Need a Sales Email Template for Cold Prospecting? Here are the Top 10!

What’s the best sales email template? Well, the one that makes your prospects hit “reply,” of course!

Easier said than done, you say? We’ve certainly thought so too.

In fact, discovering what works in sales is kind of our thing. And what's cool is that we’re not just people that teach other people how to sell—we actually sell too. This means that we try out a lot of sales methods. We test out email techniques to see which sales email template works best. Then we track what works, and what doesn’t.

So, the question still remains… which sales email template gets those busy prospects to hit “reply” and engage? Keep reading, we’ve got 10 of the best email templates for cold prospecting coming your way!

Sales Email Template: For Better Prospecting

The foundation of successful selling is prospecting.

Unfortunately, too many sales teams focus on quantity over quality leads, and this often leads to frustration for both the salesperson and their sales manager.

In our eBook on Generating Sales Leads Using LinkedIn, I addressed the idea of quality over quantity when prospecting—specifically using LinkedIn as a tool to discover new relationships and opportunities.

Our philosophy on this is based on years of prospecting experience. We’ve tried it all! From cold call emails, InMail messages, and in person visits, to warm introductions to potential prospects, outreach to past clients, and networking—we’ve not only observed what works and what doesn’t, we’ve lived it.

And here’s what we’ve discovered: cold call emails are a time sink unless you have a strategy.

But here’s what I’d like to highlight. Even with a strategy, you’re still not guaranteed to move deals forward with a cold call email approach. Your best bet at sales success when prospecting?

Always, always, always shoot for a warm introduction first.

With that said, we highly recommend using LinkedIn as a prospecting tool when building out your prospecting list for outreach.

As you add companies or individuals to your prospecting list, cross reference them with your connections. If you see a common connection, ask for an introduction using the email templates on the following pages. If you don’t see a common connection but believe that person or company would be the perfect client then hey, it’s still worth a shot—we included templates for this type of situation as well.

Whatever method you use when prospecting—track it. Store details, templates, and results in your Sales PlayBook and assess your process every 60-90 days to make sure it’s effective.

I would also like to give a huge thank you to Pete Caputa, VP of Sales at Hubspot, for his fantastic research. We’ve integrated some of his ideas into our prospecting email templates.

*Asterisked templates adapted from Pete Caputa’s article.

Email Templates: Prospecting for Cold Leads

The sales email templates below were designed to help while prospecting for cold leads.

A few of the templates are from Pete Caputa’s tried-and-tested list*. His philosophy is a back to basics approach focused on relationship building.

Keep in mind that these templates are not a quick “hey, let’s do business” and are more like “let’s get to know each other and see where it goes.”

With that said, these sales email templates are meant to be used to break the ice during your first initial contact with a prospect. Having an effective plan involving phone calls and face-to-face meetings moving forward is critical.

Be sure to save these templates in your Sales PlayBook for easy access.

We recommend including them under your Prospecting tab. You might consider creating a sub-section under Prospecting called Email Templates.

Now, without further ado… here are some ideas for clever email outreach to cold prospects.

1. Compliment them.

2. Boost their mission.*

3. Connect to prospects who have viewed your LinkedIn profile.

4. Put their name in lights.*

5. Invite to a networking event.

6. Offer an introduction.*

7. Refer to a connection in common.

8. Seek referrals.*

9. Respond to social media connection.

10. Build rapport using common interests.*

There you have it! 10 sales email templates to help you during your cold prospecting efforts!

But wait… there's more 🙂

We've got a fresh new eBook called 32 Sales Email Templates for Better Prospecting, More Closed Deals, and Stronger Relationships. It has email templates for every stage of the sale from prospecting, to selling, to nurturing relationships once your prospects become clients.