By Justin McGill
Over the last couple of years, I have had the privilege of overseeing more than 3 million cold email messages. Unfortunately, most of them fail miserably.
Why Most Cold Emails Fail
If your cold emails look like this, you are doing it wrong:
"Hi Justin, hope you're doing well! Can we schedule a short meeting to discuss our company services at your convenience?"
There are several reasons why cold emails fail: these can include anything from bad subject lines, to emailing the wrong contact, to not personalizing your message enough. Unfortunately, it is pretty easy to create bad cold emails.
A Simple Cold Email Framework
Because quality cold emails are so rare these days, I came up with a simple formula I call "QVC" to help people increase their responses.
Q is for Question. This should be one sentence. V is for Value Proposition. This should be one to three sentences maximum. C is for Closing. This should be one sentence.You don't want to worry about introducing yourself in the very first sentence; this immediately tells the recipient that they don't know you. Aside from the subject line, this is the single most important element of your entire email, because it's what shows up in preview panes in their email client and on their phones.
You can introduce yourself and your offering in the next section. However, you want to focus on your benefit here. This means you should replace the "I" and "we" with a "you" in this portion of the email.
Lastly, you want to close the email with another question. Ideally, a question that is easy to respond to while helping the conversation advance to the next stage.
Using the QVC framework, I've been able to generate a 45 percent open rate on my cold emails. Even better is the combined 14 percent response rate (31 percent combined between the first two emails).
Nail the Subject Line
Two things need to happen with your cold email subject lines. One, you want to capture their interest, and two, you want to avoid being flagged as spam. Believe it or not, 69 percent of email recipients flag an email as spam solely based on the subject line.
Emails that have "Re:" perform higher than any other subject line. This is especially important for follow-up emails: include your previous email correspondence in your follow-up for easy reference, while using "Re:" at the beginning of your subject line.
If you are having a hard time coming up with a great subject line, don't stress. Studies show an 8 percent improvement in open rates with no subject line at all!
Send at Least Four More Follow-ups
Unfortunately, 44 percent of salespeople stop following up after two attempts. Meanwhile, 80 percent of sales occur after five attempts. Don't just quit after one or even two emails.
You also want to avoid the typical "checking in" or "I haven't heard back" follow-ups. Instead, try to bring value. Use a case study for one follow-up, ask a question for another follow-up, link to a relevant blog post for another, or focus on a different benefit than what you did in your previous emails.
Getting a Response
By writing cold emails with the intention of getting a response, you are helping your future email deliverability. This is because you are showing engagement. Any response is a good response (even when they request to never be emailed again).
In addition, by having a more naturally flowing email, you help reduce your risk of being flagged as spam.
Lastly, you won't have to burn through so many of your ideal prospects, because you'll be converting a higher percentage of them into actual conversations that move the sales process forward.
If they do respond and are interested in what you offer, I recommend sending them a link to your calendar to book a time to chat further. Don't try to simply close the deal via email.
Justin McGill is CEO & co-founder of LeadFuze, a B2B lead-generation platform that automates prospect discovery and personalized outreach at scale.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.