B2B Blog

1. The hyper-personalized cold email to decision makers

A well-crafted personalized cold email stands out from the hundreds of generic cold emails your recipients receive each day. And there are huge chances that it will produce the results you want – a response or a meeting with the prospect.

One way to personalize emails is by looking at their website/product and finding out what’s currently wrong with their system. Once you’ve nailed the pain points, you get to be the hero and fix it.

Here’s an example of a highly personalized cold email sent from one of our SDR.

Address the right recipient

Your research should not limit to just the company but should also include finding the right recipient to contact in the organization. Make it clear why you’re reaching out to them as opposed to anyone else in their company.

According to the data shared by Tucker Max on the Harvard Business Review website said that “people are far more motivated to help others when they feel uniquely qualified to do so.”

Show (not tell) the value

One great way to grab the recipient’s attention is to show them how your solution can help provide value. Get creative. Add a screenshot of their website/product or a short video that shows how they can benefit from using your product. Giving the value early in your outreach process shows that you value the lead’s time and they don’t have to hang with you in case they aren’t looking for a similar solution.

2. The cold email to get in touch with your competitors’ customers

To grow your customer base, you also need to get in touch with your competitors’ customers. Many businesses are dissatisfied with their current solution, and if you’re able to jump in and offer your solution at the right time, then there is an opportunity for a sale.

Here’s an example of an email our sales department representative sent out to one of our competitors’ customers.

Maintain a casual email tone

The tone of your cold email matters, especially when you are unfamiliar with the company and recipient. Using boring, rigid and sales-y language isn’t going to coax them to do business with you. Instead, use a casual and conversational tone to get them excited and interested in your solution.

What’s in it for them

Your email should clearly state the benefit the lead would gain by moving from your competitor. Tell them what makes you different and why should they opt for your solution. Share some materials to prove your point, but make sure you don’t come across as sales-y or too pushy.

3. The email to re-engage with prospects gone cold

There is nothing more frustrating for an SDR to watch a once-piping hot lead going cold as ice. You know the prospects are reading your emails, they are looking at your website (thanks CRM!), but for some reason, you can’t seem to get a response.

But hey, just because a promising prospect went cold on you don’t mean they are dead. You can always revive old opportunities by warming them up and putting them back into your sales campaigns.

Add a little bit of humor

Most people like laughing – so make them laugh! Add a meme or funny emoticons to crack them up. Adding a little bit of fun to your cold email isn’t going to hurt, and it almost always works.

Follow up till they respond

Not all cold leads are going to turn into hot customers. But as a sales development representative, you need to qualify or disqualify them as soon as possible. It’s not worth spending time on leads who are never going to become your customers.  

4. The cold email with social proof to win over prospects

Just by rattling about the benefits of your product isn’t going to entice prospects to spend their precious time with you. You need to build credibility with the prospect, for them to take you seriously and consider buying from you. And one of the ways to do that is by adding social proof in your cold email.

Keep it short and crisp

A long introduction, bragging about your company not only makes your email harder to read but also makes recipients lose interest faster. Instead get straight to the point and explain everything that you want in the first two sentences.  

Maintain an email structure

Your cold email should have a great opener, your objective, social proof and a call to action in separate paragraphs. If a paragraph exceeds more than 2-3 lines, break it up by using bullet points.

5. The cold email with useful (helpful) resources 

When you get emails from a stranger asking for your precious time, do you oblige? Well, in most cases, we don’t. That’s the case with your recipients as well, where you are the stranger to them.

So instead of always asking for the lead’s time, share some useful resources that will help them learn more about your solution. Send some of your best blogs that they can consume and also share on their social network. If they like what they see, they will also give you a time to call.

Share relevant content

These emails work because you are giving them the value even before they ask for it.

Leave communication open

In this case, you aren’t pushing for a sale or asking for their time. Instead, you are giving them an option to get in touch with you, which increases their desire to do.

6. The cold email with statistical information 

Sharing some helpful information about the prospect’s industry not only grabs their attention but also creates a hook to introduce your solution.

Use stats to get their attention

Using performance stats in your cold emails catches attention and creates an aura of authenticity. It also serves as a hook to introduce your solution.

