Will they or won’t they?

A question you’ll find an SDR ponder over as soon as they send an email to a prospect. Will the prospect be impressed with your outbound email or even have an interest in opening it? All of this depends on factors such as a strong subject line, crisp email copy, a bold CTA, amongst other things.

In this blog, we’ll go over some top tips followed by our very own Outplayers, the ingredients required to make a great outbound email and as a bonus, we’ve added a few email templates used by top companies like Drift, Hubspot, etc. Let’s dive right into it, shall we?

So, here’s what you need to focus on to build a terrific outbound email.

1. Subject line of an outbound email 

Once your prospect opens your email, half of your battle is won. The key to a great subject line is keeping it crisp and captivating. In a few words, you should lure the prospect to open the mail by creating curiosity.
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Of course, you should always A/B test your subject lines and check which ones generate the highest open rate. Pick that and use it for your future email sequences.

Try personalizing the subject line and build their level of curiosity. A few words have the power to set the precedence for your entire email body. Here are a few examples and tips:

• I know how you can improve {X} 
   
• I have a question about your [any recent news like funding] 
   
• {X} told me to reach out to you 
   
• Stick to using only 2-5 words for the subject line 
   
• Use their first name, their company name, and competitors name to make it more personalized 
   
• Use the word “help”, “referral" in the subject line. Eg: Can you help, {firstname}?, Referred by {firstname}  

Avoid using spammy words like discount, free, help, consultation, etc. The idea is to sound more human or conversational.

2. Email intro 

The first few lines before you go into your email body must be very clever and unique. This is where you can leave a good first impression on the prospect by showing off your research skills.

Well, we don’t mean finding out about their family history, allergic reactions, etc. But, in this case, we mean heavy research on the company to show how well you’re aware of any news around them, their pain points, new additions, etc.

These 2 lines of intro can still make the prospect hit the ‘X' button in spite of opening the email that had a catchy subject line. You can start off with something like the following: 

• Hey {X}, firstly congratulations on your recent funding announcement
   
• Hi {X}, after checking out your LinkedIn Profile + Website I noticed you were hiring SDRs 
   
• Hey {X}, with unemployment at all-time lows, how have you changed your recruiting strategy? 
   
• Hi {X}, given your presence in {Y}, I thought you might want in on [your company]’s solution. 

The above openers are few successful openings that have been used by top companies like Urbanbound, DemandDrive, and Nearmap. The idea is to expand on such information and show that you're concerned.

3. Body of an outbound email 

A good practice to follow here is to convey your product/service’s value by asking simple questions that are aligned with the prospect's goals or needs. But at the same time, subtlety is the best policy here.

Eg: What if your reps could follow best practices across multiple channels like email, phone, social, etc. to maximize the number of meetings with a perfect combination of automation and personalization?

We don’t want the email to be too sales-y. This section must emulate more on the problems they face and how you can help them. The trick is to highlight how the prospect will benefit from your product or service and to not make this bit feature-heavy.

The pitch is about your prospects' needs and not your products list of features.

Suggested Reading: 14-step checklist to cold calling

You can also capture their attention through storytelling and relatability, which would in turn pique their curiosity.

Eg: I bet you’d spend your time talking to your prospects rather than worrying about managing your sales cadence. That’s why I thought you might want to check out a tool that takes care of everything in terms of sales engagement and helps you get more meetings booked.

4. Closing statement 

For the final zing, you need to add a closing statement that will persuade your prospects to complete an action and gently nudge them to give a response.

This statement should leave a lasting impression on the prospect. Here’s something you can try: 

• Are you available for a 15-minute call on [date and time]? 
   
• Here’s one of our webinars that’ll help you get a better vision of our product: [link] 
   
• I’ll send you a calendar invite about finalizing that paperwork on [date]. What do you think? 
   
• If budget is an issue, how about we reconnect after 3-4 months
   
• You can pick a time that works best for you: [your calendar link]

SUGGESTED READING: SEAL THE DEAL WITH THESE BEST EMAIL CLOSING LINES

5. Your signature 

You must polish and clean your email signature before sending the mail.

Thus, the signature should look professional and include the information that’s required for the prospect to learn more. Your contact information, social profile links such as LinkedIn, and the company website link are a must.

Be careful about using any photos in your signature as some email clients might block any images by default. And if this happens, your signature will end up looking broken. The same principle applies to using HTML-based signatures from online websites - these might look pleasing to you, but actually can be the reason for your email landing in the ‘spam' folder.

Hear it from our outplayers 

We asked a few of the sales superstars of Outplay what they think are the best practices while sending an outbound email. Here’s what they have to say: 

• Offhand what makes a good email is AIDA, which is: A = Attention, I = [pique their] Interest, D = Desire, A  = Action. - Bill Stiber 
   
• There are a couple of elements that help draft a crisp email. A short subject line, persona/individual-based personalization, elevator pitch, an offer to educate, and a catchy CTA at the end. - Manthan Gupta 
   
• The value proposition in the mail should be more around asking the prospect a question and tying that to the personalization you displayed at the start of the email. The idea is to mention that we can help solve the problem, but you shouldn’t stress on ‘how' we can solve it, as this helps generate curiosity. - Muneesh Tyagi
   
• Crisp and unconventional subject lines are the way to go. You should also try to reduce the fluff by staying away from terms like efficiency, productivity, 2x, 3x, etc. as most of the emails contain the same terms and you want to stand apart from them. Break the monotony by keeping the email conversational and casual. Don’t have to be formal and robotic. - Srivaradha Vanamamalai 
   
• ‍Try mentioning any reviews you received from your customers in your mail. This gives a broader understanding to the prospects of what your customers like about you and how they use your product. - Shreya Sinha

The best outbound email templates - just for you

As promised, here are the best outbound emails used by top leaders like Drift, Vidyard, etc. 

1. Drift

2. Grow

3. CloudApp 

4. Hubspot

5. Vidyard 

Want more templates and a deeper insight into sales sequences? Well, you’re in luck! Our recent Ebook covers the best sales sequences used by companies like Vidyard, Drift, Hubspot, G2, Chillipier, and 25 other top sales platforms. Get your Ebook now!

And, if you'd like a free trial to explore Outplay's multi-channel sales engagement platform, we got your back - click here to create more opportunities!