Cold Emailing: Mastering the “Lost Art” of Personalized Outreach

Cold Emailing: Mastering the “Lost Art” of Personalized Outreach

Cold emailing is an essential part of the outbound sales operations process, as it is the number one channel for engaging potential clients. Crafting an effective cold email takes strategy, personalization, and a clearly identified value proposition. It is important to remember, the primary goal of sending an email is to get a response.

To better understand how you can improve your cold emailing strategies, here is a six-step process we have crafted using our own experience and insights from Joshua Garrison’s novel, Outbound Sales:

1. Personalize the Email

Company executives have no interest in reading a simple “copy and pasted” email. Personalized emails have much higher engagement rates, as they demonstrate that you’ve done meaningful research. Many executives will not even look at a marketing email unless it is personalized and relevant to them. By mentioning something that is specific about the recipient you’re writing to, you exponentially increase your reply rates. This shows that you're reaching out to them, not just a list of leads. Although time-consuming, personalization is well worth the effort, especially for upper-tier prospects.

2. Craft an Engaging Subject Line

The odds are that company executives have a long list of emails to go through daily, so you need a first impression that catches their attention. A subject line should be concise, engaging, and relevant to the recipient. Keep it short and to the point—no one wants to read a subject line longer than a short sentence. Additionally, to enhance sales operations, it’s important to add some level of personalization within your subject line to truly captivate your recipient.

3. Uncovering Your Recipient’s Pain Points

To maximize your recipient’s interest, take the angle of identifying a problem in their company and offering a solution. This approach increases relevance and helps the prospect realize that they may need your product or service more than they initially thought. Many successful RevOps consulting professionals use this method to position their solutions effectively.

4. Keep It Short and Clear

People are busy, and long emails are often ignored. The key is to get to the point quickly—introduce yourself, explain why you’re reaching out, and clearly state what action you want the recipient to take. Ideally, your cold email should be no longer than 3-4 short paragraphs. Short, impactful messaging is crucial in Revenue Operations Consulting, where efficiency and clarity are key.

5. Call to Action

End your email with a clear and concise call to action. This could be scheduling a meeting, having a brief conversation, or even just replying to your email for more details. Be specific about what you want the recipient to do next and make it as easy as possible for them to take that step. A strong RevOps strategy incorporates actionable steps in every outreach effort.

6. Follow Up

It is inevitable that you won’t get a response to every cold email you send, so following up is a critical part of the game. For your follow-up email, briefly touch on what you discussed in your first email in a more condensed manner. Avoid unnecessary recaps and get straight to the point. Asking a direct question that requires a quick “yes” or “no” is the most effective way to prompt a response and gauge a prospect’s interest. This is a key practice in lead generation and sales automation workflows.

All in all, shooting out cold emails can be a timely and humbling experience. However, by following this six-step plan, you can certainly optimize your results and you are guaranteed to see some future success out of this cold emailing strategy.