We’ve all been there — sent nearly a hundred sales emails and only got one response back. Why? Because we’re not doing it right. We end up annoying prospects or making them feel like they’re getting spammed.
Yet cold sales emails are still necessary.
Prospects are busy (we all are!). Just think back: What made you open any of the emails in your own inbox today and take action?
Compelling copy. That’s the answer.
And the thing is this: Now AI can churn out perfectly formed emails and sound like it really means what it says, why would you doubt its ability to convert prospects? It’s too easy to send it out “as is” and hope.
Then, nothing.
There are several reasons for the silence. But a key one today is that people expect conversational writing. That’s something that involves empathy and a human touch.
AI is not human. It can only copy emotions and reiterate mechanically the kind of ideas it’s been fed.
Can you rescue the situation with excellent prompting?
Possibly.
- You can tell a bot not to write every sentence the same.
- You can tell it to add a touch of humour.
- You can instruct it to copy a previous style you supply.
- You can tell it to write as to a friend or professional colleague or academic audience or non-grammatically. Whatever you think will improve the draft.
- You can feed it your brand voice and tone.
- You can even feed the draft to another model and tell it to edit or improve it. They’re good at that.
But you’ll still need to take what’s good and resolve the mediocre in that first or second draft of your sales email.
With this in mind, here are the essential elements of a great sales prospecting email – with some notes on how you can humanize them for today’s audience.
Five Aspects of Successful Sales Emails
Engaging your prospects can be a lot easier if you follow these steps.
1. Attention-Grabbing Subject Line
This is a no-brainer – you need something that gets your prospect’s attention. The subject line is your first hurdle.
So if you can outshine the others in the inbox, you’re going to make it through to the next round.
AI will come up with a good one, of course. But ask it for five alternatives. Then make the best of them absolutely perfect for the email you’re sending: Invite curiosity. Or make an offer. Or use their name. Whatever works in your situation.
2. Re-Write the Sales Email Body (then re-write again)
As I think we’ve already indicated(!), getting a great email body will take more than one or two drafts. You’re trying to connect to a unique potential customer and share a meaningful message, so this will take some time.
So – when you have a draft that feels pretty solid, refine it again by looking at clarity, messaging, tone, and grammar!
Thing is, while you were perfecting that original AI draft, you were concentrating on saying what needed saying in the best possible way.
Now you can switch gears. Copyedit for errors and things you might have omitted or phrased badly.
What you’re aiming for is a sales email that sounds like you’re talking to them in a real situation over a cup of coffee – not the old-fashioned “megaphone in your ear” kind of shouting language.
No corporate speak, just real “you to them” collaborative language. With no errors.
3. Don’t Show Off
When you’re copyediting, check you’ve cut out all sales jargon. It’s easy to let it slip through. It’s your everyday thinking, after all.
But you don’t want to alienate your prospects simply because they don’t understand something. Or annoy them!
While you’re making cuts, you can also go ahead and remove all clichés – your prospects have heard it all before in every sales email.
And speaking of clichés… Have you noticed AI excels at clichés? That’s because the material it was trained on is full of them.
And cut or alter all AI’s silly metaphors too. Put your own anecdote or metaphor in – one that only you could have thought up as appropriate for your brand. Or better still, leave them out. Plain language works best in emails.
4. Seek a Second Opinion
Once you nail down your final sales email draft, reach out to one or two people you trust and ask for their opinions. Decide what you want to take from their feedback and implement it into your email so it can be just right.
5. Keep It Short and Sweet
Remember, everyone is busy. There’s no reason to send paragraphs upon paragraphs. We can guarantee this will get your sales email a one-way ticket to the junk folder.
So – break up your sentences and then read your email out loud to yourself a few times to see how it flows, as if you were the time-pressured prospect.
And here’s another AI warning: Bots love sentences that are long with three subsections. Cut them up, and even cut them out if they don’t add anything. AI is excellent at sounding informative without saying much.
Where does that leave your email and your AI use?
AI is a tool. A brilliant too, yes. It gets you going fast. But after that, be your own human self as the voice of your brand in every sales email.
360 Can Help Grow Sales
We hope these tips and warnings about how to make best use of AI in emails help you win over prospects who then respond.
If you also want help to find the right people for your team, reach record sales, and grow your business, let’s talk!