In B2B sales, the effectiveness of your initial cold outreach email sets the tone for what could be a fruitful conversation. The ideal sales email generates interest, keeps the prospect engaged, prompts them to commit to next steps, and encourages them to want to complete a purchase.
In this article, we focus on addressing the following questions every salesperson should ask themselves, their mentor, or their manager:
- How do I write a sales email?
- What is a good subject line for a sales email?
- How do I write a sales email template?
Let’s take a look at what goes into effective B2B sales emails, from the subject line to the body content.
Do You Need to Know How to Write a Cold Email for Sales?
There are two important assumptions for every cold email.
- You haven’t previously connected with the prospect.
- They’ll need a good reason to want to participate in the conversation.
Each morning, people wake up to an inbox flooded with new messages. Throughout the day, more emails trickle in. To cut through the noise, you need to understand how to write a B2B sales email that will grab your prospects’ attention and prompt them to respond.
The best cold sales emails include the following:
- A clear understanding of that customer’s pain points.
- A brief mention of your proposed solution to catch their interest.
- A bold statement about the potential impact you can drive.
- A clear next step, whether it’s scheduling a call or signing up for a free demo.
First, start by writing a draft with key talking points for each of these items. Then, trim any unnecessary details so your pitch is succinct, but still compelling. Finally, edit it again so that it delivers a cohesive message.
Generally, sales teams measure the effectiveness of their sales emails by calculating their response rates and comparing that data against department-wide benchmarks. Another way you can evaluate the strength of your cold email is by analyzing your sales cycle length and opportunity win rate. The perfect cold email for B2B sales expedites the sales process and facilitates higher conversions.
What Are the Most Effective Subject Lines for Cold Emails?
To make sure a prospect opens, rather than overlooks, your email, you need to craft compelling email subject lines for sales. This will help you compete against the other unread emails your recipients have in their perpetually crowded inboxes.
Here are a few important tips to keep in mind.
- Typically, numbers are easier to process and are more attention-grabbing.
- Surprising or unusual statements work, too.
- Other elements you can use are curiosity and urgency.
- Say exactly what your prospect needs to hear in under 70 characters to prompt an open.
What are the best B2B email subject lines? One way to determine the answer is by reading hundreds of email subject lines written by other salespeople. Scan your own inbox to find sales email examples and subject lines that inspire you. Sign up for email newsletters from service providers, request product demos from SaaS companies, and subscribe to promotional updates from ecommerce stores. Automatically filter them into a separate folder, instead of letting them sit in your inbox, so important messages don’t get buried. Reference that folder when you want new ideas for ways to improve your sales copy and subject lines.
Remember, since the recipient doesn’t know you, you need to give them a reason to engage. Another potential way to encourage more opens is by mentioning a topic that could be a sensitive talking point for them: their competitors. Name other companies in their industry to trigger their curiosity. When you do this, make sure the copy within your email mentions those same competitors again in a way that makes sense.
You should also frequently test new subject lines to trial more ways to improve your open rates. Plus, you might find that your earlier subject lines start to go stale. Use different keywords and phrases to keep your pitch fresh and relevant for your audience.
Here’s How to Draft Effective Sales Email Templates
For salespeople, every quarter feels like a race to meet their quota. Good sales email templates help streamline the outreach process so you can pitch more potential buyers faster and more effectively.
A few important considerations include:
- How long should a sales email be
- How to open a sales email (aka your opening line)
- How to add a personal touch with sales emails
- How to close a sales email
Data and experts suggest the ideal sales email is brief: under 200 words. In most cases, you should also keep the content above 50 words in order to deliver an adequate amount of substance within your introductory email.
To start, open the email by using their name. Next, ask a question about a specific pain point you believe they face, followed by data to support your hypothesis. Then, introduce your solution, along with why it might be a good fit for the customer.
To further personalize the email, share an estimate regarding the potential impact your solution may have on their business. This highlights the value they can expect and makes them want to learn more.
The best way to close the sales email is by offering clear next steps, such as scheduling a phone call or an online demo of the product, or signing up for an account.
When you include each of these elements in your sales email template, you increase your chances of receiving a positive response. For salespeople who target clients in different industries or offer an assortment of products and services, it’s important that you also create unique sales email templates for each customer segment. This allows you to further personalize your pitch so that it resonates with your audience.
Templates can be used for follow-up sales emails, too, but as the relationship with a potential customer grows, your use of templated emails will decrease. Each follow-up email should be even more personalized, leaving less room for templates and more room for your personality and relationship-building skills.
Finally, like with subject lines, you’ll want to develop and test new sales email templates. There’s almost always a more effective way of communicating the value you have to offer, so you need to try new ways of accomplishing that.
How to Further Enhance Your B2B Sales Email Strategy
After you’ve drafted and tested several B2B sales emails, you’ll identify the ones that are most likely to create more sales qualified leads and, ultimately, sales. As you scale your sales strategy and team, technology will also play a key role. The right tools will help you save time, minimize errors, and audit your results.
Look into employing tools to send automated — but personalized — emails to sales prospects and leads. When you customize these platforms to meet your company’s particular needs, you’ll find it easier, faster, and more effective to engage customers and walk them through each step of the sales funnel.
Closing Thoughts
The perfect B2B sales email requires empathy toward a customer’s pain points, a description about potential solutions, data to help support your claims, and a strong call to action that will inspire prospects to seek more information. Once you’ve landed on the right sales email, use it for a majority of your cold outreach.
Just remember to analyze the impact your subject line and email content has on your overall sales performance, and to regularly update your pitch so it’s relevant to your audience when they receive it. That way, you increase your chances of moving more prospects downstream toward a successful conversion.
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