In sales, no amount of effort in reaching and connecting with potential customers is ever enough. There will never be enough prospects in your pipeline that will safely help you meet your targets. Additionally, it’s possible that your ideal customer has simply not heard about you, and you need to make them notice you.
Whatever the reason, your task is clear. You must engage with more and more people to establish a relationship that may lead to sales. Given that 8 of 10 buyers prefer to be contacted via email, cold emailing became the go-to method for this. It is cost-effective and offers high scalability, which is a winning combination for a powerful outreach strategy.
However, over time, concerns have been raised about the effectiveness of cold emailing. It involves reaching out to complete strangers and seems to fall within the territory of spamming. The unimpressive figures of a 24% open rate and 8.5% response rate do not help build its credibility.
So, is cold emailing dead? Or does it still have what it takes to bring a healthy inflow of prospects for a business? We’re here to explore all the nuances of this approach, and help you find the answer!
1. Understanding Cold Emailing
Before proceeding to ponder about its effectiveness, it’s important to understand cold emailing.
Let’s imagine how business relationships develop in person. It usually begins with a simple conversation. For example, a salesperson visits industry conventions and conferences to meet new customers. Instead of immediately talking about their product or company, they aim to start a friendly chat. The goal is to learn about the other person’s business and create a connection.
The same idea works for online sales through cold emails. These are messages sent to people who might not know much about your company. They’re like “cold” leads because it’s their first exposure to your business. The point of a cold email isn’t to make an instant sale. It’s about turning strangers into potential business partners. The aim is to gradually warm up these leads and build a relationship over time.
Is Email Marketing the same as Cold Emailing?
It is likely that you may be confused between the two because they both entail leveraging email as a channel to get more sales. However, they are not the same. Email marketing focuses on fostering relationships with current customers and encouraging ongoing interaction. In contrast, cold emailing is mainly geared toward reaching out to potential prospects who don’t have any previous connection with the sender.
2. Concerns Linked to Cold Emailing
Going by the explanation of what cold emailing is, it sounds like a reliable outreach method. Why then is it mistakenly thought of as a dying strategy? And what is the justification for the low response and open rates?
There are undoubtedly a few concerns linked with the practice, which has made people hesitant to rely on it:
🚩 By trying to interact with complete strangers, you leave a lot to chance. There’s no way to ascertain that your recipients will engage with the email. This puts you at risk of being ignored by them, or, worse still, being marked as spam.
🚩 Unlike with cold calling, there’s no urgency in cold emailing. You can’t predict if prospects will respond, and if they do, it could happen anytime, ranging from seconds to a month after receiving the message.
🚩 Sending poorly written cold emails or bombarding with too many emails can harm your brand image, possibly driving away potential customers.
Besides, cold emailing is tricky to get right and hence is avoided. It is not enough to simply gather a handful of email addresses and send out generic emails. But a lot of salespersons do this, which naturally translates to poor performance of their emails. Here are some of the common mistakes that happen:
2.1. Spammy Content
We’ve all been on the receiving end of a brand email that screams “Spam” in every respect. Naturally, we’ve all gone ahead to deleted it without a second glance. You don’t want your emails to meet the same fate, which makes it crucial to have thoughtful and well-researched content.
2.2. Inappropriate Email Address
Your email address is visible in every message and will likely be noticed. If it is inappropriate, it gives an impression of unprofessionalism and carelessness. Besides, an address filled with random letters and numbers could trigger automatic filters to mark your email as spam.
Most cold emails are automated and hence you cannot expect responses if you omit contact information like your email, phone number, or website. You thus miss out on numerous chances to connect with prospects. You’re making it harder for them to reach you, even if they’re eager to do so.
2.4. Skipping the Testing Stage
Your email’s appearance may change significantly based on the composing system you use. Even a well-written email can suffer from improper formatting, making parts or the entire message unreadable. This can compromise your entire cold emailing strategy. A simple fix for it is to send out test emails within your organization so such errors can be caught in time.
3. How Cold Emailing Has Evolved?
Let’s circle back to the question that we first put forth, about whether cold emailing remains an effective method. We’ve discussed what it entails and the challenges it poses. But a crucial element that needs to be addressed is the evolution of cold emailing, and this might sway your answer. Today, there is greater awareness about buyer mindsets and tech tools such as CRMs that analyze the results of your outreach strategies. We’re in the age of Cold Emailing 2.0.
Kylas is a one-stop shop for you to gather customer data, create personalized emails, and send them from within the system. What’s more, you can also track metrics like the open rate and engagement rate for every email. Schedule a demo now!
