How to Create Cold Email Sequences [With Proof]

It’s impossible to get B2B executives to buy a SaaS or E-commerce product they didn’t know about with mere sales emails.

Among other things, you need to:

• Create a good first impression and get them to engage with your messages.
• Show them why your offer is relevant by highlighting the unique pain points you solve.
• Educate them on the product and how they can use it.
• Create some product experience to show them the lifestyle they can have using your product.
• Highlight the values they can expect from using your product.
• Handle their objections.
• Show your unique advantage over competing products.
• And more.

So, as you build your product and are on the cusp of launching a marketing campaign to sell it, it can be challenging to nail all these components down into your messaging strategy. And that’s why you need a cold email sequence.

A cold email sequence allows you to build a step-by-step cold email campaign, a messaging system that feeds your prospects with the right message at the right time throughout a well designed sales process and eventually get them into paying customers.

You’ll be able to create the product experience and knowledge your prospects need to make up their minds about your product and you’ll easily close deals.

In this article, you’ll learn how to create a highly converting sales emails you can use to close your potential clients in the B2B space. Among other things, I also incorporate cold email templates you can use as inspiration to come up with a killer cold email sequence that will generate leads and paying customers.

What is a cold email sequence?

A cold email sequence is a series of cold emails that you program using a time interval and/or based on triggers/events and send automatically to your prospects.

The true power of a cold email sequence is that it works like the buyer’s journey. It involves a funnel-like messaging with a nurturing email sequence that moves your prospects through stages of the buyer’s journey—from the first touch to the step you close them and turn them into customers.

Throughout the cold email outreach process, your job is to feed your targets with necessary information to learn about your product offer, build a relationship, and eventually get them to buy from you.

Why sending cold email sequences is important?

The whole value of sending cold email sequences revolves around the fact that sending a single cold email and calling it quits won’t get you any results.

Statistics show that it takes a sales rep an average 5-7 cold emails before closing a client.

Think about cold calls. You cannot get a customer to buy from a single call. No matter what you sell or what value you provide during the call.

Case in point, a study by The Brevet Group confirmed that 80% of sales require five follow-up calls after the meeting. The same goes for cold emailing.

As the marketing and sales adage goes, the fortune is in the follow up. You need to send follow-up emails after the first touch email before expecting results.

And the best way to do this is to write a powerful follow up email sequence. This means creating cold email campaigns with with the appropriate number of follow up emails.

There are a lot of success stories and statistics out there but here is the main reason why this is how it needs to be.

When cold emailing prospects for the first time, there are a couple boxes you need to check off before they can trust and buy from you.

Here are the main considerations.

• They didn’t know who you are
• They didn’t know about your product
• They didn’t know about your brand
• They might not be aware of the problem you’re trying to solve
• They’re not ready to buy right away
• They don’t trust you right away
• And more and more objections

So you need a cold email sequence, a funnel to break the ice, move prospects from problem aware to solution aware, create a nurturing email sequence to convince them of the value of your offer, handle their objections, and get them to buy.

This process is the very reason you need a follow up email sequence to make your communications more impactful and stay on top of your prospects’ minds.

You can provide more value as you move your prospects between stages with your email sequence, easily build a relationship with them, and eventually win them over.

The anatomy of a great cold email sequence, according to me

Here are a few traits and characteristics of an effective cold email sequence.

It is planned for the long run not immediate results

Your email sequence should be long chain of cold emails, including follow ups, autoresponders, subsequences, etc.

You can also incorporate trigger-based follow up emails in the sequence to send specific emails to prospects if they reply or want out of your mailing list.

Keep in mind that this isn’t anything like “set it up in a cold email software and forget it” because you’ll have to monitor campaign results and move prospects to different segments based on how they reply or react to the previous emails in the sequence.

It works like a chain

Unlike a one-time cold email, cold email campaigns with multi-step follow-up emails allow you to nurture your prospects and provide value and gain credibility that lead them to buy.

As I mentioned in the intro, cold email sequences aim to provide your prospects with step-by-step information about a product or service they did not know existed.

