voice, but that's not how it works—and honestly, tools that promise "plug and play" AI are probably lying to you.

This week, I'm diving into the reality of AI training and why the best results require patience, not perfection.

Forwarded this email? Get Enabled in your inbox each week.

Zayd’s Picks

My favorite finds of the week.

• Warm intro template to grow your pipeline (link)

• Generate $440k with automated 2-touch warm outreach in 30 days (link)

• Alex Hormozi’s secret to building a $100m sales team (link)

• Key to a valuable lead magnet people can’t refuse (link)

• Tools to generate 200+ demo calls every month (link)

The 30-Day Truth About AI Training

What nobody tells you about AI-powered outbound is that the first month sucks.

You'll see messages that don't sound like you. The personalization will feel forced. The tone will be off. And you'll wonder if you made a mistake investing in AI.

Stick with it.

One of our customers recently shared their experience: "I spent that solid 30 days really perfecting the messaging. Knowing that you really do need to train the AI to speak how you want to speak, in my voice, using relevant pain points and use cases."

After 30 days of training, they switched to autopilot and started seeing consistent results.

Why Most AI Tools Fail in Week 1

The problem is the expectations.

People expect instant perfection

• AI needs examples of your communication style

• It requires feedback on what works and what doesn't

• Training happens through iteration, not automation

They skip the setup phase

• Don't input enough context about their company

• Fail to provide detailed buyer personas

• Rush through voice and tone configuration

They give up too early

• See generic messages and assume it won't improve

• Don't provide corrective feedback

• Switch tools instead of investing in training

What Actually Works: The 30-Day Framework

Based on analyzing hundreds of successful implementations, here's what the best Valley customers do:

Week 1: Foundation Setting

• Input all company documentation

• Define writing style preferences

• Set up clear buyer personas

• Run small test batches

Week 2: Voice Refinement

• Review every message before sending

• Provide detailed feedback on tone

• Adjust personality settings

• Document what resonates

Week 3: Personalization Tuning

• Refine research parameters

• Test different personalization approaches

• Identify high-converting message types

• Scale successful patterns

Week 4: Optimization & Scaling

• Switch to autopilot for proven templates

• Monitor performance metrics

• Make incremental improvements

• Expand to new audiences

The ROI of Patience

One customer told us: "It can be a little daunting at first while you are seeing messaging that isn't in your voice. But within that first month, working on it every day, I really did see that difference and improvement."

The results speak for themselves:

• 6-10% response rates vs 2% from email

• Messages that actually sound human

• Personalization at scale that used to require 5 people

• 20 minutes of setup replaces an afternoon of prospecting

LinkedIn: The Channel That Actually Works

Here's something else our customers consistently report:

LinkedIn outperforms email by 3:1.

"I wish I knew how successful LinkedIn outreach would be. It's not something I was super focused on previously... knowing that I am actually landing in someone's inbox, not in spam, really gives me some peace of mind."

The math is simple:

• LinkedIn: 6-10% response rates

• Email: 2% response rates

• LinkedIn messages actually get read

• Platform built for professional networking

Why Training Time Is Worth It

30 days feels like forever when you're trying to hit quota. But consider the alternative:

Hiring 5 SDRs to match Valley's output:

• $300K+ annual salaries

• 90+ days to ramp up

• Ongoing management overhead

• Inconsistent quality and messaging

Training AI for 30 days:

• One-time setup investment

• Learns faster than humans

• Consistent output quality

• Scales without additional costs

"Valley gives me the ability or capabilities or output of about 5 people. And Valley learns a lot faster than somebody new that comes on board."

The Control Factor

What separates good AI tools from great ones is—control.

One customer compared us to their previous agency: "The biggest difference is that I have control over what happens in Valley. I can change things, I can very easily edit scripts and prompts... when I see something is working or something isn't working, I can go in there and in two clicks later, there's something else we could test or change."

That immediate feedback loop is what makes the 30-day training period so effective. You're not waiting for an agency to implement changes—you're directly teaching the AI what works.

Setting Realistic Expectations

If you're evaluating AI outbound tools, here are the right questions to ask:

Instead of: "Will this work immediately?"

Ask: "How do I train this to work well?"

Instead of: "Does this replace human oversight?"

Ask: "How much control do I maintain?"

Instead of: "What's the setup time?"

Ask: "What's the training process?"

The best AI tools require investment upfront but deliver exponential returns once properly trained.

AI isn't magic—it's a powerful tool that requires proper setup and training.

Most companies give up too early because they expect instant results. The ones that succeed understand that 30 days of training leads to months or years of automated, high-quality outreach.

"Knowing that there is kind of a light at the end of the tunnel would be something that I wish I knew."

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. It's called proper AI training, and it's worth every day of the journey.

How I Can Help?

Let me book sales calls for you while you’re training your AI systems. Seriously.

I built Valley to be your automated SDR and empower AEs. Get started today and watch your calendar fill up with qualified leads.