Are your B2B sales emails moving the needle? It’s no secret that email is one of the most powerful marketing channels and any business not utilizing and optimizing its emails is missing out on a massive opportunity.
According to Optinmonster, 77% of B2B companies use email marketing as part of their content strategy, and 79% of B2B marketers rate email as their best channel for content distribution. With an average conversion rate of 1.22% (Kinsta), that means 1 in 100 emails sent are making a sale and many of these campaigns are automated.
Ready to take your email game to the next level? It’s not complicated and we put together a list of proven templates for you to use and customize for your next campaign.
Elements of a great sales email
Structurally, every email requires a few elements to perform. While a few of these are very short, writing compelling copy is critical to driving open rates and engagement across the board.
Subject line
If there’s one thing you really need to nail, it’s the subject line. This short phrase is the first thing the reader sees and it must grab their attention quickly. Effective subject lines tap strong emotions like curiosity, joy, fear, guilt, gratification, etc.
Preview text
Look inside your inbox and you will notice a short segment of copy that follows the subject line. This preview text offers the opportunity to quickly add context behind your subject line so the reader knows what the email is about and is enticed to click through and continue reading. Just like the subject line, this piece really needs to pack a punch to help your email stand out and grab the prospect’s attention.
Body copy
You wrote a killer subject line and the prospect opened your email. Congratulations! Getting that click is difficult and now you have the opportunity to insert your pitch. Use these simple guidelines to make every email pop:
- Keep it short and to the point
- Introduce yourself and provide context
- Offer value with free resources and data
- Make your pitch in a sentence or two
- Deliver a strong Call to Action (CTA)
- Sign off cordially
Value is the key differentiator in many B2B sales emails. Your prospect is no stranger to being pitched and while you should almost always have a CTA for a call, demo, or further action, offer something they can grab and use as well. Link to a useful blog post, provide data they can use in their job, build resources they can use like free templates, and make a real effort to be useful and engaging beyond the CTA.
How to optimize sales email performance
Small tweaks and changes can have big impacts on email performance. Ideally, you are using a CRM system like Hubspot or an email campaign service to organize and track every detail of your outreach campaigns. A/B testing is ideal for medium to large email lists because you can test subject lines and use data to find the highest-performing options. Test whenever possible and use that data to guide your copy strategy.
Deliverability
Ethics in email marketing is a top priority and your emails will not reach the inbox if flagged as spam. How did you obtain the email for this individual? In most cases, you need permission to send off emails and the best way to stay above board is through an opt-in or even double opt-in process.
When sending a cold email, give the prospect the opportunity to opt-in so you can continue emailing, and always provide an opt-out so they can remove their email from your list if desired. When your prospects opt-in and engage with emails, your content will deliver to their inbox successfully, creating a high deliverability rate.
Open Rate
How many people who received the email actually opened it? The open rate accounts for every delivered email that is opened. Emails reaching the spam folder or dead addresses do not factor into open rates. While you can find plenty of standardized data regarding these rates, it can vary widely by vertical.
If your offer is of high value in a very competitive environment, for example, a low open rate can still convert major revenue. In markets with lower returns on each conversion, achieving higher open rates to maximize reach is imperative.
Click-Through Rate
After the email is opened, your prospect reads through the content and clicks on any element within the email. This might include a free resource, calendar link, or anything else provided in the content or signature. This click-through rate tracks engagement so you can measure how much value and interest is garnered from each email.
Response Rates
The response is a direct measurement against your CTA and depending on your CRM structure, is often considered a conversion within the email campaign even though it’s not a true conversion until the prospect buys your offer.
Response rates equate to meetings, demos, and that critical next step that moves your prospect down the sales funnel. Increase response rates with clear CTAs that make it easy to respond. Offer meeting times so they can select one in a single action, add a meeting link to your signature and give them the incentive to engage directly.
Use these 8 simple B2B sales email examples to help you drive more leads
Follow up to a Linkedin message
Hey {{ contact.firstname }}!
Did you catch my Linkedin request? Looks like you are doing great work for {company name}.
At {my company}, we {brief 1 sentence description of what your organization does}
Do you want access to {a specific product or service offer} all for about the cost of {something comparable, ie: a cup of coffee, one night at a hotel}?
Here are some of our recent results {link to case studies, testimonials, etc.}! FYI – Our team is world-class and they flat-out perform.
I’d love to learn more about your program and see where we fit into the mix. How does {time} next Tuesday or Thursday work?
Thanks for your time,
{sender name}
Another Linkedin follow up
Hey {{ contact.firstname }},
Did you catch my Linkedin connection request? I checked out your profile and it looks like you are crushing {name something broad they’re doing well, ie: sales efforts, marketing efforts, social media, networking}.