The whole idea is that your prospects are not ready to buy right away. And so, the email sequence helps you build a stairway up to purchase—going from education to product integration.

You get to include several email touches with different marketing materials and call to action (CTAs) that help you move your potential customers along the process.

The biggest value of this strategy lies in the value it provides to your prospects and the relationship you build with them.

Using email sequences allows you to provide information that answers prospects’ questions and provides ways they can solve their pain points or grow their business.

It fosters trust and lets you move prospects throughout your sales cycle that ends up them buying and you getting new customers. This makes it a great tool to create long-term relationships that build trust and brand loyalty.

It is part of your growth flywheel

If you know a thing or two about B2B marketing, you probably know that conversion doesn’t happen overnight.

It takes multi-step strategies to get most companies and B2B executives to buy a product and that’s true for any type of content marketing.

Let’s take content marketing for example. Selling a SaaS tool will require a blog content calendar that includes:

• Top of the funnel content: (Awareness stage) For example, an informational blog post about your tool and how it is the solution that solves your customer’s biggest pain point, etc.
• Middle of the funnel content: (Consideration stage) Posts that have both informational and commercial value. Here, marketers don’t aggressively push for product integration but show your value (over the competition for example).
• Bottom of the funnel content: (Decision stage) Posts with commercial value and aggressive marketing. Generally a blog post filled with social proof, pain point directed solution, ect. And more content for fulfillment and retention.

An email sequence work (almost) the same way. So first thing, it’s not anything like sending one cold email and sending random follow-ups.

You will need to create a structured, well-thought-out, and streamlined message sequence using the buyer’s journey and the sales funnel.

And for this you will need to create a certain number of emails spread over a well-defined period — usually from an initial email to a break-up email.

Think of it like a content calendar that you deploy for a specific result at the end of the quarter.

Each email in the sequence should build up on the previous email and move your prospects one step ahead in the funnel — from awareness to decision to loyalty. Here is an example of a well-structured cold email sequence.

You can see how each email builds on up the previous one and how they all form one sales funnel.

That said, here are a few goals you may need to keep in mind while writing your cold email sequence to make it impactful and set yourself up for maximum results:

• Assist them in their purchase path, educate them
• Handle any objections or reservations they have along the way
• Establish authority and credibility in the industry
• Make you an expert so that you become their provider of choice when they’re ready to buy

How to create an excellent cold email sequence in 4 steps

So, how do you create a cold email sequence that’s good that people want to read it and buy from you. In our experience, there are three main things that you need to nail down to perfection:

• Know who you’re selling to
• Provide the right content at the right time
• Know how and when to introduce your product

If you do these right, everything else will fall into place and you’ll be able to sell your product like never before.

That cleared, here are specific actions you need to take to ace your cold email sequence.

Build your target audience / Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

• If your cold outreach strategy targets the wrong person, you might as well bang your head against a wall. Nailing down the right person to target is the first step to ensuring good results to your email campaign.
• If you target the wrong people, it doesn’t matter how compelling you make the offer and the cold email, it all goes downhill from there.

So, how do you find your audience?

Your target audience are the companies that will best benefit from your solution. So simply ask yourself about the needs or problems your product or solution solves. The answer will let you know who your product is important to, and that’s the very audience you should target with your cold emails.

Your competitors’ customers are also ideal for your business. These are ideally the customers of companies that sell a product or service that addresses the same pain point as yours. So you can look for companies that use your competitors’ product and target them with your cold email outreach.

Next, ask yourself about who or the companies that CAN actually adopt your product or are eligible to do so. Simply because a target has a problem you can solve doesn’t mean they CAN buy or they will be able to adopt your solution. Why?

• Budget: The company needs your product or service. Great!! But can they pay for it? Do they have the financial means to buy your product? 
• Geography: Are they geographically eligible for your product? Can they access your product? Or will the product work where they are? 
• Logistics: Are they logistically eligible for your product? Can they actually use your product? Do they have the necessary talent and tools for it?

Figuring this out will help you check off targets that will be useless to target and get you to focus on the right customer profile.

