There's a single purpose behind every sales email, whether it's a prospecting email, follow-up email, or a breakup email. Mr Michael Pici, Director of Sales at marketing firm Hubspot, shares tips in writing a sales email that people will respond to.
Mr Pici summarizes the basic formula for a great sales email as follows:
- Personalized subject line
- Prospect's name
- Opening line about the prospect
- Thought-provoking or unexpected question
- Well-crafted email signature
Do effective research
He advises taking five to 10 minutes to research your prospect for more details, such as via searching their name on Google, browsing their social media profiles, and checking out their company website.
Along the way, find a solid reason to contact them. Can you reference a recent trigger event? Do you have any mutual connections? What can you infer from the pages they visited on your site, if applicable? This context allows you to write a personalized, timely email.
Write a sales email subject line
The subject line of your sales email will determine whether your prospect decides to read it. The most successful email subject lines foreshadow the value you’ll provide in the email itself. If the buyer believes they’ll gain insight, competitive intelligence, or resources from reading your message, they’re guaranteed to open it. Here are some examples:
- [Prospect name], question for you re: [topic]
- [Mutual connection] suggested I say hi
- Strategies for achieving [result they want]
- How are you [leveraging, responding to] [recent trigger event]?
- Question about [prospect’s goal]
- Just read your post on [topic], and …
- Have you considered [idea or strategy]?
Words to Avoid in Your Sales Email Subject Line
Avoid “salesy” words, which will make your message look like a promotional mass marketing email rather than a tailored, one-off email. Examples of such "salesy" words to avoid are “final”, “reminder”, “state-of-the-art”, “exciting”, “discount, etc.
A good sales email opening line
Getting your prospect to open your email is the first hurdle. But prompting them to reply is just as important and even more difficult. Begin by talking about yourself, your company, or your offering, and they won’t even read the second line. The same is true for generic statements that could apply to anyone.
Mr Pici's advice is that to catch your prospect’s attention and show them you’ve done your homework, try one of these subject lines:
- “Congratulations on [recent company announcement] -- that’s exciting considering [reason announcement is notable].”
- “I read your [blog post, tweet, LinkedIn comment] about experiencing [X].”
- “[Mutual connection] mentioned … ”
Mr Pici says that one should use the main portion of your sales email to add value and demonstrate your expertise. The worst thing you can do is launch into your sales pitch as it is too early in the conversation to start hard selling. Instead, ask a thought-provoking or unexpected question to get the buyer’s mental gears turning and give them a powerful incentive to respond.
Example of sales email questions to ask prospects:
- “In light of [fact or statistic], what’s your strategy for [business area]?”
- “Are you interested in learning how [company in prospect’s space] achieved [X results] by [doing Y]?”
- “Have you considered making [X change]?”
- “Do you know how [new legislation, industry change] affects you?”
- “How do you plan on responding to [new legislation, industry change, competitive move]?”
- “I’ve put together a report on your company’s [business area, strategy, potential opportunities in X]. Would you like to see it?”
- “Do you have any unanswered questions about [topic]?”
- “Was doing X your idea?”
If possible, end your sales email there. The ideal length is five sentences (or less) as many prospects check their inboxes on their phones, meaning a long email will be visually overwhelming. Plus, the shorter your message is, the easier it will be for them to reply.
An email signature can enhance your credibility, give your prospect a chance to learn more about you, and help you promote your latest blog post or company case study -- but only if it’s well-designed.
The most important rule to go by: Your email signature shouldn’t be a distraction. A good email signature should be:
Short: You should be able to see the entire signature without scrolling.
Simple: Use plain text and neutral colors.
Strategic: Include your contact information, links to your most active social profiles, and optionally, a recent blog post, customer story or testimonial, product or company award, or upcoming event you’re attending. Make sure these details are always up-to-date.
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