Mastering Cold Outreach - Write Emails That Actually Get Responses
Aug 20, 2024
it's really easy to send a cold email. Stupidly easy, in fact. But getting someone to actually read it, care about it, and respond? Now that's a whole different ballgame.
I've been doing b2b sales for over 6 years now, and I've seen firsthand how most cold emails are just digital litter. It's not that cold outreach doesn't work! it's that most people are doing it all wrong.
So, I've come up with a system. It's not a magic bullet (those don't exist), but it's a way of thinking about cold outreach that actually makes sense. Here's the deal:
1. Figure out what you're really selling
Most companies think they know what they're selling, but they don't. Not really. You need to break it down:
What specific things do you offer?
Do these things save time, save money, or make money?
Which one of these might actually matter to the person you're emailing?
This isn't rocket science, but you'd be surprised how many people skip this step. Don't be one of them.
2. Make your offer unique (or at least sound unique)
Here's the thing: if you're offering the same thing as everyone else, in the same way as everyone else, why should anyone care? You need to create demand, not just try to capture it.
Instead of saying "We do SEO audits", try "We'll show you the three hidden factors tanking your search rankings". See the difference? One's a commodity, the other's intriguing.
3. Frame it right
Now that you've got something interesting to say, you need to say it right. There are a few ways to do this:
Quick and dirty: "Boost your email open rates by 25% in 30 days or less." Boom. Simple, clear, enticing.
Problem, then solution: "Is your sales team drowning in unqualified leads? Our AI can fish out the good ones." You're not just offering a solution, you're showing you understand their problem.
The freebie: "Grab our free guide: '10 Ways to Double Your Sales Pipeline Without Doubling Your Workload'." Give them something valuable upfront. It works.
4. Test, learn, repeat
Here's where most people mess up. They try something once, it doesn't work, and they give up. That's not how this works.
Start with your best guess at a good offer. If it flops, try something else. Maybe get creative:
"I know you probably get a million of these emails, but..."
"As an industry leader, I'd love your thoughts on..."
Keep tweaking, keep testing. That's how you find what works.
Look, at the end of the day, some stuff works out better than other stuff. That's just how it goes. But if you approach cold outreach this way, you're stacking the deck in your favor.
Don't obsess over "failure" or "success". Just keep moving forward, keep learning by doing, and remember: next time isn't that time again, it's a time that never happened before. That's your opportunity.
Now get out there and write some cold emails that people actually want to read.
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