Cold outreach: How to get a prospect’s attention

The average person receives more than 100 emails every day. Clearly, your prospects’ inboxes are busy places. That might be why they only open 24% of the cold outreach emails they receive.

If you want your email to be part of that 24%, you need to make sure you’re sending messages designed to capture and keep your prospect’s attention. This guide will help you cut through the chatter and make your prospects sit up and take notice.

Adjust your “from” line before sending a cold email

Most of us set up our email and never think about the “from” line again. It can have a big impact on your prospects, though. Are you going to open an email from some random guy called “Brad”? You’d probably be more inclined to open an email from “Brad P., Director of Sales at YourCompany.”

Your prospects don’t know who you are. Your “from” line can be a great way to introduce yourself.

Craft a great subject line

More important than your “from” line, though, is the subject line. Just how important is a good subject line?

Well, almost 50% of people say they decide to open an email based on the subject line alone. Of course they’re going to click on the ones that seem more intriguing.

What makes a great subject line?

There are some concrete facts that can help you improve your subject lines.

• The most successful subject lines are 1 word
• 3-4 words is another “sweet spot”
• Including the recipient’s name increases the open rate

Having a short subject line won’t make it stand out, though. What do the best subject lines have in common?

• They ask a question
• They propose a solution
• They pique interest

A subject line like “Have you thought about X” or “I have an idea on improving Y” is more likely to get the prospect to take notice.

Take the time to personalize

In cold outreach, personalization is king:

• 72% of people say they only engage with personalized emails
• Personalization improves click-through-rates by 14% 
• It also boosts conversions by 10% 

Your prospects receive lots of generic emails from sales reps like you. By personalizing, you show an understanding of the prospect and their needs.

A personalized subject line can get a prospect to open the email. A message that talks about their specific pain points can help you keep their attention.

Focus on the prospect, not your pitch

Many sales reps make the mistake of focusing on themselves or their company.

Cold outreach is not the place for your pitch. The prospect doesn’t know who you are. Chances are they’ve never heard of your company or the product.

Your goal is to make them care about what you do by showing them what it can do for them. Identify a pain point and show them how you can solve it. Focus on the benefits of what you’re selling.

Cold outreach should be short and sweet

According to research, you have about 10 seconds to get your message across to your prospect. Remember: they’re busy, and they don’t know you. Why should they give you any of their time?

Keeping your message short is crucial here. It shows respect for your prospect’s time. It also helps you deliver what you need to say before their attention span runs out.

A great way to think about this is how you’d introduce yourself at a party or conference. Most introductions are to the point. Nobody asks for your life history. Your prospects don’t want it in their inbox either.

Include a call to action

By this point, if you’ve played your cards right, your prospect is intrigued. They want to know more about your product or service.

The CTA gives them direction. What can they do right now? Maybe they can read case studies to discover how your product helped similar clients. Maybe they can book a 15-minute call or watch a demo video.

Keep the ask small

It’s tempting to shoot for the stars in a cold email. The reality is that too big of an ask can make you seem demanding.

Think about it. Someone you don’t know has landed in your inbox to tell you how great their product is. Now they want a 30-minute phone call or an in-person meeting. Chances are you’re going to say no.

A smaller ask can keep the door open. A 15-minute call is much more do-able. Watching a 5-minute demo video is even easier.

Stand out with visual content

Visual content can sometimes make your email stand out in the crowd. After all, a picture says a thousand words. A 5-minute video can say even more than that.

Customized images could include the prospect’s company logo. You might include screenshots of their website or social media that relate to your note.

Visual content can increase the size of an email, though. Large emails may get clipped in inboxes. They might even be caught by spam filters.

You’ll also want to think about your audience. Gen Z might think your use of memes or GIFs is witty—or completely outdated. Prospects in older generations may not appreciate them at all.

Find the right prospects (and their contact)

Spend some time searching on platforms like LinkedIn to find qualified prospects. After all, 67% of lost sales happen because reps didn’t do their homework before reaching out.

Doing some research makes it easier to personalize messages. It can also save you time and effort in the long run. You have a higher likelihood of making contact with someone who wants the product or service.

Better outreach drives outbound success

Cold outreach can be one of the most effective tools you have for drumming up new clients. With best practices and the right tools, you can revive your outbound sales.