Cold Email Fails and How to Avoid Them
Have you gotten any cold emails from sales or business development reps lately? If so, how do you know they were cold outreach attempts? What did you recognize in those emails that stood out for all the wrong reasons? Were any of them so bad that they actually triggered your gag reflexes?
Last week, I received a cold email so bad, so putrid, that it has been haunting my memory ever since. I decided to write about it in the hope that doing so will wipe its existence from my nightmares. If you receive emails like this, please don’t encourage their continued use by responding in any way. If you send any cold emails like this, please contact me and ask for help in reinventing your emails to be more effective.
First, some background. This email (see below) was most likely sent on behalf of the sender, not the person it is claiming to be from. Second, it is truly a cold email as I do not know the sender and have never heard of the company before. Third, the email address it was sent to is one that is very rarely ever used in filling out any forms or registering for anything, which makes me wonder how it got on a list in the first place.
Warning Signs all over this Cold Email
Warning Sign 1
Using “re:” in the subject line to make it appear as though we’ve interacted before. Don’t do that. Ever.
Warning Sign 2
The email is coming from a person I do not know and have never heard of, which is the top reason emails are left unopened. Be aware that your chances of a cold email being opened are much lower than emails to people who would recognize you from a previous interaction.
Warning Sign 3
The email was sent at 7:55 am Eastern Time, even though the sender is in Pacific Time, so I know this is not a single, hand-typed email from this person. I’m sure he is still asleep.
Warning Sign 4
The first sentence is a total fabrication. No, you did not attempt to reach me before. Please, never ever refer to previous failed attempts to reach someone in your emails regardless if it is true or false. Why do this? What can you gain?
Warning Sign 5
Another absolute lie. Lying to me about doing research and about previous failed attempts to reach me is not going to encourage me to take action. I don’t know when this trend began and why, but it is highly irritating and unethical. Do not try to place the burden and false sense of urgency on the recipient.
Had he actually done any research on me or my company, this email would have never been sent as it is obvious I would not be a good fit for their solutions.
Warning Sign 6
Totally unverifiable claim without any reference to an unbiased, third party source to back it up. Don’t brag. Don’t boast. Don’t toot your own horn. It’s not about you. Just, yuck.
Warning Sign 7
More self-gratifying boasting that has nothing to do with me, my challenges, my unique needs or why I would relate to any of their satisfied customers.
Warning Sign 8
Continuing to reference the multiple, failed attempts to reach me for a discussion. Also, poor grammar. Is that a statement or a question? Also, why not provide a suggested date and time to make it easier for me to confirm availability? Why put all the burden on me to tell you a date and time I’m open for you to conduct a sales call?
Warning Sign 9
What kind of fanciful, nonsense title is “Subject Matter Expert?” Are you a sage? Are you going to provide advice and council? I doubt it. You are obviously in sales or business development, so just use the proper title.
Avoiding Cold Email Fails
Creating effective cold emails for an outbound campaign isn’t necessarily easy, but it can certainly be a lot easier by knowing what to avoid doing. Generally speaking, your recipients are typical human beings with a lot of work to do, multiple priorities and little patience for unscheduled, uninvited interruptions, such as your cold emails. There are several generally accepted best practice you can begin with to help you transform your emails to get more people to open, read, click and react.
Here is a short list of what you should avoid with cold emails:
- Avoid sending email to people who clearly are not a fit for what you offer.
- Don’t lie.
- Don’t make the message all about you. Read it aloud to yourself. If you hear several “I, we, me, us” words in the body, then consider a rewrite.
- Don’t place the burden on the recipient to determine next steps and make suggestions on moving forward.
- Don’t forget to offer a very clear, very easy call-to-action. Include a link to your calendar. Include a button for them to click and confirm interest. Make it simple.
Reinventing Your Cold Emails
OK. So, I’ve given some basic guidance on what to avoid when creating cold outreach emails to generate leads or secure scheduled discovery calls. It’s harsh. I get it. I’m not a monster. I’m here to help. If you would like to get some advice and assistance with your emails, just let me know. I’ll be happy to take one of your existing emails and provide you with a new version based on best practices and years of testing, tracking and adjusting. No charge!
