Are Your Intro Emails As Bad As From Webfarms?

Here’s a not un-typical format for an initial email.

I was shown it on a real-world printout in a live sales office.

I work with [company x] and would like to set up a meeting on how you manage [whatever relevant buzzword]

Here’s what we do, who rates us, and some client reference names

So be assured that we are sensitive to both the commercial and [whatever else] demands of your business

Luckily, I will be in your area the week of…

Let me know a time that suits (dare I even tempt with a free lunch)

To sign off, I appreciate your time and look forward to learning more about your [plans] and where we might be of service

There are entire libraries that contain this kind of thing. 101 Winning Sales Letters. You know the story.

I wouldn’t mind betting that this kind of structure features.

What a shame.

As a preface, I feel duty bound to point out that any arctic email elicits the bog standard response rate of 1½%. No matter how ‘clever’.

Yet what the above showed me, was that even the most seasoned of salespros never really get guidance on what constitutes a scoring approach in this arena.

They would never use this framework if they met the person in the lobby and shook hands. So why change their behaviour for cyberspace?

I’ve done quite a bit of work lately on ‘problem statements’ with a particular salesteam. When it comes to chilly, intro emails, unless you nail a specific issue that the prospect must resolve, and make this explicit, you’re wasting your time.