✌️ What A Waste

Cold outreach is hard - but a lot of sellers are making a huge mistake that’s making it even harder.

Attention spans are shorter than ever.

You’ve got a split second to capture someone’s attention.

That’s if you actually get them to open your email in the first place. (That’s a topic for a future newsletter)

If you start any of your emails with something like:

“I hope this finds you well”

“I trust you’re doing well”

“My name is”

“I work with ABC and I…”

“I hope this email finds you in good spirits” (yes I actually got that before)

You’re losing your opportunity to immediately grab your reader's attention.

So let’s give you some tips to change that.

Stay until the end for some awesome resources.

5 Tips to Hook Your Reader

So let’s say you get your reader to open your email.

What now? How should I start?

Here are 5 strategies you can try:

The Personal Nod:

“I saw you [interesting thing they did]…”

Ex. I saw you just went skydiving in Arizona.

Why it works: It shows the email was meant specifically for them (not some mass email sent to an entire list)

The Referral:

“[Mutual referral] suggested I reach out…

Ex. Keith Weightman suggested I reach out to you”

Why it works: 92% of people trust referrals from people they know.

The Boss’s Vision:

“Caught your CEO’s interview [timing] and [something they said]”

Ex. Caught your CEO’s interview last week and heard her say EMEA expansion was a top priority. I’m assuming a big part of that strategy falls on your shoulders”

Why it works: I don’t know about you - but if I get a message about my CEO or something they said - I’m going to pay attention.

The Persona Problem

“In talking with [insert persona] 2 things keep coming up. [problem1] and [problem2]

Ex. In talking with VPs of Recruiting - 2 things keep coming up. Job volume is down and they need to find candidates faster for the jobs they do have.

Why it works: Problem-solving sells. Product pitching doesn’t.

Pro-tip: Don’t have a persona matrix built out? Use ChatGPT to build one in under 3 minutes with this resource my friend Kyle Asay put together. While you’re at it - you should check out his AE frameworks too.

The Teacher

“[Interesting fact about their industry/trend/problem]”

Ex. The average days to fill a Network Engineer is 28.5 days. Noticed yours has been open for 95.

Why it works: Humans have an innate love for knowledge and discovery.

There you have it.

5 different strategies to hook your reader’s attention in your cold outreach.

Ditch the pleasantries and give these a try instead.

That’s it for this week.

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You can check past issues here. ✌️