Research your buyer persona

The question you need to answer here is who are you going to target at the company?

Suppose you sell a Fin-Tech piece of software specific to digital marketing agencies. Should you be sending your cold email to the CEO? The marketers at the company? Or the accountant?

The point is to send your cold email to someone with the expertise to understand your product and with the decision power to further your cause.

In this very instance, your cold outreach will best make sense to the accountant. And that’s your buyer persona.

For every company you target with your Fin-Tech software, you should always seek people in the finance department with the decision-making power to adopt your product.

Also, in the B2B area, depending on what product you sell, the decision-making power may not be attributed to a single person, but rather a buying committee — which will propose and amend ideas before implementation.

And so, you need to target these companies accordingly. This is also important because you’ll have to write your emails according to their personas.

Create powerful icebreakers for your first touch email in the sequence

As the name implies, icebreakers are designed to help you break the ice between you and your prospects and make them more receptive of your message. Using icebreakers is all about making basic research to make your leads feel valued.

For most sales reps and marketers, the prospects or leads they will be targeting don’t know about them or their product. The same applies to you. Creating icebreakers allow you to have a good first impression and set yourself apart. It reinforces the statement that you did your homework before reaching out to them.

Here is how I do it before launching my campaigns.

Check their social media

We start by checking prospects’ activities on social platforms and popular online communities. In most cases, LinkedIn and Twitter work for most B2B professionals.

Record their activity

Next, we look at their latest activities, or their company’s activity, or anything else. The idea is to find a recent interesting aspect or element from their life and spark it in the beginning of the message to smoothen the conversation.

So, we look at things like posts, likes, comments, a recent promotion, a job recommendation, an impressive career path, a share, a mention, a selfie, and whatever data we can talk about to create a unique first touch.

Put everything in a spreadsheet

Here is an example of how we keep it all in a spreadsheet before the campaign.

Always add a clear and simple call to action (CTA)

This is an engagement email sequence, adding a call to action should be a must. You always want your prospects to take a specific action. That’s the whole interest of reaching out to them.

Adding a CTA should be simple and straightforward.

• Want your prospects to buy? Add a purchase button and urge them to click it.
• Want your prospects to reply? Ask  them to do so.
• Want your prospects to perform a specific action? Add a button pertaining to that action and ask them to take it.

Factor in the buyer’s journey stages

Now that you know who you’re reaching out to, it’s time to learn how to reach out to them and the best practices for doing it.

As we mentioned earlier, you can only convert most buyers with multi-step marketing strategies, especially in the B2B area.

They don’t know about you or your products, and when you do tell them, they will have doubts and constraints. That’s why you need to create a follow up email sequence that factors in the buyer’s journey.

Creating a cold outreach sequence with the buyer’s journey in mind allows you to take your prospects from a point A, where they are not aware of your product, to a point B, where they are product aware, and then to the next points until they purchase your product.

Doing so helps you cover all the steps in an average sales cycle that necessary to your success, and at the end, your prospects will be the most compelled to consider you.

Let’s reiterate all the steps you have to take your prospects through.

• They don’t know who you are, what you offer, or even your company.
• They might not be aware of the problem you’re trying to solve.
• They’re not ready to buy right away.
• They don’t trust you right away.
• And more and more objections.

With that in mind your cold email sequence should look like a slope that mirrors the buyer’s journey. Here are the different stages of the buyers’ journey.

Unaware – Pain – Solution – Product – Most aware

Now, here is a visual representation of an example of a cold email sequence based on the entire buyer’s journey.

Also, depending on your target audience and product, it can be that your prospects are already deep in the buyer’s journey—in which case you’ll have to prepare your emails accordingly. Maybe they’re unaware and still facing the pain.

Maybe they’re facing the problem and looking for a solution.

Let’s say, for example, that before you, your target prospects were using a competitor product or tool. In this case, your email shouldn’t include all the steps in the buyer’s journey.

You should build a specific sequence with relevant messages starting from the solution stage.

A good idea is to create one email that rapidly goes through all the previous stages and slides directly to the solution stage.

