Got leads? Qualified prospects with high-buying intent are hard to come by, and you don’t want to lose them with subpar sales emails. Unfortunately, that happens to many businesses.
Sales emails must be persuasive, personalized, and engaging enough to keep your business top-of-mind. How can you create email copy that could eventually result in a sale?
In this article, we’ll be exploring:
- The secret behind the best sales emails
- How to create in-depth personalization in sales emails
- Best sales emails for B2B/SaaS
- Best practices for sales emails
The Secret Sauce of Sales Emails
Inboxes are filled with SPAM! ie: generic sales pitches, free site audits, and automated email copy. Bad emails are everywhere— and, that’s actually a good thing. It gives your emails a chance to stay afloat in the sea of mediocrity.
The secret? In-depth personalization.
Sales are simple. Your prospects have needs, and you fill them. The tricky part is convincing them that your solution best fits their business.
But with in-depth personalization, you can angle your value proposition as a direct solution to pain points and unconsidered needs, allowing your SDRs to get all the information necessary to close a sale.
Creating In-Depth Personalization: A Step-By-Step Guide
We can use a couple of tools to streamline and automate personalization. We’ll leverage quality lead sources, enrichment tools, lead intelligence software, and an outreach tool to help us send sales emails at scale.
But if you don’t have access to these lead intelligence tools, you can always use a bit of elbow grease and manual research. Here’s the step-by-step guide to in-depth personalization:
Step 1: Find Verified Leads From Quality Sources
The first step to personalize is ensuring that there’s something to personalize. That means verifying if an email does exist and if the company still exists or is active. Here’s an example:
Sending emails to inactive and unverified leads hurts our deliverability rates. Sometimes, lead finder tools also hallucinate email addresses. The domain might be active, but no real person uses the email.
Remember, lead generation can get expensive. To maximize your acquisition cost, you must find verified leads from quality sources.
Instantly B2B Lead Finder allows users to access over 160 million verified and active leads. The advanced search filters also help users segment and qualify leads on the spot.
Step 2: Segment and Qualify Leads Based on ICPs and Buyer Personas
Segmentation and qualification are non-negotiables when it comes to scaling and automating personalization. You can segment by job function, demographic, size, or revenue.
Leverage tools like Instantly B2B Lead Finder to streamline the process. Frameworks such as MEDDICC and BANT also work. You just need to identify your ICPs and buyer personas.
Step 3: Leverage Lead Intelligence or Manual Research To Enrich Leads
Instantly, B2B Lead Finder’s “News” filter lets users see relevant and updated events within an industry or company. These could be a new acquisition, project launch, or promotion.
This information helps us create powerful opening lines in our sales emails. Even our email icebreakers stay relevant and aren’t just random jokes.
If you have the time, you can also skim through podcasts, videos, or community posts prospects have online that go into their business in detail.
For example, you can say: “Hey {{first name}}, saw your marketing head on {{podcast name}} talking about {{pain point}}. We actually helped {{competitors}} with this exact thing.”
Step 4: Angle Unique Selling Point Based on Latest Prospect Update
Timing plays a crucial role in each sales email. Although you can’t be sure about a company’s internal needs, you can make educated guesses based on recent updates. Think of funding announcements, new job positions, or recent expansions.
Let’s say you’re selling software that automates the hiring process and found a company recently hiring and expanding to a new site. Now, you can angle your unique selling point to directly address issues related to hiring and onboarding.
Step 5: Contextualize Value For Different Stakeholders
If you have already built your email list but are still unsure who the stakeholders are in your prospects’ company, go back to steps 1 and 2.
This step leverages lead intelligence, segmenting, and qualification. Your list might include several stakeholders from the same company.
Segmenting by job function allows you to create tailored messages that bring the most value to stakeholders.
C-level prospects might care more about the big picture (revenue, lowering operational costs), supervisors might value your product/service’s efficiency, and end-users will care more about how it streamlines their daily workflow.
Examples of the Best Sales Emails For B2B/SaaS
Now that we know the step-by-step process for creating email copy with in-depth personalization, let’s examine some examples of the best sales emails for B2B/SaaS.
