Outbound Sales Series: The 6 Best B2B Sales Email Templates for Cold Outreach

Don’t you just hate it when you hear that buyers “aren’t as responsive to sales emails anymore”? 

First of all, that’s not the mindset that badass B2B sales reps who win at lead generation have. 

Secondly, it’s flat-out mysteries-of-the-universe level outrageous to say that buyers don’t want to hear from sales reps💁. The reality is the exact opposite... 

Buyers DO want to hear from you. I repeat: 

Buyers want to hear from you. Research shows that: 

• 71 percent of them actively seek sales reps while exploring a new product or idea. 

• And eight out of ten also prefer to interact with sales reps through email. 

So what’s the problem?

Quite often, it’s writing prospecting and sales emails that deliver a compelling offer/message to leads. 

In this second installment of the outbound sales series, I’ll help you write better emails faster. 

You’ll find the best sales email templates to help you write persuasive messages that resonate with buyers and get them to act. 

Let’s get started! 

Note: Want to add more leads to your email list? Try Leadfeeder for free to identify anonymous companies visiting your website.

1. Warm leads up with the personalized outreach template

Even when you have something a prospect wants, they might not respond due to a lack of personalization, poor timing, or tone-deaf messaging. 

A great way to overcome all the barriers above is to show prospects that you truly understand their goals and struggles. 

This is an effective, non-salesy way to introduce yourself to new prospects without having the proverbial door permanently shut in your face. 

Template: 

Hi [Name],

After reading your post on LinkedIn and visiting your website, I can see that the [prospect’s company] team is trying to achieve [Goal #1] and [Goal #2]

We’ve helped [past client] [achieve goal relevant to prospect]. We also recorded the exact steps we took in a detailed case study. Would you like to read it? 

Let me know and I’ll send it to you ASAP. 

Advanced tip for personalized outreach: Scour your lead’s LinkedIn profile and activity to see what goals they’re currently pursuing and use this to introduce yourself in your email. 

2. Build trust with the social proof template 

Trust and credibility play a pivotal role in B2B sales. They quickly communicate expertise, experience and high value. 

Fortunately, establishing trust and displaying credibility isn’t rocket science. 

Template:

Hi [Name],

We recently helped [insert famous/well-known company you helped] [achieve impressive result]. 

This is just one of our many success stories at [your company’s name]. We’ve also received shining reviews from the likes of [ familiar company1] and [familiar company 2]. 

I’m emailing you because I think we can [insert pitch] for [prospect’s company], too. 

If you’re interested, I’d like to show you exactly how we got these results. 

How about a 10-minute call next week?

Advance tip for social proof-centered emails: Strengthen the impact of your social proof by: 

• Sharing high-profile customer case studies of companies your prospect will know, like, or admire

• Linking to reviews on third-party sites

• Revealing your numbers and results

3. Differentiate yourself from the competition with the USP template 

Your prospect is using a competitor’s product, but you know that they’ll get better results from using yours. How do you communicate this to them without trash-talking competitors? 

Use your USP to objectively explain why you’re a better fit. 

Template:

Hi [Name],

I work for [your company’s name] and I noticed that you’re using [competitor’s product]. 

On the surface, our [product] is similar to [competitor’s product]. But it’s built with [the prospect’s industry/vertical] in mind. Our customers’ tell us that we’re better with:

• [key USP and differentiator]

• [key USP and differentiator]

• [key USP and differentiator]

Considering your industry and customer base. We might be a more cost-effective and cohesive fit [describe the benefit of switching to your company]. 

I’d love to schedule a call and see if we’re able to deliver better value for [prospect’s company].  

Does Tuesday next week work for you?

Advanced tip for using USPs in your sales emails: pair your USP with social proof like case studies or testimonials for a greater effect. 

4. Seal the deal with the after-action follow up template 

If a lead has visited your site, downloaded a resource, or browsed your LinkedIn profile,  there’s a chance they’ve considering buying from you. 

Following them up means you’re catching them exactly while they’re still in the consideration stage. 

This is how, Kristian Karila, our account executive at Leadfeeder, closed our company’s biggest deal to-date—and he used Leadfeeder to do it. 

Template: 

Hi [Name], 

I saw that you visited our site yesterday and I appreciate you taking the time to stop by. I'm writing to introduce myself as your contact here at [your company]. 

I saw that you downloaded our guide on [whatever resource prospect downloaded]. So I’ve curated three of our top case studies to show you exactly how other companies similar to getting amazing results. 

I’m confident that [your product] will help you [achieve result]. How about we have a quick no-obligation call after you review these case studies? 

Advanced tip for after-action follow up emails: Use Leadfeeder to identify who the leads visiting your site are and what content they’re consuming. 

5. Provide a powerful solution with the problem-solving template 

If you’re a startup or your product focuses on obscure challenges that are harder to sell, you need to explain why prospects should choose you. 

This is where the problem-solving sales email template works to agitate potential pains and show how and why your product is the perfect solution. 

Template:

Hi [Name],

Does [prospect’s company] suffer from [painful problem]? 

[Xyz company] did too. Fortunately, after fixing [the problem,] they [describe result]. 

[Painful problem your product solves] is tough to issue overcome and left unchecked it can [describe costs/consequences]. 

Our [product] helps you avoid this and [describe result] with [one-sentence pitch].

I’d love to show you more. Are you open to a call on Thursday this week?

Advanced tip for using the problem-solving email template: Tell a story of how another company overcame the problem you solve and positive results it triggered. 

6. Close highly-qualified leads with the video template 

You know the prospect you’re about to email will love your product. You know they’ll sing your praise once they get a chance to use and review it...

But how do you get their attention in the first place?

Use video to stand out and shock them into paying attention. 

Jeremy Leveille, an Atlanta-based sales rep, used B2B rap videos in his sales emails to get local leads in Atlanta to meet him.

And Kyle Racki, Propsify’s CEO, exclaimed that Fullstory’s 30-second demo of a rep using their tool on Kyle’s site was the best outbound sales email he ever received.

Video is more engaging than text. But compared to writing boilerplate sales email copy, coming up with a creative video that pitches your product is a little harder. 

It takes a touch of extra commitment and confidence that scares most reps away—and that’s what makes video emails ideal for reeling in leads further along the sales funnel. 

Template: 

Hi [Name],

I saw that your team at [prospect company] is using our [product] on their website. 

I’ve put together a 30-second video rapid-firing 4 tweaks you can make right now to quickly [describe result] within 14 days of being implemented. I know this is effective, as it’s worked for other clients like [mention other clients], too. 

Try it and let me know if it helps. If you’d like to hear more, how about we chat later this week?

Advanced tip for using video in sales emails: Keep your text brief and quickly explain what your video offers. Let your video do the heavy lifting. 

Test your sales email templates to turn up persuasive power

Providing a framework for fine-tuning your messaging, the templates above ensure that your outreach has the power to persuade and inspire leads to act. But for impressive results? 

You need to test and track different styles, templates and messaging. This way, you’ll develop precise data on what works with your specific pool of prospects. 

You’ll learn intricate details like what problems they actually care about, what results motivate them to act, and what they’re looking for in a product/service. 

Combine this insight with strong sales email messaging, and you’ll write prospecting emails that fill your pipeline with high-quality leads. 

Note: Want to add more leads to your email list? Try Leadfeeder for free to identify anonymous companies visiting your website.