How to Create a Winning Sales Outreach Email Template

Today I’m going to show you how to create a sales outreach email template using 9 proven tactics that you can use to connect with prospects at scale, nurture leads, and close more deals.

With a high-performing outreach email, you can transform a donkey process into a unicorn strategy. A killer template can help you stop writing sales emails from scratch and start re-engaging prospects and converting unicorn leads more efficiently.

Ready to streamline your sales process? Here’s your path to Unicorn Land:

• What is a sales outreach email template?
• 9 top tactics and best practices for sales outreach
• How to create a sales outreach email template (3-step tutorial)

What is a sales outreach email template?

A sales outreach email template is key to simplifying and improving your sales development process. Think of it as a sales pitch that you can customize and automate for any campaign.

Outreach emails typically promote targeted offers and guide prospects toward conversions. Although you might send one-off sales emails here and there, they often work best in a sequence.

9 Top Tactics and Best Practices for Sales Outreach

To get the results you want from your efforts, create an email template that uses proven sales outreach tactics.

Here are 9 tactics and best practices that you can work into your strategy right away to generate more opens and positive responses to your prospecting sales outreach:

1. Find prospects on social media
2. Customize your message
3. Solve real problems
4. Promote special offers
5. Leverage “the takeaway” sales tactic
6. Show social proof
7. Be persistent
8. Create sales enablement content
9. Invest in automation tools

1. Find prospects on social media

Sales prospecting doesn’t have to be as difficult as you might think. No matter what type of audience you want to target, most of your customers use social media.

While LinkedIn may be your best bet for connecting with B2B decision makers, channels like Facebook and Instagram are great for finding creators, influencers, and B2C prospects.

Using a marketing automation tool like Customers.ai, you can start conversations with prospects on Facebook or Instagram. Then you can collect their email addresses for more targeted follow-ups.

2. Customize your message

Just because you have a great template doesn’t mean you should send the exact same message to every prospect on your list. Sales outreach email templates often work best when you customize them for specific segments.

Using first names is a great place to start. But personalized emails can go way beyond the basics.

For example, you can adjust messaging based on the offer or the channel that led to the initial connection. You can also use their responses to qualifying questions to personalize the follow-up.

Note that personalization should not only be used when mailing your lists. Ensure you customize your LinkedIn connect message, Facebook ping, and Instagram lines for a higher chance of engagement.

3. Solve real problems

Successful outbound sales outreach often focuses on the customer rather than on your company. Your sales pitch should touch on actual problems your prospects have—and present real solutions. You can even use best AI slides app to make detailed presentations about the solutions that you offer to their specific challenges.

For example, say you want to identify influencers who can promote your new product or service. To generate interest, tell them how your offer solves a key problem—and then make them an offer they can’t refuse.

4. Promote special offers

Why waste a valuable outreach opportunity on an everyday pitch when you can promote a special offer instead? By sharing exclusive offers, you can make prospects feel like they were specially chosen.

To make them even more tempting, make sure the offers you share are truly exclusive. In other words, avoid publishing them on your website or offer limited spots or quantities. Don’t forget to also add brand elements such as your logo and brand color which will help email recipients resonate with your brand more effectively. Consider using a logo generator for a professional one if you don’t already have it.

5. Leverage “the takeaway” sales tactic

When you want to boost sales, you might offer ongoing discounts. Although a great deal may convert a price-conscious lead, other prospects may not bite.

Instead, experiment with limited-time offers that create a sense of urgency. By creating a fear of missing out (FOMO), you can get leads to act now—before the offer disappears.

Known as the takeaway close, this method only works if your offer actually expires when you say it does. Make sure you only use this tactic if you’re prepared to walk away from prospects who don’t convert.

6. Show social proof

Going along with the crowd is human nature. When prospects see that others have purchased from your business, they’re more likely to want to do the same.

Known as social proof, evidence of happy customers or awesome accolades can be a helpful addition to cold emails. For example, you can:

• Name drop some of your best-known customers, especially if they’re influencers, celebrities or well-known brands.
• Share a customer review or link out to a case study that explores the great results they got with your product or service.
• Add up all the users you’ve acquired or the results they’ve achieved and share stats to show the scale of your customer base.

