How To Write Prospecting Emails That Don't Suck
Six rules for standing out in a world of terrible outbound
It’s 2024. And there’s lots of debate going on about whether outbound sales is dead or not.
Here’s my take.
Outbound isn't dead. Your prospecting emails are just terrible.
Here are six rules for how to make them suck a little less.
The Outbound Email Rules
1️⃣ ANSWER ONE QUESTION PER EMAIL. Don't try to cram your whole pitch, company history, and value proposition into one email. Do some research on who you're selling to. Learn what specific question they're asking themselves as they learn about your category. Then answer that question. One at a time. (Note: This requires talking to actual human customers ahead of time and asking them what they were most curious about before they bought your thing. Yes, this is an extra step. No, you can't skip it.) If you’re just starting on a “make our outbound better” project, creating this question list should be your first step.
For reference, here’s a semi-scrubbed list of the big 5 “customer-in” questions we uncovered from a customer research project at a company of mine (the stuff in brackets has been genericized to protect the innocent).
Manual Workload Reduction: "How can SoftwareCo help reduce the manual effort required for [the type of work that we do]?"
[Stakeholder] Management: "How SoftwareCo ensure [stakeholder] compliance and streamline [stakeholder] communication?"
Data Management and Reporting: "What capabilities does SoftwareCo have for comprehensive data management and reporting?"
Integration with Existing Systems: "How does SoftwareCo integrate with my existing ERP / IT systems?”
Industry Updates and Adaptability: "How does SoftwareCo stay up-to-date with the latest industry changes?"
I bet you can imagine how you might build an outbound prospecting sequence by simply answering these questions, one email at a time. If you wrote those emails well and answered the questions clearly, I bet your prospects might think “Hey, those guys seem helpful and trustworthy and like they know what they are doing.” I am here to tell you that is exactly what you are going for. (Additional hint: Once you know what these questions are, make sure you are answering them with SEO-optimized content somewhere on your website. Read Marcus Sheridan’s They Ask, You Answer for more on how to do this well.)
2️⃣ CREATE A GIVE-TO-GET. Imagine I’m a prospect. Imagine I’m a skeptical prospect. Why would I take a demo or agree to a discovery call for your product? What am I going to get out of it? Skeptical or not, I guarantee that's what the person reading your email is asking themselves. So be clear about what they'll get from the half-hour they're gifting you. Is it perspective on their market? Stories about how other people in their seat solved a problem? Data on something they're interested in? What's in it for them? Tell them. Make this a good trade.
3️⃣ SOUND LIKE A REAL PERSON. Without even reading what you’re sending today, here’s my feedback: You're using too many buzzwords, too much jargon, and too much tech-speak. Write like you talk. Be clear. Whittle down what you're sharing to its cleanest version. A version that sounds like you - not the businessperson you are playing on TV. If you need help sounding like a real person, consider using the Hemingway app or running your writing through ChatGPT using some of these prompts. The more aerodynamic your writing is, the more persuasive it is. Minimize the drag.
4️⃣ MINIMIZE THE ASK. You're not going to close someone on a cold email. But you can ask them to agree to something small. Like to let you know whether they've heard of you, whether they're open to learning more, whether they want to see something specific, etc. Make the ask as small as possible. It makes for an easier yes.
5️⃣ TELL STORIES AND SHARE HELPFUL STUFF. Humans are suckers for social proof and interesting content. So... have you ever included any of that stuff in your prospecting? Are you sharing what you and your team have learned, or are you just doing your best to sound smart? Partner up with marketing and pull some data on the most downloaded content and most popular case studies you've put out there. Then pepper in some "no reply needed - just figured this might be interesting given what you seem to focus on" energy into your cadences. It breaks the cycle, adds value, and makes people more likely to respond.
6️⃣ READ IT OUT LOUD BEFORE YOU HIT SEND. Trust me. Most people don't. Avoiding the rough spots, misspellings, and cringe-worthy different fonts in what just might be your one and only chance to make a good first impression is worth the extra 30-second verbal patdown. Read it out loud. You'll catch things. (Or don't. But just know that your prospects will.)