[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he automation and simplicity of email marketing has made it easier for businesses to make sales to a wider audience more than ever before. However, its simplicity can be deceptive as it requires employing certain techniques in order to make headway. Similar to cold calls, cold email can be used to prospect sales and gain new customers. There is a right and a wrong way to send cold emails to achieve success. Here are the steps to take for successful cold email that translates to sales.
1. Using A Catchy Subject Line
The subject for a cold email should be descriptive and clear so that the recipient immediately ascertains the content and nature of the email. It is important to avoid making the subject line boring. To get the recipient to open the mail and read it, the subject line should be creative and provide a promise of a benefit. For instance a subject that says “Here are the 7 Success Tools to Grow Your Business” is a better subject line than “Buy Things That Can Help Your Business”. It is always best to ensure that the cold email’s headline is catchy, descriptive, and explains in a few words the benefit to the reader.
2. Using a Formal Tone
The email should employ a business-like formal tone which is friendly but professional. The recipient will get the impression that the content of the email is useful and relevant, and that the sender knows what he or she is talking about. An overly friendly tone may be offensive to some recipients. The use of jokes and wittiness may also fall flat, thereby jeopardizing the whole sales opportunity.
Check out a great article with 8 sales tips at SaaS sales.
3. Using Proper Grammar, Spelling, Capitalization and Punctuations.
A formal email in English should obey the conventions of Standard English. The cold email should obey language rules and apply proper punctuation, capitalization, and use proper grammar. A poorly written email with errors and typos comes across as spam and can put the recipient off. Therefore it is worth taking the time to compose a well written email to prospect sales. There are now writing software available to help writers check correctness before sending.
4. Using Clear, Short, and Punchy Paragraphs
Paragraphs in a cold email should be short, clear, and to the point. As a rule the first paragraph should provide some sort of introduction. The second and third paragraphs should each present a single idea. The fourth paragraph should be the conclusion and call to action. Each paragraph should be short, to the point, and easy to read.
5. Using a Professional Email
The email address of the sender of a cold email matters. In recruitment, candidates are told to use professional email addresses and avoid playful emails like [email protected] or [email protected]. Rather an email address used for formal email such as cold email should be serious and professional sounding like [email protected] or [email protected]. A recipient makes a value judgment by looking at the email address of the sender.
Therefore best practice would be to create a professional sounding email address using your company’s email. For cold email it is best to avoid using free email services like gmail and yahoo where possible.
ALSO READ: Give Your Email Marketing Campaign A Boost
A Useful Template
Research shows that the most successful cold emails are those that follow the tips above, an in addition offers the recipient something they want, and makes them want it. That requires sending cold emails to the right audience. For instance, a cold email selling software solutions for financial management should be sent the people who need it or are likely to use it. Below is a template that is effective:
———————————————
Hello Leo,
I am NAME from BUSINESS (insert business name and a one line description of what solution the business offers). I know that as a (INSERT PROFESSION OR JOB) organizing your finances in a manner that allows you make the right decisions today that will continually build your wealth can be tough. That is why we created the right software for people like you.
The software will not cost you anything. All you need to do is create a profile on our website (insert website link) and download the software.
If you have any questions you can email me or (INSERT A MEANS WHERE THE RECIPIENT CAN CONTACT THE COMPANY).
To find out more about our software and how it can help you manage your finances and build your wealth, visit (INSERT LINK).
——————————————–
This template can be expanded and customized to fit any scenario.
Ensure that all your links are working and you should be ready to respond promptly to replies and follow up emails.
To successfully follow up on response and turn them into buyers, these are the steps to follow.
1. Create an Effective Follow Up Funnel
When you send out the first set of cold email, you do not keep bombarding your entire list with the same cold email over and over. The next stage is to decide when to send a reminder email and how many times. Too few times and you may have missed viable sales opportunities. Too many times and recipients can mark your email as spam.
Reminder emails should also be well crafted to contain all relevant information that can enable the recipient take the desired action. When you do get responses, you should place them in the sales funnel and deal with each response or enquiry appropriately.
2. Use Email Segmentation
You are likely to get better sales conversions when you segment your recipients who respond into the specific services or products they inquired about, and follow up from there. In addition to segmenting based on the services or products, also segment based on the stage of the sales process. You should have different stages and a responder who falls into stage two should not receive communications meant for someone who is in stage four or the final stage before a purchase is made.
Cold email can be an effective and viable means of communicating with prospective buyers but doing it professionally can make the difference between success and failure.
