What Are Prospecting Emails?

In order to form a new business relationship, the first step is a prospecting email, commonly referred to as a cold email. This is the same as the start of any other relationship, whether it be through verbal or nonverbal communication.

Lead generation can be accomplished through cold emails, wherein you contact an unfamiliar individual not knowing what the result will be. It’s like walking up to a random person on the street and extending your hand in hopes of a handshake, but the likelihood of being ignored is also quite high.

Utilizing different channels to bring in new contacts is becoming common, however, according to the most recent data from Oberlo. Email marketing is a very useful tactic that all companies should include in their repertoire.

Salespeople often use trade shows, conferences, or other events to identify potential customers. There, you can spend your time searching for opportunities to meet and get to know new people, all of which is done to create a good relationship. But there is a better alternative.

It is obvious that there is a smarter way to do email prospecting. When you realize that just 24% of sales emails are opened, you cannot help but doubt the efficiency of this technique.

But now that we know what a prospecting email is, we have to ask – why is it so important?

What are the Benefits of Sending Out Sales Prospecting Emails?

In the sales cycle, the initial step is prospecting, a task that a salesperson is well aware of. One of the most effective methods to accomplish this is to use prospecting emails to build up their leads list.

When done properly, cold emailing can be a great asset, as it allows users to create a list of ideal prospects, produce a higher return on investment, and facilitate more meaningful connections with potential leads through customized messages

Rather than viewing it as another type of customer contact, a prospecting email should be seen as an improved option. When you craft emails that are well-targeted, you can expect several advantages, particularly when you form distinct segments. B2B marketers can’t help but sing the praises of email marketing. Email marketing is expected to generate $17.9 billion in revenue by 2027, making cold emailing a great investment. 

Helps You Generate a Higher Return on Investment

The digital world has opened up a wealth of potential contacts. Whereas a person may only be able to meet a small number of individuals at a conference, emailing allows for far more people to be contacted in a short period of time (including the time it takes to create the message). The beauty of this lies in the increased opportunities for initiating contact.

Despite the benefits of having a face-to-face discussion, the purpose of a prospecting email is not to have this type of exchange right away. Instead, the aim is to turn a cold contact into a warmer one. It has been noted that email marketing returns a yield double that of cold calling, attending social events, or participating in trade shows.

Helps You Get More Suitable Leads

The crafting of a successful prospecting email can result in higher quality leads, making it easier to close sales. At this stage of the sales funnel, it is highly effective to qualify leads. Investing effort into developing a relationship with a bad lead is not a worthwhile use of time.

Best Ways to Perfect Your Sales Prospecting Emails

Let’s delve a bit further and examine the techniques to get the best results with your sales emails. 

1. Use a Powerful Subject Line

It is essential for marketers to capture the reader’s attention within three seconds. This is where a powerful subject line is crucial. Additionally, these words can be the most significant elements of the entire email. The subject line will decide whether the user will open and read the content or not.

When creating your subject line, take the following into consideration.

• Customize your headline by referencing places, current events, or matters of concern.
• Ask a question.
• Highlight any connections you have.
• Generate a sense of urgency or fear of a loss of opportunity.
• Identify a benefit.

2. Design an effective message

It may seem paradoxical, but your prospecting email shouldn’t be about what they can do for you, but rather what you can do for them. If you are able, explain how you provide a solution to their pain point. Make certain they understand the advantage that you or your product or service can offer them.

When delivering content, customization is key. If your reader base is segmented, this makes it simpler to identify what you can give them based on their wants, needs, and problems.

3. Incorporate a Call to Action

It is important to ensure that the message you are sending directly articulates the advantages that you have presented to the reader. Additionally, remember to include a clear and precise call to action in order to receive something in return.

Below are a few tips for crafting a compelling CTA.

• Ask if you can send them some beneficial, like links to a blog post or a white paper. Request for confirmation on a certain topic.
• Propose a precise time to have a conversation with them.

The first two attempts have a higher chance of success, but any attempts you make are an advancement towards a successful campaign.

The next step is the process to send the emails.

4. Analyze, Assess, and Qualify Potential Customers

Just like you wouldn’t approach strangers on the sidewalk in the expectation of converting them into potential customers, it is not advisable to send cold emails to random email addresses either.

One should check out social media, corporate websites, and blogs to search for potential customers. Make sure you know the anti-spam regulations of your country.

• Lead Scoring: Assigning Numerical Values to Prospects to Prioritize Them

Every individual is distinctive and so are your prospects. It helps to use a strategy of lead scoring in order to convert a lead into a customer. This is done by assigning points to rank your prospects according to how likely it is that they will make a purchase. The more points a prospect has, the more attention and emphasis they should receive.

Prior to determining your scoring process, some groundwork should be done. Consider the following points for guidance:

• What would you say is the typical character of your top prospects?
• Looking back at your sales, is there an industry or region that they come from?
• Don’t forget the fundamentals like sector, role, size of company, and the problems they are currently experiencing.

Constructing a lead score ranking system can be a time-consuming task, yet the benefit of doing so will be worth your time.

5. Find the Optimum Time to Send Emails

Five months of research in 2019 conducted by GetResponse concluded that 4 billion emails were sent by online marketers, entrepreneurs, large brands, and small businesses. Some noteworthy points to consider are:

• On Saturdays and Sundays, 18% of all email campaigns were sent, and 17% were sent on Tuesdays.
• Although Mondays and Tuesdays had a higher click-and-open rate, Saturdays and Sundays achieved the highest click-to-open ratios.

In 2019, a massive study conducted by CampaignMonitor included 30 billion emails. The evidence from this study was similar to GetResponse’s findings, with Tuesdays having the highest open rate. However, Tuesdays also experienced the most unsubscribes.

Is the time of day a factor that should be taken into consideration?

Studies conducted by Sendinblue have demonstrated that the best time to send emails is usually between 10 am and 4 am, when people tend to check their inboxes. However, the highest click-through rates were observed in the evening, from 6 pm to 7 pm.

6. Send Follow-Up Emails

Don’t limit yourself to just one prospecting email. To get the best results, use an email sequence to nurture your leads. Generally, follow-up emails are more successful than the original email. 

Here is a helpful hint to keep in mind. 48% of sales representatives never follow up with prospective buyers, while 60% of customers take a great deal of persuasion before they make a purchase, requiring four “no’s” before they give a “yes”. 

Tips for Successful Sales Prospecting

Much has been discussed regarding the concepts and principles supporting successful prospecting emails, so what about some tips when writing emails? Here are a few:

• Articulate the substantial benefit to the customer. 
• Personalize the email and mention a person  or a familiar company they’d recognize. 
• In order to make your prospecting email more personal, consider referencing any recent news or accomplishments that have been announced.

Prospective emails are not as difficult as you might think!

A lot of information has been covered, right? Crafting the ideal email for prospecting may be the simplest part. When you are looking to expand your outreach, it is important to remember that time is money. Taking shortcuts will end up costing you more in the long run, so it is best to commit to the whole process.

Get Going in Business is a great option to consider for efficiently managing and monitoring your prospects. It can automate the whole process.

Are you ready to expand your company using ideal lead generation emails? We certainly are! Your success is within reach with Get Going in Business. Contact us today.