{"id":1510,"date":"2015-09-16T11:35:22","date_gmt":"2015-09-16T18:35:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/salesfolk.com\/blog\/?p=1510"},"modified":"2015-10-07T19:47:01","modified_gmt":"2015-10-08T02:47:01","slug":"3-things-that-get-cold-emails-deleted-by-prospects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salesfolk.com\/blog\/3-things-that-get-cold-emails-deleted-by-prospects\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Things That Get Cold Emails Deleted By Prospects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do your prospects grab your prospects\u2019 attention and make them excited, or do they just press delete before they even get to the second line? <\/span><\/p>\n

Would you reply to an email that feels salesy or pushy? <\/span><\/p>\n

Probably not. So why should prospects respond either? \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most cold emails fail because they don\u2019t connect with their audience because they feel disingenuous or impersonal. If you want to catch your prospects\u2019 attention you need to address their needs and speak to them on a more human level. <\/span><\/p>\n

Fixing these three common cold email mistakes can get you 3x more responses from your prospects. <\/span><\/p>\n

Cold Email Mistake #1: Your message is too self-focused and impersonal<\/h3>\n

No one wants to hear you drone on about how awesome you think you are. Your prospects don\u2019t care about how many awards your company has won or that your new product is your fastest or coolest ever. They only want to know how you can solve their problems. <\/span><\/p>\n

How can you speak to your prospects needs if you don\u2019t understand their needs? Before you craft any cold emails you need to develop a clear buyer persona and research your prospects\u2019 industry and role to understand their pain points and priorities. <\/span><\/p>\n

Canned and generic messages won\u2019t get responses in 2015. Everyone has become immune to gimmicky emails that feel mass. Your prospects want to feel special, and know that you took the time to understand them and their business. If you send the same message to a CEO as a VP of Engineering you will either alienate one of those parties with an untargeted message that doesn\u2019t make sense, or bore both of them with vague language. \u00a0Instead you need to create thoughtful emails that are specific to each of your buyer persona\u2019s needs. <\/span><\/p>\n

Cold Email Mistake #2: You\u2019re boring your prospects with long-winded pitches<\/h3>\n

Your prospects are busy people. They don\u2019t have time to read through bloated paragraphs that resemble small novels, and they aren\u2019t going to go out of their way to read a white paper that explains your value proposition either. \u00a0You only have a few seconds to entice someone with your message before they click delete, so don\u2019t waste words on useless fluff.<\/span><\/p>\n

The only goal of a cold email is to get your prospects talking to you. Don\u2019t get too overwhelmed trying to say everything in the first email; you can always explain more when you have them on the phone or in following emails. Keep every email simple, and focus on one main benefit or idea per email. Because people have short attention spans, you should try to keep your cold emails to 2-5 sentences. The most persuasive cold emails eliminate anything that does not support the email\u2019s main idea. <\/span><\/p>\n

Cold Email Mistake #3: Weak Calls to Action lose your prospects\u2019 attention<\/h3>\n

Even if you write the best introduction to your cold email, a weak or missing Call to Action will kill your chances of getting a response. Spending your time talking to a stranger is a risk, so you need to give prospects assurance that talking to you won\u2019t waste their time. Great calls to action offer prospects value or gives a sense of \u201cfear of loss,\u201d and incentivize them to promptly respond. <\/span><\/p>\n

How can you \u00a0make it worth their while? <\/span><\/p>\n

Make sure your prospects clearly understand how they\u2019ll benefit by talking to you. Incentive your CTAs by offering a piece of actionable advice or sharing a quick idea that can help improve their business. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What To Think About Next Time You Start A Cold Email<\/h3>\n

Here are a few quick takeaways you can use for crafting your next cold email based on the mistakes mentioned above.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Start your first sentence as a question<\/strong> that is focused on your prospect, ideally one that makes them think about an existing pain point or a potential benefit you can offer.<\/li>\n
  2. Keep your cold emails short and conversational. <\/b>Try to use the word \u201cyou\u201d more than \u201cI.\u201d<\/li>\n
  3. Try to keep your Call to Action in one short and clear sentence. <\/b>Questions like \u201cWhen do you have time for a short call so I can share an idea that could double {!Company}\u2019s revenue?<\/i>\u201d tend to work well.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    …That way your emails will get responses like these:<\/p>\n

    \"excited<\/p>\n

    Instead of ending up here with all the other SPAM:<\/p>\n

    \"goats<\/p>\n

    Share this:<\/h3>