Are sales emails dead? 😱
Well, the short answer is no.
The long answer is that there were over 3.9B email users in 2020, and this figure is set to rise to 4.3B by 2023. So, if you’re not using email, you’re likely missing out on a large portion of your Total Addressable Market.
293 billion emails are sent every day. Prospects spend over six hours a day in their inbox.
Keep scrolling 👇 to learn more about how to crush it with a highly targeted sales email campaign. You’ll learn how to:
Write killer subject lines | How to open your sales email | How to write a winning sales pitch | How to close your sales email | What to avoid |
To get you all the tips and tricks you need, we spoke to a couple of Cognism experts:
- Jonty Jewels, Sales Development Rep (SDR)
- Ilse V Rensberg, Copywriter.
Let’s dive in and get your emails to convert!
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Why you need sales emails in 2021📧
Email is still a vital component of selling.
It’s a free-to-use,non-invasive form of cold outreach, setting it apart from other tactics like cold calling.
Email allows you to engage with your audience on a deeper level and has a greater reach, personalisation, and content value than other channels; and typically has the highest ROI.
Email also:
- Delivers your messages (90% of emails get delivered to the intended recipient).
- Drives conversions (The average click-through-rate is 3.34%).
- Is an open platform (It’s not owned by a particular entity).
- Will likely be around forever (R.I.P MySpace).
The relevance of email is called into question year after year, however, the stats show that email is bigger than ever in 2021.
Why? 🤔
21% of emails are opened within an hour of receiving them. It’s an incredibly effective channel for outbound lead generation (85%), sales (84%), lead nurturing (78%), and customer retention (74%).
It seems safe to say that you NEED to use email in 2021.
But, where do you start? We’ve got you covered.
Here’s what you need to bear in mind if you want to create email outreach that will convert. 👇
How to write a killer subject line 🔪
When prospects are inundated with emails all day, do you really think they’re going to open all of them? 🤔
Probably not. So, how do you make your emails stand out? By grabbing your reader’s attention as soon as they scan their inbox.
“I like to keep it simple, make it relevant, and concise.” – Jonty Jewels
Your first goal is to create curiosity and personalisation, so you need to attract enough interest for the prospect to open the email, says Jonty.
Subject lines that really worked for him include:
“New year, new goals Dave?”
Or when he’s been chasing someone for a while, “Break up email Michelle”.
Digital 2060 expands on Jonty’s point. Here are some great angles to take in order to kill it with your subject lines:
- A no-nonsense subject line
- Be shocking or controversial
- Personalise the subject line
- Use a numbered list subject line
- A time-sensitive subject line
Still stuck with a subject line? Try some of these.
How to open a sales email 📂
Be impactful.
“The opening line is key as the prospect will see this before opening the email, and if you happen to mention something from their profile, this will immediately draw their attention.
Remember, you’re talking to your reader, not at them.
“Greet your prospect in the opening line and follow with some form of personalisation, without mentioning anything about your product or solution. This way, they will see that this email was meant for their inbox instead of just a generic ‘Hi There’.” – Jonty Jewels
How to write a winning sales pitch ⚾
This is the hardest part of your sales email campaign, and you’re most likely overthinking it.
Jonty follows a “WIIFT” process.
“What’s in it for them?”
“In an email, you want to be leading with value AND solution selling the whole time.” – Jonty Jewels
Here are two fantastic examples Jonty uses that really work! 👇
- Salesperson to salesperson and SaaS company to SaaS company, I can see you’re targeting the financial services and computer software industries. Would it be beneficial for your team of 4 SDRs to generate direct contact details of key decision-makers in those industries?
- In your recent LinkedIn ad, you mentioned the importance of PPC when it comes to marketing in conjunction with sending mass cold emails. Would it be beneficial to have compliant verified emails to increase matched audiences & ensure marketing content is being delivered to the relevant individuals?
How to close a sales email 🌂
If you can’t get your prospect to move forward with you and seal the deal, you’re just going to come crashing down. After all, that is the goal of your cold outreach, right?
The closing of your sales email is incredibly important. Keep it simple and be clear as to what you want the next steps to be.
You must have a clear CTA. It increases the rate of receiving a response. Here are Jonty’s suggestions:
- Would it be a silly idea to discuss this over a virtual coffee for 5-minutes Sarah?
- My director has availability on Thursday & Friday. We could show you how this all works & integrates with your CRM over a 15-minute screen share?
The key is to leave the ball in their court and ask a simple question that can be answered with “yes” or “no”.
Sales email mistakes: what to avoid 🙅♀️
Wondering why your emails aren’t working even though they’re highly targeted?
You might be making some mistakes.
Here’s what Jonty says you should avoid:
- Creating subject lines longer than four words
- Long-winded emails where you find yourself repeating things. NEVER REPEAT.
- Lines such as, “Does that make sense? ” or ” I hope to show you next week sometime.”
- Forgetting to segment the email. Make it clear and easy to read.
Ultimately, you should read the email yourself and think “If I were the person receiving this email, what would my thoughts be?”
Jonty’s winning cadence 🥇
Here’s the email that got Jonty an exceptional number of wins.
Hi {{FIRST_NAME}},
Great to see that you are always looking for new ways to scale marketing!
You mentioned you were currently doing a lot of PPC & that verified email addresses would be beneficial in terms of generating business on behalf of clients.
Cognism is an in-house platform that you can use to generate direct contact details of key decision-makers you are looking to target. Using the platform you can filter based on job titles, industries, locations. company size & live events triggers indicating optimal times to reach out.
We have numerous clients similar to you using our data to generate business for themselves & for their clients with the added benefit of increasing matched audiences through online adverts.
If you could point me in the right direction of the best person to speak with, I would be happy to show you all how this works & integrates with all major CRMs?
Please see our reviews as I am a firm believer that the proof is in the pudding – here.
I look forward to hearing back from you,
Need more tips? 🧮
Still not sure why you’re not cracking it with your sales outreach?
Ilse suggests:
- Writing how you speak – make your emails sound as natural as possible.
- Using merge fields for personalisation, but avoid titles because not all titles are accurate.
- Using words like “you” and “your team” rather than “we”, “me”, “I”, and “they”.
- Leveraging sensory language in your writing by getting prospects to picture the possibilities of your product or service.
- Separating the information you want your prospect to receive into four sections that will later become four emails
- Addressing your prospect’s pain points
- If you’re writing for different countries, use Grammarly to change between US English and UK English
To sum up 🔚
Email is alive and well in 2021, and in fact, it’s bigger than ever.
If you’re not using email in your sales outreach, you’re most definitely missing out on a huge number of potential customers.
But you can’t send an email for the sake of it. The structure of your emails, the words you choose to use, and the message you convey are all key to targeting the right people and getting them to convert.
Always remember to create short subject lines that are relevant and will pique your reader’s interest. Be impactful in the opening of your email and don’t mention anything about your product or solution.
Your sales pitch should lead with value and sell your solution the entire time, emphasising what the reader will get out of your solution or product. Your closing should have a clear CTA and shouldn’t leave the reader confused in any way.
Avoid long-winded emails, repetition, and using words like “I”, “we”, and “they”. Always address your prospect’s pain points, and always, ALWAYS proofread your emails.
It’s really not a lot to do. Stick to these steps and you’ll see your conversions skyrocket. 🚀