Did you know that {list a surprising stat about your industry}? At {my company}, we {share in 1-2 sentences how you battle that stat}.
Our {product or service} does {share in 1-2 sentences how it addresses a specific pain point}
Are you ready to {name a specific goal your product or service can help them succeed in}? Let’s put our heads together and make this happen. How does {time} am work next Tuesday or Thursday?
Looking forward,
{sender name}
P.S. Here’s a nice visual showing how we move the needle. (insert marketing collateral)
Show the proof
Hi {{ contact.firstname }},
Did you know {share a surprising stat related to your business/industry}?
At {my company}, we think it’s because {introduce the biggest pain point your customers face}.
That’s because:
- {reason #1 for pain point}
- {reason #2 for pain point}
- {reason #3 for pain point}
It’s simply not realistic to {specify the main pain point again}.
Our client, {client name}, used to rely on {list an inferior product or service to your own}. They made a change and {share the #1 biggest success customers have had in switching to your product or service}.
The {job title} was able to actually {share what your product or service enabled them to do}. {client name} {share a big accomplishment a customer experienced, ie: increased sales by 102%, found financial freedom, saw a 10% increase in donations, etc.} and haven’t looked back.
Are you ready to take the reins and access the resources you need for success?
Get on my calendar and let’s do this! I can’t wait to talk.
{sender name}
Deliver value
Hi {{ contact.firstname }},
I spend all day {share something you do frequently, ie: speak to customers, organizing people’s houses, teaching guitar}. But no matter who I’m working with, everyone has the same question: {the #1 question you are asked by prospects and/or clients}.
Here’s the thing about that:
You can {list something you can do correctly in your industry to be successful}.
Or {list a second thing you can do correctly in your industry to be successful}.
But you can’t stick the landing without {what you offer/do} (trust me, we’ve seen too many companies try and fail).
Take a look at this {specify the name of the collateral you’re about to share}
{Insert a 1-3 sentence description of how clients have found this exact resource helpful in solving their biggest pain point}
I want to show you exactly how this works. It’s time to get our feet wet. Drop a time on my calendar so we can walk through the details.
-{sender name}
Address the pain
Hi {{ contact.firstname }} –
F’ing {main thing you provide that your clients hate doing, ie: voice lessons, grocery shopping, driving to appointments}! It’s {share why this main thing is necessary} but it’s {share why so many people don’t like doing it}.
Are you tired of the {list of frequent up/down in your industry your client would be tired of}? You don’t have to {specify what they’d no longer need to do if they used your product/service}. That’s because we {share how you can help them complete the thing they don’t want to do in an easier or more enjoyable way}.
Right now, {list a surprising negative industry statistic}.
Imagine what could happen if instead you {share a specific way someone can use your product or service to battle this statistic}
You’d be crazy not to explore this option.
Give me a shout with questions or drop a time on my calendar.
Talk soon,
{sender name}
Get to the point
{{ contact.firstname }}!
I see that you have big goals at {{ contact.company }}. You know that {list something your customers need in order to be successful—this should be something you can offer them reprieve from through your product or service}.
But guess what? {Share a recurring problem—again, this should be something your product or service can offer a reprieve from}.
Uh oh.
If you don’t want to be the definition of insanity (doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results!) then let’s talk. Let’s {share a specific goal your product/service can help customers meet that would make them happy, ie: rock your sales goals, rescue more dogs, cook at home more}
We {1 sentence description of where your company shines—like a super brief elevator pitch}. Learn more about how we {be specific about how you can help them and link to your calendar}.
{sender name}
P.S. I am pleasantly persistent, so feel free to tell me ‘yes’ OR ‘no’.
Provide data with your solution
Hi {{ contact.firstname }},
Do you {list a pain point that all of your customers would experience—something that can be solved by what you offer}?
Only {surprising stat #1}
But {surprising stat #2}
Surprising, right?
That’s why we recommend {your suggestion for clients who face these specific stats}. Our {product/service} can {1-2 sentences about how your product/service battles their pain point}
Want to learn more? {link to marketing collateral}.
Also, be sure to check out {additional marketing collateral}.
Oh yeah – I WILL be calling you soon.
{sender name}
Personal and quick CTA
Hi {{ contact.firstname }},
When you’re {share what your ideal customer struggles with}, who is {share what they SHOULD be doing or wish they were doing}?
It’s a vicious cycle – a lifetime of ups and downs.
We {in one sentence, pitch what you do/how you can help solve this problem}
Want to learn more about how our {product/service} can help you {how it can help their specific pain point}, {{ contact.company }}?
Click here to schedule a quick call!
Excited to meet you!
{sender name}
Looking for more sales help?
Schedule a call with Kevin and he’ll help you assess the areas for opportunity in your sales process.