Here is a visual representation of what this may look like.

You should always take the time to properly identify which stage of the buyer’s journey your target prospects are in before kicking off the campaign. This way, you can customize your email body to reflect each stage.

Otherwise your campaign will be a hot mess with messages not relevant and provide no value to the readers.

Make relevant offers

First of all, not all offers are great for your target audience. Your offers are only welcome when they’re relevant and appealing to the target audience.

So first thing, you cannot make the same offer to prospects in different stages of the buyer’s journey. Since they’re not in the same journey, you should create different segments and feed them accordingly.

This means you have to design specific emails and offers tailored to where they are on the buyer’s journey.

For example, for prospects that are at the “Unaware” stage, your main goal is to build product knowledge.

It makes little sense to offer anything at that stage. But for your prospects who are already at the “Solution” stage, your goal is to create product experience that leads to adoption. And so, your 40% off offer is welcome here.

Also, since your goal is to create product experience, you can create another segment for prospects who are reluctant, having objections or those who must go through leadership to get buy-in for product adoption, etc.

Ideally, those prospects are already at the solution stage. And so, for these people it can be a great idea to offer extended free trials (7, 14 days, or one month), free coupons, etc., to get them to act on your offers and give your product a chance.

3 cold email templates with different touches

Your cold email sequence should be composed of several emails riddled with product advantages, objections and doubt handling, soft and aggressive sellings, and more.

Cold email campaign 1

Here is a visual representation of the cold email sequence template along with the buyer’s journey you can use.

Now, here are cold email templates that you can include in this sequence.

1st touch–Intro email

Subject line: Is this you, {{first_name}}? Hi {{first_name}}, [[icebreaker]] So, I’m reaching out to ask you a quick question: [[Intriguing question]] Asking because I just finished [[Service]] for [[Client]], and achieved [[metrics]] – resulting in revenues approaching 7 figures. My guess is these are results you’ll want to have at {{company}}. And given {{company}} similarity with [[Client]], implementing our strategy will yield the same crazy results. That said, I’d like to show you how this strategy can be useful to the marketing team at {{company}}. Is this something you’re interested in? [[signature]]

2nd touch–More advantages

Subject line: How to achieve [[results]] Hey {{first_name}}, In my previous mail, I talked about the strategy that generates crazy results. Today I want to tell you about one aspect of the strategy. This step alone can make or break your campaign. But don’t worry, I’ll share it with you, and you can quickly implement it at {{company}}. [[Strategy]] [[How to]] [[Predictable results]] Now you are probably wondering if this will work. Well, the answer is YES. I know because [[Client]] has implemented it and [[social proof]]. That is, {{first_name}}, part of what you get when you sign up for the strategy. If you are interested, just click the YES button below to schedule a discovery call. [[Sender Name]]

3rd touch–Handling objection

Subject line: [[Objection]] But [[Objection]]. That’s the response I get from many when I tell them about my strategy. To be honest, I understand that sentiment. I would have asked the same question. But here’s the thing [[Handle objection]]. So, {{first_name}}, does it make sense if we explore how you can use our strategy to [[Goal]]? How about [[Timeframe]]? [[Sender Name]] P.S. Were you able to implement the strategy I shared with you?

4th touch–Adding more value

Subject line: Tips for achieving [[results]] Hey {{first_name}}, Today I want to tell you about another part of our strategy that you can implement to achieve [[Goal]]. This strategy alone has allowed [[Client]] to achieve [[Results]]. You, too, can do the same at {{company}}, especially if you do it the right way. [[Strategy]] [[How to]] [[Predictable results]] That’s it. I hope this helps. Do you have any questions about the strategy? Feel free to reach out to me. I will be happy to help you. [[Sender Name]] P.S. If you are lost in the shuffle and need help, you can always book a time to talk about how to [[Goal]].

5th touch–Selling softly

Subject line: [[offer]] Hey {{first_name}}, If every day you find yourself with a… [[Pain 1]] [[Pain 2]] Then this offer is for you. [[Low-risk offer]] {{first_name}}, now at least you have the opportunity to solve [[Pain]] and achieve [[Goals]]. What are you waiting for to jump on the opportunity? Act now to take advantage of [[Low-risk offer]]?

