Connor Murray, an Enterprise Account Executive with 6+ years of software sales experience, has sent over 50,000 cold emails throughout his career. In his comprehensive guide, he breaks down exactly what makes cold emails work and what causes them to fail. As someone who’s coached hundreds of tech sales reps, his insights are battle-tested and proven to get results.
This guide covers everything you need to know about cold emailing – from understanding why it works to crafting templates that get responses, setting up effective follow-up sequences, and handling objections like a pro.
Cold emailing remains one of the most effective prospecting channels for one simple reason: it’s highly scalable. While cold calling creates higher quality interactions, email allows you to reach far more prospects in less time.
What makes cold email particularly powerful is that slight improvements in key metrics can produce massive gains in results. Let’s break this down with a practical example:
Imagine three SDRs each sending 1,000 emails with different performance metrics:
| SDR | Emails Sent | Response Rate | Meeting Conversion | Opportunity Conversion | Expected Pipeline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 1,000 | 3% | 16.7% (1/6) | 33.3% (1/3) | $100,000 |
| #2 | 1,000 | 4% | 20% (1/5) | 36% | $144,000 |
| #3 | 1,000 | 5% | 25% (1/4) | 40% | $200,000 |
As you can see, improving your response rate from 3% to 5% and making small improvements in conversion rates can double your expected pipeline. This is the power of small optimizations at scale.
According to recent studies by Woodpecker, the average cold email response rate across industries is just 8.5%, and the conversion rate typically hovers between 0.7% and 4.2%, depending on your industry and approach. But by implementing the strategies in this guide, you can push your numbers to the higher end of that spectrum.
Here’s a crucial mindset shift: You can’t book a meeting unless you get a response first.
Many sales reps focus too much on booking meetings and not enough on eliciting responses of any kind. Even negative responses give you a chance to follow up and turn the situation around.
Think of it like basketball: responses are shots on goal. The more shots you take, the more chances you have to score. Your email templates should be designed primarily to generate responses, not necessarily immediate meetings.
Every successful cold email must answer three questions:
Let’s analyze a common template that underperforms and see how to transform it:
Weak Template:
I hope this message finds you well. I'm part of the ABC team that supports all things pertaining to sales, service, marketing, and overall customer experience. We work with many organizations on process transformation and I wanted to reach out to hopefully set up a time to see how we can potentially act as a resource moving forward.
I would love to set up time next week for a brief 15-minute call to introduce myself and get a better understanding of your current applications and how we can be of assistance to you and your team.
Warmest regards,
ConnorWhy it fails:
Improved Template:
My name is Connor Murray, I'm part of the ABC marketing automation team responsible for supporting XYZ company.
Our team has been working with companies like XYZ on priorities related to sophisticated campaign design, advanced lead scoring, and unlocking real-time account insights.
I am looking to set up 15 to 20 minutes next week to introduce myself and get aligned with any of your priorities in these areas going forward. Do either of the following dates work: [Tuesday at 2pm] or [Thursday at 10am]?
Please let me know when works best and I will send us the invite.
Thanks in advance,
ConnorWhy it works:
According to research by Mailmodo, personalized emails see up to 50% higher open rates and 32.7% better response rates than generic templates. The key is to be specific, relevant, and confident in your communication.
The single biggest improvement you can make to your emails is replacing passive, optional language with strong, assumptive language.
According to data from GMass, emails using assumptive language see response rates up to 15% higher than those using passive language. This simple shift makes your emails sound more confident and increases the probability that prospects will respond. Even a 1-2% improvement in response rate can significantly impact your results over time.
Here are four customizable templates for different scenarios and personas, based on analysis of over 1 million cold emails. Copy them, adapt them to your needs, and start using them today.
My name is [Your Name] and I'm part of the [Your Company] team responsible for supporting [Prospect's Company] regarding back-office applications.
Given your role, I'm looking to introduce our team and get aligned with your priorities going forward.
My team specifically supports [Industry] organizations on priorities related to [Priority 1], [Priority 2], and [Priority 3]. We usually work with customers to improve [Benefit 1], [Benefit 2], and [Benefit 3].
If you have availability next week on Wednesday or Thursday, please let me know when works best and I will send us an invite to connect.
Thanks in advance,
[Your Name]Good morning [Name],
I'm reaching out as your point of contact on the [Your Company] Financial applications team responsible for supporting [Prospect's Company].
Given your role, I'm looking to introduce our team and get aligned with your priorities going forward.
