Are your prospects dazzled by your cold emails, or are they rolling their eyes every time they read one of your messages?
Who doesn’t desire simple, clean messages that get straight to the point. No one will take you or your product seriously if your messages waiver, nor if they are spiced with predictable cliches. Don’t forget that your prospects are unique individuals, not a just numbers in your mass email campaign. If you’re going to take the time to do cold email campaigns, you owe it to your prospects and yourself to create highly personal emails that speak directly to your prospects’ individual needs.
So if your prospects are too busy laughing out loud at your cold emails to respond, here are a few reasons why your wimpy language is turning them off:
Wimpy Mistake #1: A lack of confidence is making your prospects uneasy
“Sorry to bother you, but I am very excited to introduce you to my company, _______________, and see if you’d be interested in discussing how our sales and marketing services can help your company gain traction and accelerate growth.”
Stop apologizing for reaching out to your prospects; it’s your job. If you’re reaching out to qualified leads that could benefit from your company’s business, then your prospects should be eager to hear your message.
Prospects are perceptive; they can easily pick up on your lack of confidence. If you don’t have confidence in your message and product, then your prospects won’t either.
Cold Email Pro Tip #1: Instead of apologizing to your prospects, try engaging them and getting to know them on a deeper level. Let them know that you’re genuinely interested in developing a relationship with them, and not just trying to make a quick sell. Approaching your prospects in a more human way puts them more at ease, and will make them more receptive to your message.
Wimpy Mistake #2: It’s obvious you don’t know who your prospects are
“Could you point me to the person over your inside sales team?”
Nothing screams mass email more than asking to be put in contact with the right person.
An impersonal introduction like this one, doesn’t make your prospects feel special. It proves to them that you haven’t done your homework, and that you don’t know who the decision maker is. Vague messages don’t engage prospects, and definitely don’t motivate them to take the next step.
Your prospects want to know that you understand them and their needs. Be specific about how your product can help improve their lives.
Cold Email Pro Tip #2: Make sure you’ve thoroughly researched your target buyer persona before you craft your cold email campaigns. To help you develop personalized messages, find two or three prospects that fit your ideal buyer persona on LinkedIn. Write a personalized email to each one for practice, and then reverse engineer the email to create a mass template. (We do this for 99% of the email campaigns we create!)
Think about how you would sell your product to these individuals. What types of responsibilities do they have? What issues do they face on a daily basis? How can your product help to solve these problems? The more you understand your prospects’ lives, the easier it is to develop highly targeted messages that will appeal directly to them.
Wimpy Reason #3: Relying on salesy jargon to excite your prospects
“I lead a Mastermind Crew that consists of other rain-making Sales Professionals, and right now our we are on FIRE!”
Your prospects aren’t fooled by salesy phrases, and corny lines don’t excite them either.
People respond better to direct, simple language that clearly explains the benefits of your product. Using cheesy language like this shows your prospects that you can’t be taken seriously.
Capital letters and exclamation marks can’t replace solid messaging. Your prospects are looking for substance that can add real value to their business, not ameatuer tactics.
Cold Email Pro Tip #3: Don’t rely on silly adjectives to create a sense of excitement in your prospects. Your cold emails should show, not tell, the value of your product. Instead, focus on how your product can benefit your prospects and help solve their problems. When your prospects see that you can make their lives easier, they’ll jump for joy to talk to you.
Wimpy Reason #4: You’re not motivating your prospects to action
“I wanted to circle back, particularly given our recent releases [Produt] v2.0 and [Product] CS v1.5, to see if a conversation is more appropriate at present.”
There’s nothing worse than engaging your prospects all the way through your email message and then losing them with a wobbly or missing call to action!
It’s like carefully carrying a basket of eggs from your grandma’s barn and then dropping them on the floor as soon as you get in the front door. (I have first-hand experience here….!)
Don’t do it!
If you’re asking your prospects if it makes sense to have a call, you aren’t going to get a lot of responses. It’s your responsibility to show them why a phone call with you make sense. If you’re reaching out to qualified leads with valuable and interesting information to offer, then a call is certainly “appropriate!” .
Your prospects want to know that there’s something in it for them by taking a call with you. If they give up their precious time, what are they going to get in return? You can’t assume that just because you think your product is awesome, your prospects will be dying to talk to you.
Cold Email ProTip #4: Make it worth it for you prospects to respond to you. Incentivize your call to action by giving your prospects something in return for their time. Actionable tips they can use to improve their business are enticing. Developing a relationship with your prospects is all about establishing a sense of trust and credibility with them. Your prospects will be more willing to do business with you, once you’ve proven that you can add value to their lives.
…So stop writing wimpy emails now, okay?!