6th touch–Selling aggressively

Subject line: [[Objection]] Hi {{first_name}}, I want to tell you the story of [[Client 1]] who….[[tell a story and handle some more objections.]]…And he ended up making [[Results]]. Why am I telling you this? Well, because just like you, [[Client 1]] also had [[Problem]] but by using our strategy, they were able to [[Results]]. This, too, can be you, if you want, {{first_name}}. Does it make sense if we talk about how to attack [[Problem]] and help {{company}} have [[Results]]? If so, reply YES to this email or click here!

7th touch–Breaking up

Subject line: Goodbye {{first_name}} {{first_name}}, this is the last time you’ll receive an email about our email strategy. But before we say goodbye, I want to offer [[Low-risk offer]]. [[Explain Offer]] Imagine what you can accomplish with [[Outcome]], [[firstName]]. Steal your [[Offer]] HERE. 😊

Cold Email Campaign 2

1st touch–Intro email

Subject line: {{your solution}} ‍+ {{prospect interest}} Hello {{prospect’s name}}, {{icebreaker}} I saw on LinkedIn that you are interested in {{prospect interest}}. May I ask if you (or your clients) have ever used {{your solution}} in {{prospect interest}} to {{do something the prospect cares about}}? With our clients {{client names}}, our {{your solution}} helps them do {{xyz}} and as a result, they’re able save {{xyz}} on they monthly spending. I’m sure these are results you’ll also want to see at {{prospect’s company name}} So, I believe you might also be interested in this. Anyway, let me know how you feel about this. Yours truly, {{signature}}

2nd touch–More advantages

Subject line: I just did {{your solution}} for {{client}} I just partnered with {{client}} to implement {{your solution}} for their {{department of interest}} and achieved {{metrics}}. As a result of {{metrics}}, their company has been able to: {{benefit 1}} {{benefit 2}} {{benefit 3}} I’d also partnered with {{client}} for the same {{your solution}} and they had similar results. Specifically, we were able to double their {{metrics}}. It’s my understanding that both these companies are similar to yours in that: {{common trait 1}} {{common trait 2}} So, I’m sure that implementing {{your solution}} will yield the same crazy results. If this is something you are interested in, just reply to this email with a Yes! And we move on from there. Yours truly, {{signature}}

3rd Handling objections

Subject: But what if {{objection}}? Greetings, {{first_name}}. I know what you’re thinking. I’ve seen you read the email three times last week. You even went on my LinkedIn profile to check me out. So, you probably are thinking {{objection}}. I get that. You’re not the only one who feels that way. In fact, both clients I mentioned in my previous email had to ask me the same question. What if {{objection}}? But here is what I always tell them. {{Handle objection}}. Does it make sense if we explore how you can use our {{your solution}} to {{goal}}? Is next week a good time to do the implementation talks? Let me know when best works for you. Best, {{signature}}

4th touch – Providing Value

Subject line: What success would be like I’ve taken the liberty of creating a short video emulating what implantation of {{your solution}} would look like and what the growth it brings will look like. {{embed video}} {{recap value and benefit points}} Let me know what you think. Best, {{signature}}

5th touch – Gentle Reminder email

Subject line: Not a priority? Hi {{first_name}}, I’m writing to follow up on my previous email as I didn’t hear back from you. If it makes sense to talk, let me know how your calendar looks. Or if this is not a priority for the time being, let me know if I should circle back to you anytime in the future. Looking forward to hearing from you. Best, {{signature}}

6th touch – soft selling

Subject line: How about a {{low-risk offer}} {{first name}}, I want to offer {{low-risk offer}}. {{explain offer}} Let me know how you like it. Best, {{signature}}

7th touch – Soft sell and breakup

Subject line: This is it Hey {{first name}}, This is my goodbye email to you. We’ve discussed how {{your solution}} can help {{their company name}} achieve {{goal of interest}}. But before I sign off, allow me to tell you a little story about {{client}}. {{tell the story of a then-reluctant and now-happy client}} {{make on last offer}} What do you think? Best, {{signature}}