My team primarily works with organizations on priorities related to strategic planning, budget forecasting, and financial reporting. We usually work with customers on automating account recs and much of the close process, predictive planning capabilities, and scenario modeling.
Do any of the following dates work for an introductory discussion?
- [Date 1]
- [Date 2]
- [Date 3]
Thanks in advance,
[Your Name]My name is [Your Name] and I'm part of the [Your Company] Financial applications team responsible for supporting [Prospect's Company].
Given your role, I'm looking to introduce our team and get aligned with your priorities going forward.
My team specifically works with life science organizations on priorities related to clinical trial planning, budget forecasting, and commercialization. We typically work with customers to unify data from clinical trials and enhance portfolio planning through the use of AI and machine learning.
Do you have availability next week? Please let me know what time works best for you and I will send us an invite to connect.
Thanks in advance,
[Your Name]My name is [Your Name] and I'm part of the [Your Company] Financial applications team responsible for supporting [Prospect's Company].
My team specifically works with manufacturing organizations on priorities related to supply chain planning, production cost management, and strategic sourcing. We work with customers to integrate financial data with supply chain management and automate routine financial processes such as invoicing and reconciliations through the use of AI and machine learning.
Given your role, I'm looking to set some time to introduce my team and get aligned with your priorities going forward. Do either of the following dates work for you?
- [Date 1]
- [Date 2]
Looking forward to it,
[Your Name]Instead of creating emails from scratch for every prospect, build a template system that allows you to quickly customize messages for different personas and industries. According to research by Hunter.io, personalized templates can increase response rates by up to 40%.
Here’s a shocking stat from Instantly.ai: 70% of sales reps stop after the first email when they don’t get a response. Yet, follow-ups are where approximately 70% of email-generated meetings come from.
The goal of a follow-up isn’t to provide more information—it’s to snap prospects out of their daily routine and induce a response. Keep follow-ups short and direct them back to your original message.
Follow-up #1 (2 days after initial email):
Just following up on my previous message. Are you available on either of those dates? Let me know when would work best.
Thanks in advance,
[Your Name]OR
Hi [Name],
Did you get a chance to review my note below?
Looking forward to speaking,
[Your Name]Follow-up #2 (2 days after follow-up #1):
Please give me your thoughts on this.This ultra-short follow-up generates the most responses, though they may not all be positive. The directness often prompts people to actually read your initial email carefully. Be mentally prepared for some negative responses—they’re still opportunities to engage.
Follow-up #3 (2 days after follow-up #2):
Hi [Name],
Let me know if this is a conversation we should postpone for a later date, perhaps early December.
Let me know,
[Your Name]Optional Follow-up #4 (2 days after follow-up #3):
[First Name]Sometimes, a pattern interrupt with just their first name can prompt a response. According to data from Woodpecker, following up 3-4 times can increase your response rate by up to 27%.
To systematize your outreach and maximize efficiency, implement the A/B/A/B cadence. This method helps you stay organized and ensures consistent follow-up.
This creates a repeatable system where you always know what to do each day. It also ensures you’re consistently following up with prospects without getting overwhelmed.
To implement these strategies efficiently, leverage these tools:
Let’s break down how to implement these strategies over the next 30 days:
To measure success and continuously improve, track these key metrics:
| Metric | Formula | Good Benchmark | Average Benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Rate | Emails opened ÷ Emails sent | 70%+ | 55% |
| Response Rate | Replies received ÷ Emails sent | 15%+ | 6% |
| Meeting Booking Rate | Meetings booked ÷ Responses | 50%+ | 35% |
| Conversion Rate | Deals won ÷ Emails sent | 4.2% | 0.7% |
| Bounce Rate | Bounced emails ÷ Emails sent | 2% | 2-5% |
According to research by Instantly.ai, personalized email content increases response rates by 32.7%, and personalized subject lines boost open rates by 50%. Use these benchmarks to evaluate your performance and identify areas for improvement.
Cold email remains one of the most effective prospecting channels when done right. By focusing on:
You can dramatically improve your results and stand out in crowded inboxes.
Remember: The goal is to get responses, not just immediate meetings. Every response, even negative ones, gives you an opportunity to engage and potentially convert prospects over time.
Start small, be consistent, and focus on continuous improvement. Small gains in key metrics can lead to dramatic improvements in your overall results. And most importantly, be human in your communication—prospects can tell the difference between genuine outreach and automated spam.
Now it’s time to put these strategies into action. Take one template, send it to 10 prospects, and start building your cold email system today.