How To Write Winning Cold Sales Emails That Get Responses

Businesses create company emails to launch marketing campaigns, send sales emails and reach out to clients. Using templates for sending out cold sales emails is a smart and useful tool that saves time. However, templates aren’t fill in the blank. Using them as a cookie-cutter is a waste of time since it all but guarantees almost every email sent will be deleted, unread, and possibly tossed into the spam folder.  There are several things to keep in mind while crafting an email out of a template.

Subject Lines

Avoid generic and non-specific subject lines. The subject line tells the recipient what the email is about, and whether or not it’s worth reading.  So, don’t just say, “Weekend Sale!”. Say what is on sale, and when the sale will take place. Don’t write a novel, though. Keep the subject line between 20 and 40 characters.

Some tips to keep in mind include:

• Personalize the line either by using the recipient’s name, and making it about something they care about.
• Create a sense of urgency by letting them know that there is a short window or a finite amount of time to act.
• Be Truthful. Don’t make unbelievable claims in the subject line, or the email will get deleted with prejudice. Leave that for the late-night infomercials.

Main Body

On top of writing an effective email subject line, you need quality body paragraphs to get responses. Keep the email directly to the point, and short. It should never be longer than a few sentences. People want to read them quickly and decide if they want what it’s selling. The body should expand on what was in the subject line by adding more details and why it’s essential to the recipient.

Consider these tips when preparing your main body content:

• Skip the Pleasantries. Don’t waste time by putting what amounts to small talk like “How are you?” and “My name is such-n-such.” in the opening line. Go straight into the meat of the issue. Be direct with the subject matter.
• Keep it Friendly. Being direct and brief isn’t the same thing as making it curt and unfriendly. Write the email in a conversational tone that is professional in a way which says, “You’re my favorite customer.”
• The Call to Action! Ask the reader to log on, click, or otherwise contact your business. It could be to schedule a demo, an informational video link, or a coupon/ discount code. A call to action should never be the hard sell. It should only be the next step in the customer journey that results in a sale.

3 Sentence Format

One of the best email template to consider using for cold sales emails is the 3 sentence format. This email template is a shining example of how less is often more. Make the intro, the body, and the call to action one sentence, or as close to it as possible. Make any of these two sentences, if it wouldn’t make sense in one sentence or the one sentence would be a jumble of clauses and prepositions. The point is to keep things as brief as possible. However, you also want to avoid confusing your reader. This often happens when businesses try too hard to cram content into one or two sentences. Only use this email when you can effectively condense your information. Then, you can use this cold sales email template to get a good response.

Before And After

Another great way to get responses from your cold sales emails is to create a before and after contrast. This method entails drawing on what your target audience may be dealing with in the moment. If you do not know who your target audience is, find out by conducting segmentation analysis. Once you know who your target audience is and what their struggles are, explain how your products/services can improve their current situation. If you use this cold sales email method properly, you will achieve your email campaign goals.

Flip The Status Quo

Moreover, consider flipping the status quo in your cold sales emails. Routine and habit can be hard things to break. We’ve all known that industry old-timer who still insists on faxes. At the same time, we all know someone loyal to a brand that has fallen behind the innovation curve. Challenging this status quo, and getting someone to try your product even just once is a great way to land new customers. Give it a try in your next batch of cold sales emails to yield responses.

Compliment, Build Up And Push

Everyone likes to be recognized for their skills and accomplishments. Doing this is a useful sales tool when you want to reach out to an expert in their field, or show an existing customer other products and services which could help them, that they may not yet use.  Just remember, be sincere and non-patronizing. You recognize them for professional excellence. It’s not a second grader’s doodle getting stuck on the fridge.

The best way to think of email templates is as mini how-too guides that the user can pick and choose from to get the most out of their email campaign. If you’re working with great b2b lead generation companies it can take a little experimentation to strike the right mix of efficiency and engaging content, but the returns can be well worth it.