Email Templates That People Actually Respond To

B2B professionals around the globe all experience the same gut-wrenching feeling of not getting responses, getting flagged as spam, getting rejected quite rudely, and ultimately not reaching quota. Writing sales emails is no easy task, mostly because email templates aren’t usually one size fits all. In this day and age there is so much noise out there that your emails are probably getting lost in a vast list of unread messages in your prospect’s inbox. In a world ever-changing and rapid, how do you catch people’s attention in under a minute? 

There is a fine line between sales emails that are ignored or sent to the trash (never to see the light of day again), and those that get opened and actually responded to. 

Experience and a lot of testing have shown us that it is possible to create emails that people actually resonate with and that will help you crush your sales quotas. 

You don’t have to figure it out alone, whether you’re starting off as a sales representative, looking to improve your game or providing your team with expert advice, we have your back! 

1st Touch

To increase your chances of getting a response, we highly recommend personalizing your first touch, which is why this is the only step of the cadence we’re going to leave up to you.

There are different levels of personalization, which will depend on various factors. When you’re reaching out at scale, it’s not feasible to write a highly personalized email for each prospect. If you tried to research and write to 80+ prospects in a day you’d never finish! 

A great way to decide which level of personalization you should go with when creating your email campaigns, is to segment your prospects according to their (possible) deal size.

Deal Size	Level of Personalization	Time Required
Small	Basic  {first name}, {company name}	< 30 seconds,  automated by your CRM.
Medium	Semi-Personalized	3-6 minutes
Large	Hyper-Personalized	10-20 mins,  (up to you how much time to spend vs. quality of the lead)

Follow-Ups

When sending sales emails (or any form of outreach messages), the follow-up sequence tends to get overlooked. Sales teams focus their efforts on producing a great first email, and follow-up emails quickly devolve into a trivial exercise.

In our many years of experience, we’ve found that there is no winning formula, like many people suggest. Outbound sales is a constantly changing game, and we can’t be so arrogant as to assume that we have the perfect and only working formula. And really, does anybody? 

As sales development evolves, the best way to learn what works and what doesn’t is to test and make incremental changes based on what performs best. As Justin Michael says, split test everything. 

That being said, here’s some personalizable templates we have had success with: 

Pre meeting (to avoid no shows)

Subject line: About tomorrow’s chat Hey {Lead: Name}, Looking forward to our chat tomorrow about {insert subject here}. You can join at {meeting time} via Zoom here –insert link-. If you get a chance, here are two posts I wrote which should provide you with some context for our call. 1. Article n1 2. Article n2 P.S. I know you’re crazy busy, so if things change I can work around your schedule. All the best,

Providing articles, videos, whitepapers

Subject line: Bite Sized News Hi {first_ name}, I read this recently and thought of you. Forgive me if it’s old news! {Name of Article/White Paper; hyperlinked} I’m sure you’re busy so I pulled out a few choice nuggets in case you don’t have time to read the whole thing: – {bullet one} – {bullet two} – {bullet three} Still hopeful to chat when the timing makes sense! Until then, I’ll keep checking in every so often. All my best, {sender.first_name}

When you have questions or want to clarify something before booking a meeting

{first_name}, Thank you for getting back to me! My colleague {Name of AE} would love to chat with you about {product or service we offer}.  Web sleuthing only uncovers so much… I have { # of questions} questions for you: {Question 1} {Question 2} Thanks in advance for the insight! I look forward to hearing back and getting some time for you and {Name of AE} to chat. {senders_first_name}

OBJECTIONS 

Making sure their objection is the real objection and not a smokescreen

Thanks so much for getting back to me, {first_name}! Never the answer I’m hoping for, but better than no answer at all Moving {objection} out of the equation for one second, what are your thoughts on {your product}? Best, {senders_first_name}

“Not interested at this time”

Thanks so much for getting back to me, {first_name}! Never the answer I’m hoping for, but better than no answer at all I know the holidays aren’t that far away and things are still pretty hectic in the {industry} world. I’ll keep my distance and plan to circle back in the New Year. In the meantime, you know where to find me if things change on your side! Until then, be well. {senders_first_name}

“Not right now. We’re in a good place”

Thanks for getting back to me and offering so much context, {first_name}! Sounds like you’re in a good place. If things change, you know where to find me. And if nothing else, I’ll check in again in a few months. All my best, {senders_first_name}

No SHOW 

When it’s a fresh no-show

Subject line:  When can we try again?   Hey {first_name}, We missed you {day and time of meeting}. I know meeting with new vendors doesn’t always live high on the list of priorities, but we’d still love a chance to connect with you. When can we try again? {sender.first_name}

OR 

Subject line:  When you come up for air Hey {first_name}, Missed you this {date and time}. Can’t imagine how slammed your inbox is. We don’t want to be a nuisance. But we’re excited to learn about your background and get to know you.  When can we try again?

As you can see from these examples, there are a number of different approaches you can take with your re-engagement strategy and a variety of use cases where they may be helpful. And while all these templates have been tested to work, we definitely  advise that you personalize it as you see fit to make it your own using your company’s voice. 

We have over 40 personalizable templates available that you can download for free here. 

The most important thing in this highly competitive world is action. You just need to take matters into your own hands, create your own possibilities, and be proactive. Whether it is your career or personal life, get going; take charge; make it happen; be proactive.

With this inspiration in hand, think about your audience/prospects and what just might be the perfect messaging or offer to rekindle the magic your relationship once had. Happy hunting!

If you need help getting your sales team off the ground, we can help – reach out to us!