3 Things You’re Doing Wrong With Your Cold Emails
By Andrew Patricio
November 20, 2017
Small Business & Entrepreneurship
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If you’re a small business owner who also acts as a sales person, you send out cold emails. We all know how difficult it is to get a response to cold outreach but increase your chances of success by avoiding these three things you’re doing wrong with your emails.
You Ramble
A colleague recently told me about the frequency of cold emails that are so ambiguous in their claims, she had no idea what they were selling. And without knowing the offering, she sends them to the trash folder. Is yours one of them?
Luckily, author Caroline Webb found a well-tested formula for crafting an impactful cold email. State your solution to a problem or pain and describe a future with your solution. In other words;
Close with a clear call to action (see below), and you have a clear, concise email that will make an impact.
You’re Not Specific With Your Ask
Let’s assume you know that every email needs a call to action (CTA). But if you’re using a CTA like, “I’d like to talk with you about XYZ”, you’re doing it wrong. People are busy, so you need to take the guess work out of your CTA by being as specific as possible. Instead of, “I’d like to talk to you.”, try instead, “Do you have 15 minutes on Thursday to talk?”
See the difference?
In the first CTA, your audience has no idea what saying “yes” means in terms of their time. And they know they’ll have to deal with two or three emails going back and forth to align schedules. Who has time for that for someone they don’t know? Being specific resolves these problems, making it as easy as possible for them to say, “yes!”
You Have Bad Timing
The importance of timing to a successful cold email can’t be understated. So how can you increase your chances of sending the right email at the right time? Sign up for the newsletter of your prospect and read their blog to give you a peak inside what they’re working on. That should be a good start to knowing when you can help and should reach out.
Let’s be honest; there are a lot of cold email guides online, but the truth is you just need to remember three things: keep it simple, make it powerful, make it urgent.
You Ramble
A colleague recently told me about the frequency of cold emails that are so ambiguous in their claims, she had no idea what they were selling. And without knowing the offering, she sends them to the trash folder. Is yours one of them?
Luckily, author Caroline Webb found a well-tested formula for crafting an impactful cold email. State your solution to a problem or pain and describe a future with your solution. In other words;
Solution + Problem or Pain + Future + Solution
Close with a clear call to action (see below), and you have a clear, concise email that will make an impact.
You’re Not Specific With Your Ask
Let’s assume you know that every email needs a call to action (CTA). But if you’re using a CTA like, “I’d like to talk with you about XYZ”, you’re doing it wrong. People are busy, so you need to take the guess work out of your CTA by being as specific as possible. Instead of, “I’d like to talk to you.”, try instead, “Do you have 15 minutes on Thursday to talk?”
See the difference?
In the first CTA, your audience has no idea what saying “yes” means in terms of their time. And they know they’ll have to deal with two or three emails going back and forth to align schedules. Who has time for that for someone they don’t know? Being specific resolves these problems, making it as easy as possible for them to say, “yes!”
You Have Bad Timing
The importance of timing to a successful cold email can’t be understated. So how can you increase your chances of sending the right email at the right time? Sign up for the newsletter of your prospect and read their blog to give you a peak inside what they’re working on. That should be a good start to knowing when you can help and should reach out.
Let’s be honest; there are a lot of cold email guides online, but the truth is you just need to remember three things: keep it simple, make it powerful, make it urgent.