Email marketing is still the reigning queen of B2B lead outreach, but writing successful cold sales emails is a craft many businesses struggle to perfect. We’re willing to bet you’ve received one or two poorly-constructed cold emails in your lifetime, so you’ve seen firsthand what these lost opportunities look like.
From figuring out the most compelling subject line to crafting a CTA that converts, getting all the components right can feel like a losing battle. Below, we’ll share the four characteristics all the best outbound emails have in common and how you can start boosting your response rates today.
Your subject line should be punchy and enticing enough to compel a prospect to open your email, but above all else, it must be clear. If what you’re pitching isn’t clear from the start, you’ll likely lose your reader’s interest to confusion – or worse, your email will be sent to the spam folder before it’s even opened.
B2B professionals receive tons of cold emails daily, so you don’t want to come across as clickbaity or overly salesy. Avoid complicated industry terms or jargon, and aim for a more conversational tone. The ultimate goal of a cold sales email is to secure a response from your prospect, so aim to hook them with a subject line that addresses their pain points, introduce yourself or your company, and deliver your message with clear, specific language.
Writing effective outbound sales emails is a balancing act between delivering your message and keeping it compelling enough to where your reader will want to ask for more. To do this, focus on how your offering can solve some challenges they are experiencing.
Ask yourself why the reader should care about what you’re saying. It doesn’t matter how amazing your company is if you only focus on what you do and never address how you can actually help. Convey your value without going overboard with attention-grabbing methods.
Your prospects are busy, so the fewer words you use to convey your message, the better. Aim for 100 words or less, as studies show that emails with 75-100 words have the highest response rate.1
Instead of opening with an overused line like “I know you’re busy, so I won’t take too much of your time,” just get right down to business. Do this by helping them solve a problem in a single sentence: “Solve [relevant pain point] by [how your offering solves it] with [your offering].”
Always keep your prospects in mind when crafting outbound sales emails. You should tailor your messaging for each buyer persona, as what provides value to Ivan the IT Director won’t necessarily entice Maria the Manager.
Do your research to learn your prospect’s biggest concerns and struggles, then write copy that addresses those concerns. Showing you put effort into understanding their pain points will go a long way toward getting their attention.
Another perk of doing your research first: emails with personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened.2 So be sure to dig up your prospect’s name before hitting send.
This brings us to tip #5: now that you know the right elements for your next outbound sales email (clear, compelling, concise, and personal), let’s see it in action. In this example, a cold email is being sent to a prospective client who manages IT for their company.
Subject: I thought of you…
Hi [name],
Hope you’re doing well!
I was just reading IDG’s [name of report] and thought of you. It said that 59% of IT leaders expect their budgets to increase in 2022!
More budget is great, but it also means more decisions to make, more solutions to buy – and more vendors to juggle.
I’ve spent the last decade helping IT leaders navigate these decisions. So if you’re open to it, I’d love to set up a 15-minute chat so I can share some insights with you: [scheduling link goes here].
Looking forward to connecting with you,
[Your name]
P.S. Here’s the IDG report I was reading: [link]
This email works because it focuses heavily on the prospect’s pain points (IT vendor management) and how the sender has the experience to help alleviate this burden. By opening with the problem, the prospect can decide right away whether it resonates with them and why they should learn more. And better yet, the body is concise and to the point, without stuffing in any spammy attention-grabbers or complicated jargon.
Still struggling to get those response rates up? Here are a couple more things to keep in mind when you’re writing cold sales emails:
If your emails seem impersonal or irrelevant, they will likely be marked as spam without ever reaching your intended prospects. Over 14% of emails get sent to the spam folder automatically thanks to spam filters,3 which is a big number considering only 21.5% of emails get opened.4
While there’s nothing wrong with creating urgency in your emails, spam filters penalize emails with subject lines that appear manipulative, pushy, or exaggerated. Avoid spam trigger words like “can’t live without” and “once in a lifetime” in your subject lines and instead aim to create urgency through the value you can offer to your readers.
Check out this blog for more tips about how to avoid sending spammy emails.
If you’re skipping A/B testing in your email marketing, you’re missing a huge opportunity to improve your outbound sales campaigns. An A/B test measures engagement for two or more versions of the same email with a small sample of your prospects. By seeing which email is more effective, you can determine which version gets sent to the rest of your list.
Performing a successful A/B test is easier than you might think, so if you’ve been avoiding this step because you don’t know how or what to test, it’s time to reconsider. Email marketing A/B tests are not only helpful for deciding which email will perform best right now but also for honing in on what your readers respond best to for future campaigns.
If you’re having trouble mastering your outbound sales emails, Mojenta can help. We’ve been creating email marketing campaigns for telecom and IT companies for over a decade, so we have the know-how to make sure you get results. Contact us today to pick our brains about email marketing or to get started with a partnership that will help you drive growth.
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