For starters, let’s establish what a sales prospecting email is. To put it simply, it is a type of email that sales professionals send to prospects. In such emails, the sales professionals introduce themselves and the benefits of their product or service.
The main purpose of such an email is to secure a sales meeting with the prospect. During the meeting, the sales professional can further discuss the prospect’s needs and encourage them to make a purchase.
A good sales email consists of a few key elements.
The subject line is the first thing prospects see upon receiving a sales prospecting email. With that in mind, make sure that it is as attention-grabbing as possible without going overboard. In case you do not know where to start, have a look at our guide to writing catchy email subject lines.
To make a sales email stand out, personalize it. For instance, you could start referring to your prospects by their names. While it is not easy to do during a large-scale prospecting operation, it is definitely worth the effort. According to recent research, personalization can drive a revenue lift that can range from 5% to 25%.
Many people make sales emails overly complicated. Sure, you might be using your prospecting templates to reach out to high-level decision-makers and management, but it does not mean that you should make each message sound like an academic essay. In fact, you are much more likely to get your prospects to reply if you use simple language. You could also look into using a few email emojis if you feel like it!
If you want your prospects to respond to sales email templates, provide them with some kind of value. That way, you can position your product or service as a reasonable and convenient way to address their pain points. For example, your email templates could include a helpful piece of advice or a link to a guide you published on your company website.
Keep in mind that each prospecting email you send out has a life expectancy of mere seconds. Your prospects are busy people and do not have the time to spend half an hour on just one prospecting email. So, be concise and get straight to the point. Once you are done, remember to check what the sales message looks like on mobile. If it is a large and hard-to-read chunk of text, it will end up in the bin.
In sales operations, every single detail counts, including the call-to-action under each sales email. You do not want to leave your prospects confused as to what you expect them to do. Instead, you should make it very clear that you, for example, want them to book a discovery call. The call-to-action can help you do just that with ease and efficiency.
To start getting replies to the majority of cold emails you send out, you should be specific and succinct, as well as provide your sales prospects with genuine value. Follow the email templates listed below to see how it should be done. By using sales prospecting templates email marketing experts are using, you should start getting more responses in no time!
If you do not want to try anything risky, you could simply say who you are and what you do. The key here is to not overload your prospecting templates with too many details. You do not want the sales prospect to get overwhelmed. Aside from that, it is important that you circle back to the prospect’s goals and problems.
[First name of the prospect], here’s an idea for [pain point]!
While the first part of the sales prospecting template above is not focused on the recipient, it does address the said recipient’s pain points. It also includes social proof, as you mention how you helped the prospect’s competitor achieve great results.
Referencing company announcements in prospecting templates is also a viable option. The announcement could be about expanding and opening a new office, hiring a large number of people, or winning an award. What matters here is that it is positive and at least somewhat relevant to what you are selling.
[First name of the prospect], want to know how I helped [prospect’s competitor/similar company]?
Unlike the first template, the one here is all about the prospect.
First, you reference what the company the sales prospect works for has done and congratulate them on their success.
Second, you show the prospect how you can provide them with the resources they need.
Third, you use social proof to encourage them to set up a call with you. It is a very effective way to generate leads using email marketing, no matter what industry you work in.
Making the prospect feel appreciated and valued is yet another option you might want to try when using sales prospecting email templates. However, you need to keep two things in mind.
Firstly, do not go overboard. If you start praising your prospects too much, your templates will end up sounding fake.
Secondly, be specific. It will make what you are saying sound more genuine.
Your [post/article/video] was great!
Highlighting a particular point made in a post, article, or video the prospect has just published can help your templates to establish credibility and build rapport. It demonstrates that you have a real interest in your prospect’s work and the industry they work in. Next, offering a link to a recent case study or a testimonial video should help to pique the prospect’s interest in the solution you are selling.
If you are about to reach out to people who will expect you to provide them with genuine value, such as senior management or chief technology officers, you could opt for longer prospecting email templates. In them, you could share a few pieces of advice to build credibility.
Get rid of [pain point] TODAY!
Establishing that you work in the prospect’s industry and acknowledging a common pain point can help to demonstrate that you truly understand the challenges and needs of the prospect’s business. Quoting an impressive result hammers the point home. It proves that your solution can get the results that the prospect is looking to achieve.