Cold Email Campaign 3

1 touch – Intro

Subject line: Eliminate {{pain point}}  Hey, {{first_name}} I noticed your comment on {{mutual connection}}’s post about {{interest}}. You seem to be struggling when it comes {{achieving results the prospect cares about}}. Quick question!!! Are you interested in learning more about {{product/service}} and how it could benefit your organization? {{make offer}} {{expected results}} {{describe benefits}} I assumed you could be interested in what we have to offer. If you want, we can schedule a quick call to discuss any questions you may have about {{product/service}}. [Meeting Link] Let me know how this sounds! Best, {{Your signature}}

2nd touch – More advantages

Subject line: Why you should dig {{your solution}}  Hey {{first name}}, The last time I wrote to you, I mentioned {{Mention a key highlight}}. Today, I want to talk about {{key use case}} feature that my colleagues and I have discussed specifically to show you how {{your solution}} can help you solve your {{their pain points}} and position {{prospect company name}} for {{goal}}. {{describe feature}} {{explain how to use it}} {{mention benefits}} {{mention benefits}} I can give you an inside look at this feature in our dashboard for free and share a few ideas if you’re interested. I will only need your 15-20 minutes. Let me know if you would be interested? I really believe this can bring a difference in your current approach. Let’s book a quick call here. I will be waiting to hear from you. {{Your signature}} Book a meeting here.

3rd touch – Handling objections

Subject line: Skeptical? But {{objection}}. I assumed as much. {{first name}}, let me tell you the stories of {{relatable company 1}} and {{relatable company 2}}. {{relatable company 1}} was struggling with {{same pain point}} when they adopted our solution in December. Fast forward to February, they got {{results prospects cares about}}. Also, {{relatable company 2}} I’m confident we will be able to achieve the same results for {{prospect’s company name}}. Let me know what you think. Best, {{your signature}}

4th touch – Low-risk offer

Subject line: A 14 day free trial? Hey, {{first name}} {{your name}} back here. I can really see how {{your solution}} can help {{their company name}}. So, we are ready to offer you a 14 day free trial to get you started. I’ve created a quick tooltip to facilitate your onboarding. You can access it here. {{link to tooltips}}. Let me know what you think about this. Best, {{your signature}}

5th touch – Right person, right direction

Subject line: Not the right person? Hello {{first name}}, Hope all is well with you. I’ve hit you up a few times now and I suspect that either your schedule is busy or you are not the right person to reach out to for this offer. So, could you please direct me to the {{job title}} in charge of {{department that will be using your solution}}? Our {{your solution}} might be of interest to them. Thanks {{signature}}

6th touch – Selling

Subject line: Demo recordings Hi, {{first name}} I trust you are well. I will let these short screen recordings do much of the talking today. {{screen recording about use case 1}} {{screen recording about use case 2}} {{screen recording about use case 3}} {{describe how these use cases come together and the value your prospects business will get from them}} The 14 free trial offer is still up. You can click here to access the tooltips here. Click here to get started with {{your solution}}. Best, {{signature}}

7th touch – Breakup

Subject line: I’ll circle back a better time Hello {{first name}}, This is my last email to you. I’m assuming that you are not interested in my offer right now. So, I’ll circle back some time later. But before I sign off, let me share the results we’ve obtained with {{client name}} after {{adoption timeframe}}. {{client story}} You can still grab your 14 days free trial here. Let me know if you need anything. Best, {{signature}}

It’s time to create cold outreach sequence that close deals

• There is no doubt that you can get tremendous marketing results using cold email sequences. With a good cold email sequence, you can convert a prospect into a paying customer and improve the loyalty of current customers.
• Keep in mind that your main objective is to always make your prospects want to go to the next step. Each sentence in your email body should prepare them and make them more open to receive the next message.
• The main advantage with email sequences is that once configured, they work for you. The sending is totally automated and spread over a predetermined period of time. This is the great advantage of Marketing Automation.