How new sales reps can write cold emails that get replies, in 4 steps

Your batch-and-blast sales emails are turning off prospects.
Get more replies with PersistIQ’s 4-step formula for effective cold email.

When the pressure’s on to generate more and more leads each day, it’s tempting to blast the same email to every prospect you find just to get the work done.

But we both know batch-and-blast is a direct route to people’s spam folders, not the start of a potential sale.

So in this post, I’m sharing a 4-step formula to help you (semi) automate your prospecting emails, while staying personal enough to get replies.

Start with the right mindset: balancing automation & personalization

Before jumping straight to the formula, take note: there’s danger in too much automation.

Sales tools that automate the outreach process are great — to a point.

But we can’t simply automate everything and expect the job to be done, because what sets great salespeople apart from merely good salespeople is their ability to connect with other humans.

Genuine human interactions are complex, and technology is a long way from being able to replicated these interactions. Which means you have to find the balance between using automation to save time, and putting in the effort to keep your cold emails personal.

Now that we’ve cleared this up, on to the fun stuff: using technology to work faster, get more meetings and close more deals.

4 steps to cold emails that get replies

This 4-step process will point you toward more leads, more meetings and more deals closed.

1. Know your buyer personas like you know your best friends

You probably know your target industry, your target company size — but how much do you really know about the person you’re trying to reach? What are they responsible for at work? What keeps them up at night? What bigger problems do they have (beyond their need for what you’re selling)?

If you don’t have a clear picture yet of exactly who you’re selling to (the humans, not the companies), stop here. Block out time each week to learn more about your best customers. Use this Sales Hacker post to get the right info, or these templates from Hubspot.

2. Collect deeper insights on your prospects than your competitors do

Every sales rep at every company uses LinkedIn Sales Navigator. But lucky for you, there are more sophisticated ways to leverage the world’s largest professional network — and not everyone is using them.

I personally use the 3×3 approach recommended by Brendan Hartt, LevelEleven’s Director of Sales Development: Find 3 takeaways on your prospect in 3 minutes.

Your sales intelligence platform should give you the basics on your prospects, but to get personal, take note of 3 more unique details. Some starters:

• Current city (are any of your current customers based there?)
• Work history (did this prospect previously work for a company that now uses your product?)
• School or university (how is one of their sports teams doing?)
• Mutual connections (did you both meet the same person at a conference?)

This is what will set your personalized emails apart from the generic blasts everyone else is sending.

3. Optimize your cold email templates

An effective email template is half science, half art.

Automation can handle the science — measuring which templates are most effective, running mail merges — but it’s up to you, the human, to pen a message compelling enough to get a response.

Here’s the exact outline of an effective cold outbound email, plus a sample template for you to snag:

1. Attention-catching, but casual, subject line. You’re trying to start a conversation, so the “casual” is key here. If you can, try to fit in one of the three relatable facts you collected.
2. Relevant reason for reaching out. This could be a common connection, a significant event, recent award, etc — but whatever it is, it needs to be relevant to what your prospect cares about. Otherwise, what’s going to motivate them to answer you, or even keep reading?
3. One line value proposition on what you’re offering. Seriously, keep it to one line. If you can’t explain your offering briefly in a way your buyer persona will care about, you need to rework your pitch.
4. Social proof. Namedrop some clients your prospect should be familiar with. Better yet, bring up how you’ve helped one of their competitors get some valuable results.
5. Call to action. Have a specific action you want your prospect to take, and ask them to take it (ideally, setting a meeting with you)!

Hey {{first name}},

I saw on LinkedIn that we’re connected through {{common connection}}.

{{One sentence about why that connection is relevant}}.

Given your position, I think you may be interested in what my company does. {{Give your one sentence value proposition}}. We’ve helped companies like {{their competitor}}achieve {{specific results}}.

Do you have time to connect on {{date}} at {{time}}?

[By the way: if you use a scheduling tool like Calendly, you can increase your chance of getting the meeting by adding your link and a short invite, like: If you’re busy then, feel free to name a more convenient time and I’ll handle the meeting arrangements. My calendar’s all yours.]

Thanks,

{{your name}}

4. Launch your outbound campaign

Drop your list of leads and your templates into your outbound sales platform (like PersistIQ).

If you’re not using an outbound sales platform yet, there are many things you’ll need to do before hitting “send” to make sure your emails don’t look spammy:

1. Make sure you’re not reaching out to a lead you or your colleagues have already contacted in the past
2. Make sure you’re not reaching out to a lead that already in your campaign
3. Make sure you’re not missing any variables
4. Make sure all email addresses are valid
5. Make sure you’re not exceeding your daily sending limit set by your ESP
6. Whew, finally done? Now, pull the trigger!

Afterward: analyze your results and improve

Becoming a true expert at sales requires a scientific approach to testing. You’ll find that some email templates perform better than others, so to get more effective over time, you’ll need to constantly tweak different elements of your email.

Bringing it all together

• There’s danger in too much automation. Personalization is key to getting people’s attention.
• If you don’t know your buyer personas like you know your best friends, you’ll fail to write emails that motivate. Do your research.
• Find three personal details about each prospect when reaching out to them.
• Use automation to do the actual sending & measuring of effectiveness.

This is how you get replies, meetings, and ultimately, a better bottom line.

This post comes from Brandon Redlinger, Head of Growth at PersistIQ.

Brandon Redlinger is Head of Growth at PersistIQ.