7. Be persistent

When sales reps do cold email outreach, giving up after a single email is a waste. Prospects often need to get to know your business and see the value you provide—which takes time.

That’s why it’s essential to be persistent and follow up multiple times. Automated sequences make sales outreach much easier because they can follow up with prospects at specific intervals, providing value and dropping time-sensitive offers at opportune times.

8. Create sales enablement content

Making a buying decision can be complex, especially when it comes to high-ticket items. To guide prospects through these decisions, use top-performing content from your team’s sales enablement tools.

For example, you might share a document that compares your product to the competition so prospects can see how you come out ahead. Or you might use a handout that highlights all the awesome awards your product has won.

9. Invest in automation tools

Sending cold email templates one by one is incredibly time-consuming and requires a ton of manual tracking. To save time and improve your results, invest in sales outreach automation.

With a tool like Customers.ai, you can develop, personalize, and test outreach templates. You can also automate follow-ups and data collection to make sure your sales team is always in the loop.

How to Create a Sales Outreach Email Template

Now that you know what to include in your email outreach, you can create a sequence that works for your target audience. I’ll walk you through how to create a sales outreach template and an automated sequence using Customers.ai.

• Step #1: Start a Customers.ai automation
• Step #2: Set up the initial email
• Step #3: Build a follow-up sequence

How to Create a Sales Outreach Email Template Step #1: Start a Customers.ai automation

First, open your Customers.ai dashboard and go to the Automations tab. Scroll down to the Sales Outreach section and select The Longest and Most Persistent Follow Up Funnel Ever.

This is a long sales outreach sequence that sends a message a day over the course of two weeks. It’s ideal for creating FOMO and turning prospects into customers efficiently.

To get started with this funnel, you’ll need to choose an input channel: Facebook, Instagram, or SMS. For this example, we’ll start with Instagram and focus on email-only follow-ups.

Before creating your email templates, configure the Instagram input. For this example, we’ll set the Instagram comment autoresponder to trigger when anyone comments Email Template.

Then we’ll set the autoresponder to request an email address and phone number automatically. To see if prospects are a good fit for your business, you can also ask a qualifying question or two.

How to Create a Sales Outreach Email Template Step #2: Set up the initial email

You can use the Unicorn Detector to filter out donkey prospects from the funnel. Then scroll down to the re-engagement automation and click to write your first sales outreach email.

Kick things off with an eye-catching subject line that encourages prospects to open your email. Then use the email opening line to hook prospects right away.

Use the sales tactics above to guide your email. In this example, we’ll share a limited-time offer for our RoboBDR tool.

Make sure to include a call-to-action (CTA) in every sales outreach email. In this example, we’ll encourage prospects to book a 15-minute phone call.

How to Create a Sales Outreach Email Template Step #3: Build a follow-up sequence

Save your email and scroll down to create the next message in the sequence. Follow up on your earlier message and offer something of value.

In this example, we’ll link out to some sales enablement content for our RoboBDR tool. The content highlights RoboBDR’s features, shows off a recent award, and shares some typical results.

Before you sign off, add a CTA prompting prospects to connect with you. In this example, we’ll make it super easy to book a sales call.

Then set up the rest of the email templates in the sequence. This automation also includes a sequence for donkey prospects so you can continue to nurture leads, even if they aren’t the right fit for a certain offer.

Conclusion

Boom! With a sequence of customizable sales outreach email templates, you transformed a manual process into a unicorn approach. Now you can reach out to and follow up with prospects at scale—so you can ultimately get more sales.

Important Next Steps

• See what targeted outbound marketing is all about. Capture and engage your first 500 website visitor leads with Customers.ai X-Ray website visitor identification for free.
• Talk and learn about sales outreach automation with other growth enthusiasts. Join Customers.ai Island, our Facebook group of 40K marketers and entrepreneurs who are ready to support you.
• Advance your marketing performance with Sales Outreach School, a free tutorial and training area for sales pros and marketers.