The Department Switch Up
One of the main issues marketers face is transitioning from personalized email icebreakers to your CTA or sales pitch. Here’s a sales email example that transitions from complimenting one department to pitching for the next.
Subject line: Great job with {{recent event}}!
Hi, {{first name}},
Looks like {{prospect’s company}} is doing amazing work in {{location}}. We love seeing companies use their marketing platform to help the local community.
That said, I’m curious if you’ve got a chance to look into {{service}} options for {{other department}}? My team runs {{service}} in {{location}}, and we’d love to learn more about {{prospect’s company}}’s {{service}} needs.
Are you open for a quick chat about it? I promise to make it worth your time! :)
Best regards,
{{your name}}
Positioning USP to Recent Company News
Bad sales emails are a regular occurrence for business owners. However, showing that you did your research deserves some consideration.
The best approach is to position your sales pitch based on the most recent and relevant news about your prospect’s company.
Subject line: How are you celebrating {{milestone}}
Hey, {{first name}},
Congratulations on {{milestone}}. I see that {{prospect’s company}} is looking to hire {{x number}} {{job positions}}. That’s a huge step from when you went solo a few years back.
I’m reaching out now because I was curious if {{prospect’s company}} has to juggle separate employee systems.
My team runs an online employee consolidation platform, {{your company}}. We centralize all employee data and streamline recruitment, onboarding, and offboarding.
It’s as plug-and-play as it gets. There’s no need for third-party apps or complicated workflows. We’d love to give you a personalized demo.
Is this something that might interest you?
Thanks in advance,
{{your name}}
Using Email Icebreakers
Sales emails can get awkward. But if you research, you can find your prospects’ interests and use that in the email icebreakers. These emails might not work well in industries where business communication is kept formal.
Subject line: Thoughts on {{your company}}
Hi, {{first name}},
There’s no easy way to start a sales email. You already know a pitch is coming soon. So here’s a picture of our company dog, {{dog name}}, pretending to do human things.
{{cute dog photo}}
Now that we’re best friends, I need to ask about your current {{service}} provider. If you had to rate it on a scale of 1 to 10, what would it be?
If you didn’t scream 10!, that might be because it lacks {{unique selling points}}. {{company name}} provides just that. We’ve had clients save {{x number}} of hours on {{daily task}}.
We could do the same for {{prospect’s company}}. I’d love to have a quick conversation about our {{service}}. Is this something you might be interested in?
Thanks in advance,
{{your name}}
P.S. I promise to include more {{dog name}} pictures in the next emails.
Leveraging Specific Quotes
What’s more personalized than quoting a prospect’s exact words? See if a prospect has videos, podcasts, or posts about a topic to which you can add unique value.
Subject line: Loved what you said in {{podcast name}}
Hey, {{first name}}
A client of ours introduced me to {{prospect’s company}} through a recent podcast you did with {{podcast name}}. I’m {{Your name}}, {{position}}, at {{company}}.
Loved the insight you had on {{topic}}, especially when you said {{direct quote}}. I couldn’t agree more!
That’s why I was so eager to reach out. I’ve always had the same sentiment on {{topic}}. So, I decided to spend years developing {{product}}. It’s helped our clients and ourselves achieve {{goals}}.
I’d love to talk to you about how it can help {{prospect’s company}} do the same! Is this something you might be interested in?
Thanks in advance,
{{your name}}
Low Friction CTA
The first sales emails should focus on engagement, connecting, and providing value. Low-friction CTAs can gauge relevance, qualify leads, and open room for further talks.
Subject line: {{your name}} x {{prospect’s name}}
Hey, {{first name}},
I’m {{your name}}, {{position}} at {{company}}. I saw your comment on {{industry leader}}’s post about {{topic}}. I’m guessing you also deal with {{pain point}}.
Businesses come to us when they’re struggling to scale cold outreach. It’s either finding cost-effective ways to scale volume or having a message that doesn’t quite hit.
I feel like {{company}} might be relevant for {{prospect’s company}} at your stage of growth. But before doing a pitch, I’d love to know if you’re just starting with cold outreach or sending large volumes already.