Nail your CTA

When you end your email with “Are you free to talk next week?”, your prospects aren’t going look for a convenient date and time on their calendar to talk to you. Instead, make the decision a lot easier for them by giving them a specific date and time.  

7. The generic cold email template

Your outreach lead list not only has decision makers but also involves influencers and the ones below them. And when you send out emails to the latter group, you don’t necessarily have to hyper-personalize it.

Validate yourself

When you get emails from a stranger, you want to know who that person is and why they matter to you. Any form of social proof – a famous customer, an investor, or a mutual LinkedIn connection – helps to build your credibility and trust with the prospect.

Show you have the expertise

Listing out the customers who share similar persona, pain and priorities shows that you have the expertise and builds your credibility.

The sender name and subject line of your emails are the most important factors in getting them opened and read. Believe it or not, but this can make a huge difference.  Research from pinpointed marketing found that by using a specific personal name, rather than a general email address or company name, you can increase open rates by as much as 35%.

If you link to a video within your email, you can also include the word “video” in your subject line. It’s something we have tested and including the word video increased our open rates by 6%!

Improving your email open rates doesn’t require a lot of heavy lifting.

1. Invest in your subject line

Your subject line is one of the most important lines of your entire email. Similar to an article headline or the tagline of an ad, your subject line is meant to draw people in and get them interested in what you have to offer.

Generic subject lines like “April Newsletter” or “News from [Your Business]” probably aren’t going to cut it. Invest some extra time in your subject line before hitting send. Here are 5 ideas to help you get started:

• The question: Using a question in your subject line is a great way to make a more personal connection with the people viewing your emails.
• The command: Sometimes it pays off to be more direct with your audience as a way to get them to take action.
• The teaser: Believe it or not, people love cliffhangers. And if crafted correctly, the teaser tactic will pique interest and entice subscribers to read on.
• The list: Lists make it easier for people to consume the information you’re sending out. They also give you the chance to demonstrate your points in a more compelling way.
• The announcement: Subject lines don’t have to be complicated, especially if the goal of your email is to announce something new. Be straightforward about what your email is about.

2. Fix your ‘from name’

The from fields let readers know who an email is coming from. If you’re not thinking carefully about the information you put into these fields, you could be making it difficult for people to recognize your email when it lands in their inbox.

3. Find the best time to send

There are certain times of days when your readers are more likely to open and read your emails. One of the easiest ways to find the best time to send is to segment your list into 2-3 equally sized groups and send the same copy of your email during different times of the day (morning, afternoon, and evening).

To help you determine the best day/time to send, we analyzed a collection of Constant Contact customer mailings. You can use this chart to identify a good time to send, based on the results of others in your industry.

4. Get to know your audience

You may know and understand the needs of your customers, but how much do you really know about the people on your email list

Understanding your email audience is critical to getting the results you want from your email campaigns. When you learn more about your list, you can start to target your contacts with more relevant information.

Here are three ideas to help you do it:

• Survey: Send a short 1-3 question online survey to find out what topics your readers are interested in learning more about.
• Poll: Ask readers to take a quick, one question poll. You can add a poll right within your Constant Contact account.
• Reports: Use your click reports to see which links are getting the most clicks. You can also get a breakdown of who is clicking to read each piece of content.
• In-person: You’re interacting with customers every day. Get in the habit of writing down customer questions/feedback so that you can refer back to it when you’re stuck for email ideas.

5. Revisit your sign-up process

Successful open rates start the moment someone joins your email list. It’s your responsibility to make sure they understand what they’re signing up for, and then follow through with the expectations you have set.

Business is all about relationships: relationships with your customers, employees, manufacturers, distributors, influencers, and even your competition. You cultivate and develop those relationships through a wide variety of channels, such as social media, live events, paid advertising, and both cold and warm email.

But you not only have to maintain those existing connections, you also have to reach out and make new ones. Whether for expansion, rebranding, retention, or launching a new product or service, making fresh connections and forming new relationships consistently is key to business growth. And in order to do this successfully, you need the right tools in your arsenal.

Email Outreach in PR

The most important way to rise above the email masses – we send roughly 269 billion of them each day– is to make them personalized and individual. No one wants to respond to an email that was very clearly sent to dozens of other people too.

