The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

The remote and hybrid workforce offers opportunities and challenges that we may not have considered when working in a common location.

We take for granted the proximity to our coworkers and the ease with which we communicate and convey our emotions and intentions. Communication that we had in person tends to shift to digital and allows us to stay connected no matter where we are co-located.

However, we still need to be aware of the tone we are using, which in writing can be more complicated than spoken words (because our brain fills in the gaps when we lack information).

Sales professionals know that cold email outreach is one of the most effective ways to land new clients. But, despite its effectiveness, many people are hesitant to try it because they don't know how to do it properly.

If you're one of those people, don't worry. This guide will teach you everything you need to know about cold emailing.

We'll cover the basics of creating a great cold email campaign, as well as some tips and tricks for increasing your chances of success.

GOOD NEWS: 80% of professionals prefer to use email for business communication. 

BAD NEWS: With over 269 Billion emails sent every day, there's a lot of fierce competition flooding your prospects' inboxes.

So how can you, the stealthy salesperson, craft a genius prospecting email that warrants a response? 

If you think cold emailing is dead, you're wrong.

59% of B2B companies say email is the most effective channel for generating revenue. It's one of the most cost-effective forms of outreach that there is.

At the same time, you need to realize that you're not the only one sending emails. HBR reports that on average, professionals have more than 200 emails in their inbox and receive 120 new ones each day but respond to only 25% of them.

If you want to get a response to your emails, you'll need to employ the magic of etiquette, one of the best ways to create a human connection with the reader.

In this post, we talk about a few common mistakes people make writing cold emails, and some advice on how to improve these areas.

Recently, I sat on a panel about sales and marketing, and during the presentation, another fellow panelist said, 'Email is dead! Social media is where to reach your people!' Well... I laughed (internally, of course)... but was he right?

Surely not. 

It’s no secret time management is one of the highest requirements for succeeding in sales. Consistent questions heard within the industry are, “What are some ways I can improve my time management?” and “How can I be more efficient?”

There are a multitude of strategies to help us be more productive, but they can be difficult to adopt because they force us to go against routines we’ve had for years. If you struggle with habit-changing productivity tips, such as going to bed with an empty inbox, check out this system that works for many.

As sales professionals, one of the biggest challenges we face is trying to connect with a new prospect. With so many different touchpoints, it’s easy for a prospect to avoid or ignore your voicemails, emails, texts, or LinkedIn request.

If you want your message to stand out, it’s critical that you have a solid valid business reason (VBR) that establishes you as trusted and valued. However, it’s equally important to ensure you have a strong email subject line. You can have the best valid business reason on the planet, but if the email is never opened by the intended recipient, what good is it?

Recently, I've had a few run-ins with bad email etiquette. Not just in a quick email thread from a co-worker (I'll admit, my email etiquette gets sloppy in this arena), but I've received emails from salespeople attempting to get me (the marketing manager) to subscribe to their software, utilize their platform, or allocate some of my budget to their product, and all had major email etiquette issues, misspelled my name, or included verbiage that clearly showed me we aren't on the same wavelength. I also received an email from a potential candidate for a freelance writer that included major grammatical mistakes... WHAT!? 

Okay, here’s the scenario. You’ve done your due diligence on a prospect and your extensive research tells you that: