In a different world, the mere desire for business growth could be enough to make it a reality; however, in this world, you will need a marketing strategy and a sales outreach email.

And not just any kind of email.

The open rate of a cold email is usually estimated to be 1%.  However, if the message is targeted, data from sources such as ConstantContact and MailChimp demonstrate the open rate to be between 14% and 23%.

In this article, we will take a comprehensive look into prospecting emails–what they are, why they’re a must-have, and how to craft them to generate new business.

Uncertain of which steps to take? The following strategies and methods can ensure an improved response rate to your sales outreach email campaigns.

What Is a Prospecting Email?

A prospecting email, more commonly known as a cold email, is the initial action you take when forming a new business partnership. Every relationship commences with some form of communication, either verbal or non-verbal.

Generating leads can come in the form of cold emails. It’s a situation in which you are reaching out to an unfamiliar person, not sure how they will respond. It’s almost like walking up to a random person on the street and offering your hand to shake, with the possibility they will not acknowledge you in any way.

Statistics from Oberlo demonstrate that email marketing is an effective technique that all companies should be utilizing. This is in comparison to the other channels that are used to bring in new contacts.

You may already be using popular approaches for salespeople such as attending trade shows, conferences, or related gatherings to scout out potential prospects. Rather than searching for opportunities to talk to and become acquainted with strangers, you can use a more intelligent strategy when it comes to email prospecting. 

Now that we understand what a prospecting email is, why is it so important?

What Is the Value of Prospecting Emails?

As a sales professional, you are aware that prospecting is the first step in the sales cycle. Sending out a prospecting email is a guaranteed effective strategy for building your leads.

A cold email provides a range of benefits when done in the right way including a better-targeted list of contacts, a higher return on investment, and the opportunity to form deeper connections through personalized emails.

Improved Targeting Capabilities

A prospecting email is a superior alternative to commonly used methods of customer engagement. The advantages of aiming your emails to specific target audiences become crystal clear when the target groups are properly specified. 

The specifications may include:

• Number of employees
• Physical address
• Customer needs and wants
• Problems faced

Greater Return on Investment

The advantage of doing business in the digital age is the rise in opportunities to form connections. Think about how many people you could come across if you were attending a conference, then compare that to how many people you could reach with an email in a single hour, including the time to write the message.

Think about the amount of money that will have to be allocated for the different methods of prospecting that you will use.

• Taking trips to go to trade shows and/or conferences.
• Paid advertising, such as through search engines, social media, TV spots, billboards, and so forth.

With email marketing, you have the ability to generate double the return on investment compared to the other methods.

Hiqh-Quality Leads 

An effective prospecting email can result in leads that are better suited for closing sales, increasing your chances of making a profit. At this stage of the sales process, it is highly effective that you assess prospective customers. Trying to form relationships with an unqualified lead is a complete waste of time.

Best Practices for Crafting Sales Prospecting Emails

We have covered the “dos and don’ts” of a successful prospecting email, now let us see the best practices that will enable you to achieve great results.

Ensure Your Subject Line Is Captivating

As a general rule, you should capture the attention of the user within the first three seconds. The subject line is used for this purpose. Therefore, the words in the subject line are the most crucial in your entire email, since they determine if someone reads the email or not.

What to consider when writing your subject line:

• Use current affairs, geography, specific contexts or pain points.
• Use questions that increase engagement or pique your audience’s interest.
• Highlight similar interests that build connections.
• Create urgency in your message or FOMO.
• Show them how they benefit.

Design an Effective Message Body

Your prospecting email should not imply what they can do for you but rather what you can do for them. It is even better if you show them how you can help them solve their pain points. Make sure they realize the advantage you or your goods/services can give them.

At this stage, personalize the content and ensure it considers the distinct needs, desires, and challenges of the target group. 

Incorporate a Call to Action

Once you have curated an email that emphasizes the advantages you have presented to the recipient, remember to compose a clear CTA that requests something from them.

The following are recommended for creating an effective CTA.

• Inquire if you can share with them a valuable product you have.
• Request if they can verify a subscription or product.
• Propose a suitable time to engage with them whether through a phone call or other appropriate ways.

Now let us look at the process to do this.

Qualify and Investigate Your Prospects

You are unlikely to contact random strangers on the street expecting to turn them into warm leads. Similarly, sending out cold emails to random addresses will certainly yield unsatisfying results.

Utilizing social media sites, corporate websites, and blogs can be an effective way to locate quality prospects. Nevertheless, it is necessary to stay up to date with the anti-spam regulations of your country as a precaution.

Use Lead Scoring for Ranking Leads

Individuals to possess distinct qualities, and this is also true of your prospects. Use lead scoring to change a lead into a paying client. This is done by utilizing a points system to grade your prospects depending on the probability of them making a purchase. The higher the score, the more attention and priority they should receive.

Prior to establishing your scoring process, you must do some groundwork. 

The following are some things you should take into account:

• What qualities do your top-tier leads typically have?
• Assess if your sales prospects come from specific geographical contexts.
• Don’t forget the fundamentals, such as industry, role, organization size, and any problems they are facing.

Constructing a scoring system for leads can be challenging, yet it is a worthwhile investment.

Send Timely Emails

In 2019, an extensive survey by GetResponse revealed 4 billion emails were sent in a period of five months. These emails were sent by a variety of people and businesses, such as online marketers, entrepreneurs, big companies, and small businesses.

The following are some of the findings:

• Saturdays and Sundays had 18% of all email campaigns sent out.
• Tuesdays followed close behind with 17%.
• While Mondays and Tuesdays had higher open and click rates, the highest click-to-open ratio was seen on the weekend.

In 2019, a comprehensive study by CampaignMonitor uncovered the results of 30 billion emails sent. This research was in agreement with GetResponse’s findings that emails sent on Tuesdays had the highest open rate for emails. 

However, Tuesdays also had the highest amount of unsubscribes.

Does the time of day make a difference?

It is confirmed by numerous studies, one of which is conducted by Sendinblue that 10 am and 3 pm to 4 pm are the best times to send emails, as this is when most people check their inboxes. Nevertheless, they have detected that the highest click-through rates are during the evening, up to 6 pm or sometimes 7 pm.

Create Follow-Up Emails

It is important to continue to pursue any chances that you may have missed. Do not just send one prospecting email and then move on. To get a better response, it is beneficial to use an email sequence in order to nurture your leads.

Did you know that only 48% of sales professionals take the time to follow up at all? That’s in contrast to the 60% of customers who refuse to buy a product or service until they have heard about the brand in four occasions.

Tips and Tricks for Successful Prospecting Emails

• Articulate the value you offer clearly. What can you provide them that would be of benefit?
• Provide them with a recommendation that will personalize the experience for them.
• Communicate with recent testimonials.

Writing prospecting emails is actually not that difficult!

We’ve gone over quite a bit of material, right? Writing the ideal prospecting email could be the simplest part.

Considering the fact that time is money, when aiming to expand your outreach, you should try and make the process simpler. But don’t think that means taking shortcuts: attempting to cut corners will lead to a financial loss, not a gain, so don’t even think about it.

Are you ready to expand your venture with the ideal prospecting message? I believe you are!

GetGoinginBusiness is here to serve all your lead generating needs. Contact us Today!