Imagine yourself as a founder of a brand-new startup, striving to work with a well-established company in your industry. You know that an in-person introduction would be ideal, but sadly, that is not always possible.
On the other hand, a single cold email will most probably get lost in the sea of similar messages that we receive on a daily basis. Following up is necessary, especially if you want engagement, but you cannot just follow up with a single sentence.
Each follow-up email needs to stand out on its own while also building up on your previous messages. This is where a cold email sequence comes into play.
In this article:
- What is a Cold Email Sequence?
- Key Emails in a Cold Email Sequence
- Getting the Most out of Your Cold Email Sequences
- Summarizing the Art of Building Cold Email Sequences
Let’s get started.
What is a Cold Email Sequence?
Cold email sequences consist of a strategically planned series of emails designed to engage a prospect over a longer duration. Focusing on meaningful specifics, designed to foster a relationship over time.
Unlike a single cold email that might go unnoticed, a sequence maintains momentum by progressively building on the previous messages, offering valuable insights, addressing potential pain points, or sharing relevant case studies which resonate with the recipient’s needs.
There is no one solution, and what works for others might not work for you. However, there are four key ingredients that you should focus on when designing your sequences.
- Personalization: Make sure you tailor each email to the recipient by including their name, company details, and relevant insights to demonstrate that you did your homework and have a genuine interest in their business.
- Offer Value: Provide useful information or resources. Tips and tools relevant to the prospect’s industry would do wonders. Make it obvious that the email is beneficial to them even if they do not engage with you, building your credibility in the process.
- Address Pain Points: Identify some specific challenges the industry faces and explain how your product or service can effectively solve these issues. This establishes your experience with the industry.
- Clear Call to Action: You should conclude each email with a straightforward request. Scheduling a meeting, requesting feedback, or simply encouraging a response. Your prospects should never be left hanging by the end of your email.
Let us now move on to the specific emails that should make up your sequence.
Key Emails in a Cold Email Sequence
When building a cold email sequence, it is good to have a structured approach through which you gradually engage your prospect while providing value and establishing credibility at the same time.
Take the emails below as a starting point, you should consider including these in your sequence but understand that every business is different, and a couple of these emails might not be relevant to yours.
- Introduce Yourself: Start the sequence by briefly introducing yourself and who you represent, establish credibility if possible and provide context for the recipient to understand who you are and why you are reaching out.
- Provide Value: Share valuable insights, discuss industry trends, or provide helpful resources that can benefit the recipient. These will demonstrate your expertise and genuine interest in their success.
- Address Pain Points: Identify and acknowledge specific challenges that other parties may be facing. Display that you understand their needs as well as the issues affecting their industry.
- Offer a Solution: Present your product or service as a viable solution, you should have done so in the previous steps too! This time however, you will offer results and numbers from your previous clients and a case study or two if you have one ready.
- Follow-Up & Reminder: Finish up your sequence with a polite follow-up designed to remind the recipient of your previous emails and encourage them to engage with you. Keep the conversation open, active, and let them know that you will get in touch in the future if you have any new insights to share.
Let us now assume the role of a SaaS company which offers restaurant-related hardware and software solutions to local fooderies.
Email Template: Introduce Yourself
Hi [Recipient’s Name],
I hope this email finds you well! My name is [Your Name], and I’m the founder of [Your Company Name], where we specialize in providing user-friendly hardware and software solutions tailored for fooderies.
I came across [Recipient’s Company Name] and was truly impressed by [mention something specific about their business, such as a unique dish, or a detail about their latest social media posts]. It’s clear that you care about delivering an exceptional experience to your customers.
I’d love the opportunity to connect and explore how we can support [Recipient’s Company Name] in improving your operations and customer satisfaction.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Best,
[Your Name]
[Your Job Title]
[Your Company Name]
[Your Contact Details]
Email Template: Provide Value
Hi [Recipient’s Name],
I wanted to follow up on my previous email and share some insights that could be beneficial for [Recipient’s Company Name].
Did you know that restaurants we worked with have managed to reduce order inaccuracies by up to 30% using our handhelds? That’s not all, they’ve also experienced a significant increase in the overall efficiency of their operations, leading to lower labor costs and higher customer satisfaction.
We’ve compiled a brief report on industry trends and best practices that could really help your team stay ahead of the curve. I’d be glad to share it with you if you’re interested!
Looking forward to your thoughts!
Best,
[Your Name]
[Your Job Title]
[Your Company Name]
[Your Contact Details]
Email Template: Address Pain Points
Hi [Recipient’s Name],
I hope you’re doing well! I wanted to reach out again because I understand that order inaccuracies and managing food allergies are significant pain points in the food service industry.
At [Your Company Name], we’ve developed a simple solution which is specifically designed to tackle these challenges head-on. Our solution will minimize order mistakes at your restaurant while also improving your team’s ability to manage customer needs effectively.
Imagine reducing order errors by up to 30% while simultaneously making your customers’ dining experience safer in the process. I would love to share how some of our current clients are already reaping the benefits.
Would you be interested in a quick meeting to take your solution on a test drive? We have prepared a demo just for you.
Best,
[Your Name]
[Your Job Title]
[Your Company Name]
[Your Contact Details]
Email Template: Offer a Solution
Hey [Recipient’s Name],
Hope you’re well! I wanted to quickly remind you about how [Your Company Name] can help [Recipient’s Company Name] tackle common challenges like order inaccuracies and allergen management.