Next, answer a few questions about them: who are you pitching, what do they usually write about, what’s their most recent, relevant success you could mention, do you have an existing connection, and most importantly, Find out everything you can about them, their body of work, their readers, their publication, and so on.

The Perfect Pitch

Every good pitch has at least three things in common: a hook, a clear call to action, and an irresistible value proposition.

The Call-to-Action

Any email – or landing page or social media post, or whatever – has one specific action you want your reader to take. A pitch isn’t any different. Be clear and explicit on what you want your reader to do.

Value Proposition

The most important element of a successful PR pitch is the value prop. It’s here that you make clear why they should cover this story, how it connects to some larger topic or issue, and why it would benefit their readers, followers, and publication.

(Elite people)

I kept emailing Seth Godin. I would write this beautiful email – and he would write me back one line. At the time, I thought that was pretty rude. Now that I get over 1,000 emails daily, I understand the time demands Seth has. And I’m humbled he even sent me a response.

Today, I’m going to show you three steps you can use to make your email stand out in a busy person’s inbox so you get a reply. These strategies will make unreachable VIPs drop what they’re doing to respond to you.

Step 1: Focus on what’s in it for THEM

The person you’re trying to reach is busier, more important, and more successful than you. So you need to give them a reason to open your email. You need to make sure your subject line is engaging. Otherwise they’ll hit delete.

He not only complimented me, he shared the results he’s gotten from my advice. Everyone loves a genuine compliment. It shows that you’re familiar with their work. So before you even introduce yourself, compliment your VIP and their work.

Step 2: Make them care

Sometimes you might be fortunate enough to have a common connection with the VIP. If that’s the case, name drop so they know how you know them. In most other cases, you need to establish a common ground quickly.

You can set yourself apart from 99% of the crowd like         this by using the briefcase technique. This requires some homework. You need to know exactly what would benefit your busy VIP. You need to find out the problems they’re having that you can solve.

For example, say you notice they’re doing more video and you know a way they can improve them to get more subscribers. Tell them. In fact, go ahead and do it for them or if you’re a pro at SEO, identify ways they can improve their website and share that with them.

Step 3: Make saying “yes” a no – brainer

My reader put me in an interesting position. He knew I had a few projects I wanted to do but hadn’t made the time for yet. While you can tell he’s fishing for paid work, he counters by letting me know that be happy just for the opportunity to network and receive a little advice.”

Some people don’t have the time to hop on the phone or maybe they prefer replying by email. Either way, gives them immediate access to you. As a bonus, if you have a website to show samples of your work, include it. That’s additional proof that you’re the person to get these projects done.

Now here’s your challenge:

1. Brainstorm ONE busy VIP you’d love to contact, and then shoot them an email.
2. In the comments below, share your story and the response you got.

Get Big Wins with word-for-word email scripts you can start using now

When I was starting out, I would have killed for word-for-word email scripts proven to work. Today I want to give you some scripts I’ve developed so you don’t have to struggle like I did.

These scripts have worked for thousands of my students – people like you who know the importance of email and want to get it right. These scripts cover:

• How to set up an informational interview
• How to ask for recommendations for people to talk to
• How to cold email a stranger for advice
• How to write a pitch for a consulting gig or a job interview
• How to reach out to others in your company to get to know them

1. Find an uncommon commonality

The quickest way to win someone over is to show how much you have in common. That’s because we tend to trust those who are similar to us.

2. Highlight mutual connections

It’s a feeling that is all too familiar for anyone who has received an impersonated B2B sales email.

Mentioning a mutual connection in the body of your email is one way to avoid this unfortunate scenario. Because when it comes to valuing the opinions of others, we take cues from people take cues from people we already know and trust. It also shows that you’ve done your research and you mean business – literally.

How to personalize your emails using mutual connections

There’s a couple ways to go about this:

• Have your mutual connection send the email for you. Sign up for a tool like Conspire that analyzes your contact list to identify acquaintances who can introduce you to the person you want to reach.
• Reference their colleagues or other decision makers. This is great social proof that shows you’re being taken seriously by people they can relate to.

