Three Ways to Create Successful Cold Emails That Can Turn Leads Into Customers

I recently had a conversation with two colleagues, both in the B2B technology sector, regarding the challenges they have in harvesting leads and turning them into qualified leads for further follow-up and possible sales. Both confirmed that finding and qualifying new B2B leads is a lot of work that requires a combination of good sources for raw leads, effective lead qualification methods, and emails with compelling offers to encourage a call-to-action.

1. Sourcing Raw Leads

Both of my colleagues use similar approaches for harvesting leads, focusing their efforts on profiling the target and then using robust databases to find the most likely businesses fitting the profile.

The two contact data providers mentioned were Crunchbase and SalesIntel. Both services offer a vast searchable database of businesses and the people running them. Linkedin was mentioned as a follow-up, go-to resource for obtaining additional information about potential leads.

There are many other data providers including LinkedIn Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo, and DiscoverOrg. Trade association member lists, trade show attendee lists, subscribers to industry publications, and your own sales team members are also good resources for raw leads.

2. Effective Lead Qualification

Once good potential leads are found, the main issue then becomes how to connect to the lead for further qualification. Cold emails requesting an opt-in is a proven contact method, where call-to-action offers, and clear value propositions can be easily sent to potential leads and the email results tracked through email analytics. A useful guide and examples of opt-in emails can be found at NotifyVisitors.com, an email automation software firm.

Once permission is obtained from potential leads, marketers can then be assured that their email campaigns are being delivered to people and businesses interested in their products and services.

3. Email Without a Call-to-Action Can be a Waste of Time

The height of campaign success means your email was opened, and a click-through response to a call-to-action occurred. But without a legitimate call-to-action in your email, the chances of further action by the recipient are severely limited.

Strive to always include an email offer that can be perceived as unique and high value including free offers such as a product or service demo, software or tools, training, assessments, or consultation.

One of my colleagues extends an offer of a free software upgrade to a qualified lead’s device screens. It’s a zero cost investment by my colleague that usually results in a very high hit rate for additional follow-up and sales with new customers.

For many years I ran a technical training program for one of the world's largest automotive OEMs. Our email campaigns were highly successful in generating click-throughs and sign-ups because they promoted the free and highly sought after technical training and the opportunity for product discounts and incentives if the prospect attended the training.

Marketers can also improve opens and click-throughs by personalizing each outreach attempt to show genuine interest in your prospect’s needs, delivering high-quality, legitimate content, and clearly articulating the value of your services.

Slamming the Door on Spam

The tendency for any email to become spam when it hits the recipient’s inbox is a potential problem facing any email campaign. There are strategies marketers can perform to help minimize the number of emails hitting the spam box.

Following permission-based marketing rules with your email campaigns is extremely important in reducing spam. Other effective strategies include focusing your emails not on quantity but on quality and sending your emails to those who you believe are the right prospects that fit your potential customer profile.

One colleague mentioned the use of SalesHandy as their preferred email server. They like how SalesHandy integrates with their Outlook or Gmail account and provides real-time email analytics.

For more ideas on keeping your emails out of ever-tightening spam inboxes, check out this guide to getting past email filters on Hubspot.

Cadence and Drips in Email Automation

Pre-scheduled, automated permission-based emails to a targeted audience over a specific period are sometimes referred to as “cadence drip.” These campaigns are commonly used for lead nurturing, where the focus is on providing valuable content, educating leads, and eventually encouraging them to make a purchase decision.

As with all email campaigns, cadence drip emails should be permission based and personalized to conform to the recipient’s behavior, demographics, or interactions with previous emails. Each email in the cadence drip campaign typically includes a clear and compelling call-to-action, guiding recipients on what action to take next, whether it's downloading a free resource, viewing a video, visiting a website, or making a purchase.

Email campaigns using cadence drip should be monitored closely using metrics like open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and unsubscribe rates. Analyzing these metrics helps marketers refine their strategies for better results.

Through the effective integration of profiled leads from data mining, lead qualification follow-up, and call-to-action email offers, marketers can enhance their B2B targeted lead acquisition strategies to have better engagements and increased conversions.

Want More Marketing Tips and Ideas?

Go to Marketing Convergence Solutions for practical ways to align sales and marketing to help you strategically generate more sales, leads, and customer loyalty.