How to get a 92% open rate:

You think it’s not true, right? Maybe because of the fad that has been around that cold outreach is dead. But, when 59% of marketers trust emails for lead generation, we know this type of lead generation WORKS!

Why? Here’s an example of an agency building a $400K business in 30 days using cold outreach. Meticulously planned email templates winning 16 new B2B customers and email marketing boasting of a mighty 4200% ROI ($42 for every $1 spent). Hence, proved.

But it’s not just a random chance that cold outreach generated these results. At SBR we would love to show you how the magic is done! After reading this blog, you’ll know:

• What not to do when sending outbound messages.
• A sequence with a 92% open rate!
• A checklist for your next cold outreach campaign.

What is an email sequence?

To use outbound messaging for lead generation, sending a single email won’t do. So, you have to think of a long-term strategy. That means sending a series of interlinked emails, each triggering your prospect to reply. These are also called drip outreach campaigns.

A chain of messages, automated and triggered based on the prospect’s behaviour, sent in pre-set time intervals or based on a response – these form a drip sequence.

But first…

Here’s what you should NEVER do

Source

Let’s break down what doesn’t work:

1. “We understand the value of your business and its requirements” – This introduction is vague and seems like it has been copied in every email.
2. “We are the top 25 consultants…” – No proof. How can the prospect believe the claim without seeing any link? And it’s irrelevant as the mail hasn’t addressed any pain points.
3. “70 professionals who are deals in” – Grammatically incorrect. Unforgivable.
4. “Please feel free to let us know if you are looking for either of these services.” — Unconvincing and overused. And ‘let us know’ is a passive call to action. Refrain from using that in emails…
5. The missing why – It does not give a reason why the prospect should be interested in their product, thus, failing on multiple levels.

An example of what works!

Source

Use the AIDA rule (attention, interest, desire, action)

1. “Did you know your website isn’t visible on Google’s first page of search results…” – The subject and first line are compelling and personalised to the prospect who will relate to the issue (attention).
2. “This problem could be due to several reasons.” – Addresses the pain point and piques interest. This is also supported by relevant stats to build trust (interest).
3. “So your budget is free to focus on other avenues like video customer testimonials, and new product lines.” – That’s quite a promise! 🤝 It gives a solution to an impending problem, thus, generating a need to buy the product (desire).
4. “Hit reply for your free website audit report.” – The CTA is convincing, powerful, and sure to induce a response (action).

Now, here’s an example of a super-successful outreach sequence: Click here to see the full detail

An example goal

We’re into the business of scouting clients for companies, so we decided to target companies currently hiring for Business Development related positions. We wanted to reach out to the C-suite, MDs and Heads of BD/Sales.

Companies ranged from mid to large corporations at the likes of Tencent, Citibank, Mercer Randstad, DBS Bank, Mastercard, The Economist and more.

An example strategy

1. Identify prospects
2. Use LinkedIn to identify companies hiring actively for salespeople / BDs.
3. Extract different data points (FirstName, CompanyName, JobTitle, JobURL, Email, LinkedIn URL…) and compile them together.
4. Used the extracted data to compose a personalised outreach sequence for lead generation.
5. Create a campaign (Total Duration = 19 days)
6. Visit LinkedIn Profile.
7. Send email (immediately after the previous step).
8. Send first follow-up email (2 days later).
9. Visit LinkedIn profile again (2 days later).
10. Send a LinkedIn connection request (1 day later).
11. Send an email (2 days later).
12. Send a follow-up email (4 days later).
13. Send a LinkedIn message (2 days later).
14. Send another email (2 days later).
15. Send last email (4 days later).

Visit LinkedIn profile

Start the outreach by automatically visiting a given prospect’s LinkedIn profile. We call this an “outreach warm-up”.

Why? Because this gives a chance to be recognised by a prospect when you land in their inbox.

Email #1

For the first email, send a picture of yourself with a personalised message.

Why? Because it’s unique and shows personality. You show that you really care for the business (and that you can personalise your emails, and therefore your offering.

Email #2

Send 2 days after the previous mail. A simple email with very few words.

Why? You don’t want to put too much pressure on your prospect. And you do not want them to read a tsunami of words, especially if they didn’t read the previous email.

Visit LinkedIn profile #2

2 days after the follow-up mail. Automatically visit a prospect’s profile when they haven’t responded.

Why? Because it reminds the prospect that you’re keen to connect, without being pushy.

LinkedIn connection invite

Send 1 day after the profile visit. Add a note to the connection request.

Why? You’ve sent 2 emails already. If the prospect missed it, you can use LinkedIn on top of emails to create another touchpoint to reach prospects.

Email #3

Send 2 days after the previous invite. Try a different approach like connecting over a virtual coffee ☕️

Why? This triggers a different reaction. Humour the prospect even when they don’t reply. Also give a subtle, easy CTA with a calendar link to make it seamless for the prospect to schedule a call.

LinkedIn message

Send 2 days after the previous mail. Keep it short, simple, and sweet.

Why? It’s about reminding the prospect that you’re waiting for their response.

Email #4

Send 2 days after the previous LinkedIn message.

Why? Along with our service offering, focus on how it could benefit the prospect and put a unique spin on it. Ended with a CTA that you have already begun work i.e. have a solution for them ready to trigger a response.

Email #5

Send 4 days after the previous mail. This is the final email in the campaign.

Why? You have sent 5 emails, 2 profile visits and 2 LinkedIn messages already. By now prospects who don’t reply must have a good reason not to. However, it doesn’t hurt to simply ask about their priority.

And that’s it!

For effective lead generation via outbound messaging, you leverage:

• Smart prospect research.
• Quality data extraction.
• A combination of email and LinkedIn.
• Messages that are human and conversational. Nothing boring.

A checklist for your next cold email campaign

Ace your outbound email lead generation with this checklist of things you can follow:

Research the company and the person you’re writing to.

Focus on their exact pain points or business goals. Do note that these goals depend on your prospect’s job role. So, tailor your message accordingly. Some of the common goals include:

• Increased revenue.
• Attract more clients.
• Reduce operational expenses
• Grow market share, brand awareness, and reach.
• Improve performance.

TIP: Keep in mind the rule of one.

Follow-up

The value of outreach lies in the follow-ups. People are busy and can receive 100+ emails every day. And they can miss replying to your email. So, send them another email as a reminder.

Best practices for sending follow-up emails

• Ask a question relating to the previous email’s CTA.
• Focus on the prospect, not you.
• Add a sense of humour, so they don’t forget you.

It’s about being human and approachable – nobody wants to feel like they’re on a spreadsheet.

Things NOT to do when following up

• Don’t send generic follow-up emails (“just checking in”).
• Copy-paste your first email entirely. Nobody wants to hear the same things again and again.
• Don’t make it long. No long customer stories, no descriptions. If in doubt, the shorter the better.

Factors to A/B Test your cold emails

• Subject line.
• Opening line.
• Call To action variations.
• Day or time to send emails.
• Frequency of follow-up emails.
• Length of the copy.
• Image insertion.

In conclusion

The main thing to deduce is cold email lead generation works!

Be genuine. Use some light humour. This converts an email into a warm one. It also makes your email stand out. This worked with C-levels and MDs at some of the largest (and traditional) corporations.

If you want to improve your emailing metrics, you need to do things differently. To discover more about creating human, approachable, conversational and un-intimidating outreach, let’s talk growth.