Skip over navigation

Contact us to learn more about OroCRM capabilities

learn more

Sales & Marketing

The Art of the Cold Email Introduction

June 23, 2015 | msarandi

header

 

Outbound sales is alive and well, and the companies that are doing it best are creating massive differentiation against their competition. In this post we are going to explore four keys to executing an effective email introduction to a potential sales prospect.

Keep it Brief

An introduction email is the perfect time to briefly highlight the reason you are reaching out and the benefit your product will provide.  Push yourself to be as concise as possible, keeping it to 2-3 sentences maximum.  We have seen an interesting correlation between the brevity of introductory emails and their response rates.  Ultimately, people don’t want to read long emails, especially when they are unsure of the value in what you are proposing, and so most of those long eloquent emails are completely wasted.

Personalize

There is a reason you are reaching out specifically to the person you are and it is important to convey why. The introductory email is the perfect opportunity to explain why specifically you think there would be a fit in speaking with this person.  This accomplishes two things:

  1. It shows the prospect that you value their time, which immediately separates you from all the other time-wasting email introductions they receive.
  2. It allows the prospect to opt out, or introduce you to the right contact, if the reason you are reaching out isn’t of interest to them.  This allows you both to not waste their time and, more importantly, not waste your time with continual follow-up emails under the wrong assumptions.

Continue to Follow Up

One of the most common mistakes made with introduction emails is giving up after only 1-2 emails.  People are incredibly busy and often initial email introductions get lost in their inboxes.  A simple 1-2 sentence follow-up email allows you to politely check in and lets the person know you are serious about getting in contact with them. By showing that you are passionate about making the connection, they will be much more likely to respond.  We regularly talk with sales teams that have seen a 50%+ increase in response rate when they send up to 3-5 follow-up emails to their initial introduction.

Break Up

One of the most effective final tools for getting a positive response to an email introduction is sending a “break up” email.  The “break up” email should be your final email and lets the person know you won’t be reaching out anymore. Many times, this can generate a response.  A “break up” email can look as simple as this:

“I wanted to reach out one final time to see if you were interested in discussing XYZ.  It seems like now may not be the right time, but please feel free to reach out to me if that changes.”

These tips, effectively coordinated in any B2B sales environment, can drastically improve response rates, drive new sales opportunities and deliver on additional sales velocity.

 

Back to top