Aggressive sales pitches don’t work well anymore, and generic emails don’t cut it either. It’s all about building a relationship with the person you’re emailing. Instead of focusing on your product, think about the recipient. Imagine being in their shoes. Your first email should make them feel like you understand their business and the challenges they face. Don’t rush to make a deal. Let your prospects share their struggles, and then show them how things can be better.
Personalization is crucial now and it can boost your response rates by almost 30.5%. Knowing your prospects well helps you create a message that fits them perfectly. Also, you can personalize based on how your prospects respond. By using different versions of follow-up emails and defining trigger actions, you can address their specific replies.
In essence, this evolved way of cold emailing stands a chance to combat the problems linked with it. You simply need to tweak your approach to make it more valuable and less sales-y for the recipient. Mastering this can make cold emailing a powerful strategy, and we’re here to help you do just that!
4. Best Practices for Cold Emailing
There are two main aspects that you need to think about here. The first is drafting an ideal cold email that can engage prospects. The second comes into play after this, which is ensuring that your email reaches the right people at the right time. These aspects work together to determine the overall effectiveness of your cold emailing, so it is equally important to focus on both.
4.1. Learn About Your Audience
Understanding your audience is essential for creating a cold email that resonates with them. When you reach out via email, you’re essentially inviting them into a potential partnership. Before they can consider you as a partner, they need to understand the benefits you offer. You need to ask yourself these questions:
- What values do these brands uphold?
- How does your company align with their interests?
- Where can you find shared interests or common ground?
- How can you align with a brand’s business model?
4.2. Focus on the ‘From’ Line
It’s natural for people to be wary of cold emails since they are received from strangers. The ‘from’ line is where they first look, and it’s your chance to either gain their trust or scare them away. The impression they get from it decides if they’ll open your email or ignore it. Cold emails aim to create personal connections with prospects, and your primary chance to establish that connection is in the ‘from’ line.
Since you’re trying to contact a specific individual at a specific company, you should be the same to them. Including your name and your company’s gives an impression of personalization and professionalism, both of which go a long way toward encouraging a person to open your email.
4.3. Include a Catchy Subject Line
33% of recipients base their decision to open a cold email on the subject line. Anything that includes clickbait strategies or sounds too promotional or formal will not achieve the expected results. Instead, it needs to be all about your recipients.
One approach is to capture their attention by prompting them to think about a problem they might be facing, or even appealing to their curiosity. You can even focus on conveying the benefits and value that your email has for the recipient. Lastly, a subtle flattery can also help you pique their interest. A simple yet impactful change of adding the recipient’s name to the subject can take your response rates to 43% and emojis will boost open rates by 8%.
4.4. Hone the Email Content
The email body should start with a catchy 2-3 line introduction that focuses on the recipient, and his company/work/achievements, etc. You can also inquire about their problems or propose how you can solve some problems you have noticed they face.
The next comes your pitch, only it should not sound like one. Make sure to focus your pitch on your prospects and offer them as much value as possible. Do not list all the features of your product, instead choose only those that will benefit the recipient.
Lastly, you need a compelling and brief call to action (CTA) that encourages your prospects to take the desired action. Your CTA should clearly highlight what you expect from the recipient, and it should be something simple that can be easily done.
4.5. Think About the Email Signature
You’re well on your way to drafting a solid email, and the signature is a vital part of it. As stated, skipping the contact information can undermine your email’s effectiveness, so ensure your signature has your contact details. It should basically convey who you are and where the recipient can find more details about you and/or your company.
4.6. Create a Follow-up Plan
After sending your initial cold email, you’ve taken the first step to warm up your lead. If they don’t respond to the first message, don’t hesitate to follow up. There could be various reasons for not responding initially. Sending a second message indicates your genuine interest in working with their brand and may prompt them to reply.
4.7. Leverage Kylas to Power Up your Cold Emailing
Make the most of your emails with Kylas. Once you have finalized your emails, you can sit back and let your CRM do the work for you!
✅ Create templates for every cold email, including the ones for follow-ups. You can save these templates in Kylas to save time and maximize efficiency.
✅ We’re firm believers in the importance of personalization for cold emails, and hence we have the option of inserting variables in the template to reflect the name of the recipient.
✅ Set up automated workflows to ensure that your emails are always sent at the right time. You can set event or time-based triggers too.
✅ Sync Kylas with Gmail or Outlook to send emails and track all your communication from within the CRM.
✅ Leverage Kylas reports to track the performance of your cold emails. You can monitor the delivery rates, open rates, etc. to make informed decisions to optimize your strategy.
5. In Closing
Mastering the art of cold emailing involves personalized communication, understanding your audience, and providing genuine value. It’s not just about selling but building relationships. The key is to remember that a well-crafted message, genuine interest, and thoughtful follow-ups can turn cold leads into warm connections, fostering lasting business partnerships.