Our innovative system has helped restaurants reduce their labor costs by 10% and order errors by 30%. The streamlined operations ensure a better experience for your customers as well as your staff.
Any chance we could schedule a brief call or demo this week to discuss how our solution can improve your business?
Best,
[Your Name]
[Your Job Title]
[Your Company Name]
[Your Contact Details]
Email Template: Follow-Up & Reminder
Hi [Recipient’s Name],
Hope this email finds you well! I wanted to reach out one last time regarding my previous messages about how we can assist [Recipient’s Company Name]. I understand, life can get busy, but I truly believe that our solutions could bring significant improvements to your operations.
Do you have a few minutes [be specific, e.g. this Wednesday] to chat? I would love to explore how we can best work together to improve your restaurant’s service quality and customer satisfaction.
If now isn’t the right time, no worries! I’ll keep you updated with any new insights and reports we cook up and you can get in touch whenever you feel like it’s time to step forward.
If there are any specific questions about our tools, just let me know, I’d love to clear the air!
Best,
[Your Name]
[Your Job Title]
[Your Company Name]
[Your Contact Details]
Getting the Most out of Your Cold Email Sequences
Cold email sequences offer numerous benefits over traditional one-off cold emails. A well-structured sequence can significantly improve your outreach efforts and improve the likelihood of engagement from potential prospects.
Let us go through some of the most significant benefits and what you can do to maximize the results.
Better Engagement
One of the most significant benefits of setting up cold email sequences is their ability to engage your potential prospects in ways that are far superior to a one-off cold email.
Email sequences let you try out different approaches over a period of time instead of putting all your eggs in one basket. Take our examples above as an example: we start with a gentle reminder then follow up with additional details that might convince the prospect to try out our solution.
To maximize engagement in your email campaigns, you need to:
- Segment your audience so you can tailor messages to their specific interests and pain points. You will need to write multiple drafts for each segment, but the results will make it worthwhile.
- Use data from previous emails to refine your approach, run tests, and take your templates on a test drive with a smaller audience before pushing your emails out to everyone on your list.
- Try and incorporate questions or a call to action that invites a response, nothing feels more engaging than an actual back and forth.
Nurturing Relationships
Cold email sequences do not focus on making a hard sell right away, you give the option to your prospects but do not push them towards it.
Instead, you start by offering value, like helpful tips or insights relevant to them. You show genuine interest in solving their problems and remain consistent with this message as you follow up with additional content. Such an approach makes the recipient more likely to engage with you and eventually become a loyal customer.
Focus on transparency and honesty in your emails. For example:
- Share case studies and findings that the prospect can benefit from. Publish blog posts relevant to their niche and discuss the results of your past success stories.
- Stay humble and gentle with your approach. Email sequences that do not push a hard-sell tend to perform much better in the long run.
- Whenever you do sell, always spell out what the other party stands to gain from that transaction—in other words, sell it for their benefit and not your own.
Structured Approach
Employing a proper strategy is not possible without structure, and cold email sequences bring this structure to your outreach efforts. By ensuring that each email has a defined purpose and goal, you can fine-tune your approach to maximize engagement and conversion rates.
Cold email sequences let you systematically guide prospects through a predefined sales funnel, you will be delivering tailored messages with pre-planned intervals. But how exactly do you build the best structure for your needs?
- Personalization and audience segmentation can help improve the structure of your emails too! For example, you would mention and focus more on allergens when communicating with restaurants that serve shellfish.
- Do not underestimate the power of data and analytics. By splitting up a single cold email into multiple parts, your ability to fine-tune and analyze your outreach strategy increases as well.
- Track your open rates, click-through rates, response rates, but more importantly, track the recipients that actually engage with the content you share in your emails. Then adjust your sequences accordingly for future prospects.
Higher Conversion Rates
There would be no point in building an email sequence if all the improved engagement did not yield a higher conversion rate! Who would have thought that by nurturing leads through a well-planned series of emails, you can significantly increase their chance of converting into paying customers?
Each email in your sequences should serve to address a pain point, offer valuable insights, or highlight the benefits of your product or service. This tailored approach keeps your brand at the top of their mind while also building trust and credibility over time. As leads feel more informed and empowered, their confidence in making a purchase decision grows, ultimately leading to higher conversion rates.
But you can still nudge the scales further in your favor:
- Be clear in your calls to action and ensure that the prospect understands how they stand to benefit from your offer.
- Establish social proof, mention results from previous clients, and feel free to drop a name if they are well-known in the industry.
- Every now and then, create a sense of urgency by offering a limited-time bundle or discount. These will encourage your recipients to act quickly or face the fear of missing out on a great deal.
Summarizing the Art of Building Cold Email Sequences
Set yourself apart from the noise with a well-structured cold email sequence. Build and foster meaningful relationships with your prospects and engage them over a longer period of time instead of putting all your eggs in a single basket (a single cold email).
Focus on personalization, offer genuine value, address pain points, and include clear calls to action. These are all tasks you were going to focus on anyway with a single email—you just get to do so with a more fine-tuned approach when working with sequences.
Persistence and consistency are all you need. Iterate on your strategy and improve it using the data you collect through your campaigns—email sequences are a game-changer for new founders and seasoned professionals alike. Make the most out of them and do not give up hope if your first sequence does not yield results.