In one of the sections above, we mentioned how it might be wise to reference your prospect’s social media activity. Using the prospecting template below, you can reference a recent LinkedIn post. While it is not the most creative way to start off an email, it is relevant and makes the entire message much more personalized.
Opportunity for [the prospect’s company] 👀
As you can see, this sales prospecting message is all about the prospect. It also provides the prospect with value, as you give them plenty of useful tips. What is more, you position yourself as an authority. You show the recipient that you have dealt with such a problem many times before and that you know what you are talking about.
Our next prospecting template begins by congratulating the prospect on their new role at their company. The email then mentions that the sender thinks they can help the prospect impress their superiors during their first few months in their new position.
[First name of the prospect], want to achieve [impressive result]? 👀
By including a list of impressive results in your prospecting emails, you get to demonstrate the value that you can bring to your prospects. This can be an effective way to persuade the prospect to take the next step and schedule a call or a meeting.
Do you have a mutual connection with the prospect? Better yet, did you meet up with that acquaintance in the past few months? If so, you could begin by mentioning a mutual connection in one of your prospecting templates. Afterwards, briefly describe what you specialize in.
[Mutual connection] said to reach out!
Remember to mention the prospect’s job title and a specific pain point it deals with. It allows you to build credibility. Meanwhile, offering to share some tactics the prospect might find useful positions you as an authority. You wouldn’t be offering to do that if you didn’t know what you were talking about, right? It shows the prospect you mean business.
Following up on sales prospecting emails is just as important as sending such emails out. It can help you make sure that the previous sales email you sent did not end up in spam. After all, your prospects are unlikely to be checking their spam folder. If you do happen to get a reply to a follow-up email, it is safe to assume that both of your prospecting emails landed in your sales prospect’s inbox, not their spam folder. Anyway, the key here is to be brief and get straight to the point. Here is what the first follow-up prospecting email might look like.
Did you see it?
If you do not get a response, you could send another prospecting email. When writing it, try to be more persistent and position yourself as an authority. Here, we referenced a relevant case study that shows off your expertise.
Let’s cut to the chase
📅 It is worth noting that the sales email template above includes a Calendly link.
It is a common time scheduling software that allows people to book meetings in other people’s calendars. With its help, you can streamline the process of setting up meetings.
Since it prevents sales prospects from having to waste time on finding a calendar slot that suits you both, it makes them much more likely to get in touch with you. As a result, it can make your email marketing and sales prospecting efforts much more effective.
You have just learned what sales prospecting email templates are the best. Now, it’s time for you to learn how to make them better. Here are three simple tips for making your prospecting email templates as effective as possible!
While writing sales email templates, you might feel tempted to boast about how great your company is and how it’s the best in the entire industry. It will make the prospect feel like working with you is definitely worth it, right? Wrong. Your prospects do not care about you. So, make it about them! Use second-person singular, ask them direct questions, say how much you have loved their recent social media post. It is the easiest way to increase your odds of getting a reply.
Social proof is an interesting phenomenon where people copy the actions of others to display correct or accepted behavior. It might not seem like it, but you can use it to get more responses to your email marketing templates. For example, you could say that the prospect’s main competitor in the industry is using your services to improve their lead generation efforts. It will make your prospect feel like they are missing out on something great and prompt them to send a reply.
If you want to use your templates to connect with a prospect on a more personal level, you might want to check out their LinkedIn profile. Then, you can, for instance, reference their LinkedIn activity in your message. It is a perfectly fine way to write an effective prospecting email. However, it can quickly get weird if you start stalking their private accounts in search of personal details about their life. Referencing things such as the prospect’s relationship status on Facebook in a prospecting email will make you look strange and probably cause you to get blocked.
If you want a prospecting email outreach to be as successful as possible, you need to pay attention to quite a few things. The time and day of the week are among the most important ones out of the bunch. Sending marketing emails out at the wrong time can have a negative impact on the results a sales email brings.
According to research based on email tracking data from our customers, emails sent on Tuesday have the highest open rates. As for the time of day, it appears to be sometime in the evening. In case you would like to know more, check out our article on the best time to send emails.
First, focus on addressing the prospect’s goals and priorities. Show them that you care about them and their success. Second, remember to craft a catchy subject line and include a short call-to-action at the end of the message.
When sending out sales emails, you could make use of some of the following prospecting templates:
