Better Email Prospecting: How to Stand Out in the Inbox

The average office worker receives 120 emails every day. You can imagine that number goes up for people in managerial or C-suite positions. What does that mean for you when you’re prospecting?

You need to stand out if you want your prospect to open your email. On average, 24% of sales emails are opened. If you want to be in that lucky quartile, use these best practices to stand out from the crowd.

1. Grab attention
2. Tweak your “from” line
3. Cut to the chase
4. Customize
5. Speak the language
6. Images and videos
7. Follow up
8. Better cold outreach

Use an attention-grabbing subject line

If you want your prospect’s attention, your subject line is crucial. A good subject line might:

• Use their name
• Ask a burning question
• Offer a solution

If your prospect is struggling, then a solution might snag their attention. A question could be the way to go if you want to get them thinking. Personalization increases the chances that they’ll hit that “open” button.

Writing a great subject line

Research shows the best-performing subject lines are short and sweet. Personalization is also key to getting those clicks.

Subject lines that ask questions, offer a solution or include puns can grab attention. Knowing a bit about the prospect can help you land on the right subject line for the email.

Let them know who you are

A lot of sales reps miss this simple step, but it only takes a few seconds to customize your “from” line.

Why is this so important when you’re prospecting? When you send a cold email, the prospect doesn’t know who you are. Why should they open your email and not some other rep’s cold email?

Your “from” line could convince them. Are you “Josh from AwesomeCompany” or “Josh S., Head of Sales at AwesomeCompany”? This could be the difference between getting a click and ending up in the trash bin.

Get to the point in a prospecting email

Now you’ve written an awesome subject line and changed your “from” line. You’re in the best position to get your prospect to click.

What happens once they open the email? If they see a wall of text, they’re probably deleting the email or hitting the back button.

A great cold email holds the prospect’s attention. To make that happen, best practice is to keep it short and sweet. Think about how you’d introduce yourself at a conference. Your prospect isn’t asking for a 10-page history of you or your company.

Instead, keep it brief. Introduce yourself and your company quickly. Then ask the prospect a question about their business or mention something you noticed. Close with your ask.

The CTA: soft or hard?

Every good prospecting email ends with a call-to-action or CTA. The CTA should be clear, although it can be “soft” or “hard.”

A hard CTA is a strong ask. It might be something like “Book a demo” or “Can we schedule a 10-minute call next week?”

A soft CTA usually asks less of the prospect. You might ask them to check out a video or read a white paper.

Which should you choose when you’re prospecting?

Generally, a soft CTA will yield a higher response rate. This is especially true if the task is easy to complete. “Hard” asks can feel too demanding or pushy, especially if this is the first time the prospect has heard from you.

That said, a hard CTA can sometimes galvanize the prospect to act more decisively. Many prospects are busy, and they prefer the blunt “can we call you?” type of ask. Knowing your prospect can help you choose the approach that fits.

Customize your prospecting emails

If you’re doing cold email the right way, then there may not be a lot of content to customize. Even so, customization is key to getting responses from your prospects.

We saw how important it was for subject lines, but don’t forget about the rest of your email. While using templates can help you build desire in the prospect, customization makes them feel like you’re talking only to them.

Customizing can include adding details about recent achievements or talking about pain points. These kinds of details make people sit up and take note.

Speak the prospect’s language

In addition to personalization, you may also want to think about the tone of your email. Always consider who you’re addressing.

Younger prospects, for example, may love emojis and GIFs. Older prospects might think those are unprofessional, but they still love a good pun. It’s also important to show your knowledge of their industry and their company. You might know a lot about the product you’re selling, but speaking about how it solves problems in their industry will increase their trust in you.

A picture says 1,000 words

Human beings are visual creatures. We process images much faster than text, and we’re pretty good with video too. If you can, include some graphics or a short video in your prospecting email.

Not only can these tools help you get your point across more easily, they also help you stand out. After all, not many people are putting personalized videos in their emails.

Use sparingly in cold email

A word of caution for images and videos is in order. If you’re cold emailing someone, an email attachment may be flagged as suspicious or sent to spam. Emails that are too large may not reach the prospect’s inbox.

So, while images and videos are great tools, use them sparingly. You may be able to use them more when the prospect has “warmed up” to you.

Follow up (without spamming)

Use sales tools to keep track of when you contacted prospects and when it might be time to reach out again.

Persistence in sales pays off, after all. Nearly half of all reps give up after one email, but it can take several “no”s before a prospect says yes!

Using tools can help you space your messages apart, so you don’t overwhelm the prospect. Using a series of customized emails can ensure you stay relevant. That, more than anything else, will help you stand out from the crowd.

To make sure your messages actually reach your audience, email deliverability tools can monitor inbox placement, identify potential issues, and improve the chances your emails are seen and acted upon.

Get more from your cold outreach efforts

With these email prospecting best practices, you can make sure every email you send shines. With the right tools, you can send the right messages—to the right prospects. When you do, your success rate will soar.