Cold Email: a simple format that received a lot of positive responses
After using cold email templates from “trusted” sales sources, I created my own
Depending on your industry and target market, a cold email may be the best form of communication to make initial contact with a prospect. In previous articles, I’ve written about my style of cold calling and how it helped set meetings consistently with big firms. But a top salesperson must use all platforms available, as different prospects may be receptive one in particular. There’s no point fishing for marlin with a crab net.
My cold email templates have evolved over the years through trial and error. I’ve experienced what works and what doesn’t, and continued to tweak it even down to specific words. While I’m proud of the results they’re bringing, I’m positive that the templates will continue to be iterated as time goes on.
I began by researching the “best” tips for a cold email, and then tailoring it to my industry and prospect. However, I wasn’t getting the responses I desired — similar to my initial cold calling results.
The cold email examples provided seemed selfish; they focused on the needs of the rep, rather than appealing to the interest of the prospect. Not to mention, the sheer length of the email was off-putting.
Empathise with the prospect
Imagine yourself getting a cold email — how would you like it to be?
I love cold emails that are simple, easy to read, and clearly state the intentions or reason. It reduces my effort in having to understand it, or strain my brain trying to discover the reason and benefit to me.
It’s CRUCIAL to understand that time is the most valuable commodity, and hence, every word that you put in a cold email must be necessary. It needs to be as short as possible, while delivering maximum impact. This article showed that the optimal amount of words was between 50 and 125, which yielded a response rate of over 50%. Anecdotally, I’ve found the best results around 80–90 words, which allowed me to get across my message, arouse interest and ask questions, while still respecting the time.
Not to mention, the simplicity of the wording can have huge effects on your results. The same article found that emails written at a third-grade reading level had the highest response rate, and performed 36% better in terms of open rate than those written at a college reading level. Just to make sure, they tested it against a high school reading level, and the third-grade levels still boasted a 17% higher response rate.
Be sure to type how you speak, it’s much simpler to understand, and makes it more personal.
The cold email isn’t a platform to sell your products, services or company. Like the cold call, it’s to arouse interest and “set a hook” in the prospect, so they respond wanting to know more.
Unfortunately, some people approach the cold email as an opportunity to vomit words onto a page and blast it out all at once, hoping to save time and get a couple of “bites.”
But that’s not how it works. People aren’t stupid, and will sniff out a generic, unthoughtful email a mile away.
I realise sales people aren’t experienced copywriters, and this is why sales can be a tough job. But my aim is to help you get the best results possible from your outreach efforts.
I have slight variances for a cold email depending on whether I have a referral, mutual connections in the network or on Linked In.
My Tips
The best results I’ve had are when the email is as personalised as possible. Before sending, I’ll do a quick search on the prospect (website, social media, news, videos, etc.) and see if anything pops up. The problem is that this isn’t nearly as efficient as an email blast, but that’s not the point. The point is to use your cold email to get a response from prospects.
A few months ago, I found that a prospect had written a joke on their relatively inactive Facebook Business Page from a few years earlier, but it was pretty funny. I decided to make reference to the joke in the introduction of my cold email.
Can you guess what happened?
A swift reply commending me for my unique approach to the cold email, and we enjoyed some banter. This provided an opportunity to tender soon after.
Structuring the Cold Email
Here’s how I structured my cold emails to lawyers, with an analysis of the reasoning.
The Introduction
Hi Mary,
I read your blog post on the changes in the family law industry and found it very interesting — how will the changes affect you now?
- Opening with “Hi” and the prospect’s first name is courteous, yet informal and creates a happier tone.
- You don’t need to introduce yourself. Your name comes up on the email before it’s opened, and is also found in your email footer/signature with your company details. Saying “My name is…” is a waste of space.
- I experimented with an exclamation mark (Hi Mary!) but this was a little too over the top, especially as I was targeting managing directors of law firms. I’ve found positive results elsewhere though — tailor it to your industry/target market.
- Immediately I personalise the email by saying I’ve read something they’ve written, and I’m showing an interest in what they do. The secret is to be genuine here.
- The question gets the prospect to “buy-in” to the communication. Not to mention, a cold email that includes between 1 and 3 questions had 50% more responses than a cold email without questions. Side note: depending on the prospects’ content, you can tailor the questions.
- If there’s no content available, skip this step. If you have a referral, use it.
The Reason
We don’t know each other yet, but recently I’ve been meeting with the big law firms in Adelaide to see how we can help with their property valuation needs — I thought you might be interested too.
- Stating upfront that we don’t actually know each other is important, because I don’t want the prospect trying to recall a prior interaction. I’ve found this actually disarms the prospect because I’m being upfront and honest.
- What, Why, Where, When and How. This phrase is important. It states the reason I’m contacting them, and the aim is to set a hook. I constructed it to show what is happening (“meeting with”), why it’s important to them (“big law firms”), where it’s happening (Adelaide), which is local, when I’ve been doing it (“recently”) and how it benefits them (“help with their property valuation needs).” But it’s been written in simple language, and I haven’t stated any facts or figures.
- The “-“ creates a break in the sentence, which visually gives the reader a break and reduces the word count.
- “I thought you might be interested too” really sums up the reason they should care about this email. Plus, it’s innocent and isn’t pushy.
Soft Close the Meeting
I’d love to learn a bit more about you and your company, are you free for a quick call or meeting sometime over the next week?
- All I want to do is learn more about them, which is true. I want to discover if we can help solve their problems and if we’re a good fit for each other.
- A quick call or meeting isn’t intrusive and gives them the option. Prospects usually preferred a meeting for half an hour to a phone call. But either way, I had the same set of questions for qualifying prepared.
- “sometime over the next week” puts the onus on them, which we can then work around both of our schedules. I want to be front-of-mind and I don’t want to have to book a meeting more than a week in advance. Especially with top-level managers, they’re going to be busy, so I had to be flexible.
- Ending with a question invites another response. This really helped my results.
The Subject Line
Option 1: Thought you’d be interested
Option 2: Property valuations
Option 3: Hoping to help
I used all three of these interchangeably, and didn’t notice a significant difference between them. My favourite is “Thought you’d be interested,” though. I also only capitalise the first word, because I found that capitalising all the words made it seem over-professional, and less “inviting” to open.
Summary
See how easily that read? It was written without any fancy words and clearly stated my intentions. I cut right to the chase and respected the prospect’s time.
The personalisation really shows that you’ve taken an interest in them, and I’ve always found it bodes well.
Best of all, this cold email only comprised of 89 words.
There you have it — what are some of your favourite techniques for a cold email?
Originally published at SalesWolf.io.