3. Send your email when it is most likely to be opened

Your customers might be early morning mobile reader,  or they might respond faster if you email them on a afternoon.. So, why not send your personalized emails at a specific time that will have the most impact.

4. Reference specific hiring pain points

Addressing someone’s specific pain points can be a powerfully effective way of writing personalized emails and earning their reply. That’s because pain motivates action even more than plessure.  To find what’s keeping your prospect up at night, look no further than their company Careers page.

How to Create Personalized Emails From Open Job Postings

Check the open job listings on your prospect’s company’s website to see if they’re hiring anyone who would use your product. These postings will tell you:

1.      The pain points that have prompted the company to hire additional resources.

2.      The title of the hiring manager, who will most likely be the decision maker you’re trying to reach.

Strike a chord by bringing up the issues that your prospect is experiencing, and then offer a more immediate solution than a new hire. Here’s how one Yes ware sales rep did just that (and got a reply).

5. Use their name more than once

“Few things light us up quite like seeing our own names in print or on the screen,” explains Copy blogger. Our name is tied to self-perception and our identity. Hearing it engages us. There’s actually science that backs this up.

6. Personalize with praise

Use compliments in your personalized emails to create subconscious, positive attitudes of you and your company. It works, even when a prospect recognizes it for what it is a sales tactic. Research shows that your prospect will still develop a positive attitude towards you.

Each template covers a specific part of the customer follow-up process, so you can choose the templates that best fit the needs of your business.

1. The ‘How Did We Do?’ follow-up email

Each time a customer contacts your support team, they expect a response.

So, it’s important that you solve their issue quickly and efficiently.

Once their issue has been solved, you can ask them how you did.

2. The ‘Survey’ follow-up email

A ratings scale is a great way to get high volume responses, but if you’re looking for more detailed feedback, you can include a link to a survey within the follow up email.

If you are unsure what to ask your customers in the survey, here are five example questions:

1. Are you happy with the service that we have provided?
2. Was the service knowledgeable and helpful?
3. Were you served quickly?
4. Did we meet your expectations?
5. What is the one thing we can do better?

 Google, Typeform and Survey Monkey all offer free tools, so creating a survey for your customers doesn’t need to be expensive.

3. The ‘Just Checking In’ follow-up email

This purpose of this email is to delight and surprise your customers.

Far too often, businesses sell a product and then leave their customers to it.

To create an even greater customer experience, include context by adding the product or service they’ve purchased within the email. which you can import directly from your CRM software.

4. The ‘Anything else?’ follow-up email

It’s common to solve an issue, but not hear back from the customer.

The “anything else” email acts as gentle reminder on the status of the conversation and is a great way to close off a conversation with a customer

This email should also state what will happen to their issue if the email is not responded to within a specific period.

5. The “Join us” follow-up email

One of our loyal readers, Lorie, left a comment asking me how she can follow up with a customer who has signed up to the freemium version of their product but has not yet subscribed to a paid plan.

6. (and 7.) The “Thank you” follow-up email(s) from Apple

Apple is renowned for being a customer service leader (scoring 93 out of a score from 100).

So, when I reached out to their customer service team recently I had high expectations.

1. Subject Line

Keep your sales email subject line short and enticing. Remember, the goal is to pique the interest of your reader, not to sound like a used-car salesman.

Here are some more discoveries Hupport made about email subject lines from a study conducted in 2014 using 6.4 million emails:

2. Opening Line

When it comes to your sales email’s opening line, avoid beginning with, “Hi my name is …”

Instead, start with something more impactful by talking to your reader.

3. Body Copy

Your sales email’s body copy should convey value by connecting your business to your prospect. Avoid generic value propositions such as, “We help web marketing firms increase their lead generation by 400% and effortlessly prove ROI to their clients.”

4. Closing

A strong close to your sales email gives recipients a clear path to action.

If you aren’t interested, do I have your permission to close your file?

5. Signature

A sales email signature should not be a distraction — nor should it be a source of cliché inspiration. Instead, stick to these email signature guidelines:

Keep it short, simple, professional, and on-brand.Include your phone number for contact purposes.Include a link to your online profile of choice — such as LinkedIn or Facebook — so recipients can connect with you.Avoid images and quotes entirely.