Best regard,
{{your name}}
Imagine This Sales Email
Letting your prospects paint a picture of what they can achieve with your products/service offers a different angle to your pitch. Here’s an example:
Subject line: Worried about {{pain point}} during expansion?
Hey, {{first name}},
I’m {{your name}}, from {{your company}}. I follow you on LinkedIn and am a huge fan of {{relevant post}}.
I was reaching out today because I saw that you got funding to expand operations. Congratulations! Managing overhead costs during this period can be daunting, especially for companies like {{prospect’s company}} going through such a transition.
Imagine if you didn’t have to oversee {{pain point 1}}, {{pain point 2}}, {{pain point 3}}?
{{your company}} have done just that for {{competitors}}. Can {{prospect’s company}} take advantage of our service?
Best regard,
{{your name}}
Climbing up the Ladder Sales Email
Reaching out to C-levels and executives can take a lot of work. However, getting in touch with low-level employees might help you climb the ladder. This works well, especially if you have a mutual connection.
Subject line: {{first name}}, can you help me out?
Hi, {{first name}},
I came across your name from {{mutual connection}}. I was wondering if you could help me out. I’m {{your name}}, {{position}}, at {{your company}}.
I saw that {{prospect’s company}} was {{relevant event}}. {{your company}} developed solutions to handle {{pain points}} that go along with {{relevant event}}.
Would you be the right person to discuss these solutions with?
Thanks in advance,
{{your name}}
Going Deep and Technical
Without the proper sales enablement, SDRs might fold when asked technical questions. When your sales email addresses something technical, it might catch their eye.
Subject line: Poor deliverability could be a DMARC issue
Hey, {{first name}},
Did a quick site audit for {{prospect’s company website}} and noticed that you’re missing a DMARC record on your main domain. You need this to authenticate emails and reduce spam.
I’m reaching out because I saw your comments on {{relevant post}} asking for help with email deliverability. Nobody mentioned more technical aspects of email outreach.
We’ve been helping dozens of SDRs land their emails in the right inbox by ensuring proper technical setups. Might this be relevant to your needs now?
Kind regards,
{{your name}}
Relating Statistics
Statistics are just nice-to-see numbers unless you can relate them directly to your prospect’s needs. Here’s an example you can use:
Subject line: Is {{statistic}} good for {{prospect’s company}}
Hey, {{first name}},
{{statistic source}} says {{job position} }only spends {{statistic}} of their week doing {{task}}.
There’s too much to do before getting to {{task}}. If I were to guess, {{prospect’s company}} might also be struggling with {{pain points related to task}}.
{{your company}} helps teams {{benefit 1}}, {{benefit 2}}, and {{benefit 3}}.
We’ve helped {{competitors}} boost the average {{statistic}} to {{higher percentage}}.
Could your team use the help?
Best regard,
{{your name}}
Relevant Event Sales Email
Leveraging upcoming events in your sales email is an excellent way of adding personalization and relevancy. Take this email as an example:
Subject line: {{first name}}, how are you preparing for {{event}}?
Hey, {{first name}},
I’m a huge fan of your LinkedIn content. The most recent one you did on {{event}} came right on time.
The months leading up to {{event}} can be a huge grind for e-commerce businesses, with all the preparation needed beforehand.
Just curious to know how you’re handling {{task}} for {{prospect’s company}}? Seriously, how do you find the time to prepare, be a mentor, train sales, and do content?
I work with {{your company}}, we {{quick value proposition}}.
Would it make sense for us to connect soon?
Best regard,
{{your name}}
Key Takeaways
Ironically, the best sales emails aren’t focused on selling. The winning sales emails provide value, offer a different perspective, and have a deep level of personalization.
As a quick recap, here’s what you can do to create in-depth personalization in your sales emails to provide prospects with valuable insights that eventually lead to a sale:
- Find verified leads from quality lead sources
- Segment leads and qualify them based on demographics, job positions, etc.
- Leverage lead intelligence and research tools to fill gaps in information about leads
- Angle unique selling points based on information gathered from research
- Contextualize value proposition for different stakeholders
Remember, the best sales emails work best for your audience. You need tools to track leads, monitor analytics, and run A/B testing to make the best sales emails. That’s where Instantly comes in! Try it out today!