Additionally, paste this code immediately after the opening tag:

How To Write the Perfect Sales Email In 2017

Posted on February 9, 2017

Email prospecting has become standard practice for most salespeople. While sending a sales email is less intimidating than making a cold call, it can be harder to generate any kind of response, let alone a positive one; less than 24 per cent of sales emails actually get opened, according to Topo.

If you’re going to be sending pitches by email, you need to be armed with the right tactics. Here’s how to write the perfect sales email in 2017.

Writing a Subject Line

The perfect sales email has a subject line that is brief, intriguing and, if possible, personalized. Your goal when writing a subject line isn’t to sum up your email, but simply to get your recipient to open it. Some ideas:

  • If the recipient is someone you were recommended to contact, lead with that: “A referral from Jane Thompson”
  • If the recipient is someone you’ve met, even in passing, make your connection clear: “Our chat at TechStars”
  • Try working their company name in: “A question about Dawson Brothers Ltd.”
  • Give them something to think about: “Some ideas for Dawson Brothers Ltd.”
  • If you recently read a blog post they wrote, or attended an event they spoke at, pay them a compliment: “Loved your post on productivity”

Remember that certain words will trigger spam filters, meaning your message might not be seen at all. Check out this list of possible flag words to avoid, including ‘free,’ ‘compare’ and ‘benefit.’

What to Open With

Don’t waste time introducing yourself and your business. Start with a personalized greeting (“Hi Jim,” “Hey Jim”) and then draw the connection between you and them. Here are a few ideas based on the subject line approaches we touched on above:

  • The mutual friend: “Our mutual friend Jane Thompson wanted me to reach out to you.”
  • The acquaintance: “We had a great conversation about virtual reality at TechStars in January.”
  • The question: “I stumbled upon the Dawsons Brothers Ltd. website the other day and was curious about…”
  • The idea: “I’ve been following Dawsons Brothers Ltd.’s growth for a while now and had a few ideas about tools for scaling.”
  • The compliment: “Just finished reading your ‘What Productivity Really Looks Like’ post and wanted to reach out.”

How Long

Through its research, email app Boomerang found that lengths of 50 to 125 words are the sweet spot for sales email length. Emails that hovered in and around that count had the highest response rates (at approximately 50 per cent). Emails clocking in at 200 words at a response rate of about 48 per cent.

The lesson: be economical with your words. Keep your message focused and sharp, and don’t pad it with adjectives or jokes.

What to End With

Now you put the ball in your recipient’s court, with a clear call-to-action that explains what exactly you want from them. The more specific your CTA, the better — this makes it easier for your recipient to respond accordingly. Depending on the goal of your email, your closing line could be:

  • Do you have 10 minutes to chat tomorrow or Wednesday?
  • Can I send you a PDF with some more information?
  • Does it make sense for us to schedule a call, or is there someone else I should reach out to?
  • Do you have any questions for me?
  • It would be great to chat for a few minutes this week. But if you’re not interested, no problem; let me know.

Book a Free Discovery Session

Do you have a question? Do you want to start a project? Get in touch.

Name(Required)

Get In Touch With Us

Whether you need industry advice, a product demo or consultation on your next project, contact App Solve for all the resources you need to plan and grow your business.

Toronto Office
1050 King Street West
Toronto
M6K 0C7

"*" indicates required fields

Name*

What Our Customers Are Saying

Digitcom hired AppSolve to streamline Digitcom's processes from Quote to Cash. A digital service provider, Digitcom's requirements are challenging and AppSolve's thorough knowledge of Service Cloud and AccountingSeed ERP and Financial Suite made them uniquely qualified to help.
AppSolve delivered a comprehensive overview of Digitcom's processes. They simplified systems by eliminating half of the business tools currently in use, resulting in more cohesive work flows at a lower monthly spend.
AppSolve's team faced external challenges multiple times during their engagement with us, but managed to keep tightly to their deadlines and deliverables while maintaining a high-quality, professional service.

Digitcom Telecommunications Inc.

"A great long term partner. The team at App Solve has helped us implement several strategically valuable modules, custom design, and workflow processes to our org. We have been working with them for four years now. They understand our business needs and help us scope projects appropriately for our requirements and budget. Planning projects is always difficult when we don't understand the complexity of some challenges. They help us navigate appropriately and are reasonable to work with when original plans inevitably end up drifting into something different than first envisioned."

Craig MacAdam, CFO | Lift North America

"Great team to work with! App Solve knows their stuff. They helped to get Pardot integrated with Salesforce, and I am excited to see what we can do with it."

Dawn Jones, Director of Marketing | Kraun Electric Inc.

"Exceptional work and customer service! We contracted App Solve to help us with an implementation roadmap project and feasibility study. We were very pleased with the level of service they provided, the clarity of communication, and the attention we received. All our needs were addressed! I strongly recommend App Solve, their level of expertise, and customer service are unparalleled."

Asia Nebesnaia, IT Project Manager | Cox Automotive Canada Company

"The App Solve team was very knowledgeable, organized, and worked diligently to set up Salesforce and Pardot within a tight timeframe. We enjoyed working with everyone on the project and appreciated the guidance along the way."

Simon Dealy, CEO | HIRE Technologies

"Experienced partner with good staff. We did our first project with App Solve this past summer. It was implemented professionally and has had a positive impact on our business. The staff are responsive and know their stuff. We will definitely use them again."

Aaron Jones, CEO | Kraun Electric Inc.

"Highly skilled and easy to work with! I’ve been working with App Solve for several years as a Salesforce partner and a software implementor of our platform - Accounting Seed. In my experiences with App Solve, they've been spot on with respect to the Accounting Seed and Salesforce value proposition and I've had countless successful project roll-outs with our mutual customers! Cheers to many more, App Solve!"

Anthony Schermer, Senior Account Executive | Accounting Seed

"App Solve is great to work with, they take the time to understand our business and how best to implement Salesforce solutions to meet our objectives. Very knowledgeable team to work with our company as we rolled out Salesforce across North America to 12 cities, implementing our entire business. It was a pleasure doing business with App Solve. Thank you."

John Chiaramonte, Senior Business Development Executive | Enwave North America LP.

"Extremely pleased. David and his team have been a dream to work with. They are very responsive and complete projects in a timely manner. They also take the time to thoroughly explain things to a novice Salesforce user. I look forward to working with David in the future!"

Sierra Hayes, Operations Manager | Dream Local Digital

"Great Group to work with. We have used App Solve a few times and they have been great to work with. They were very knowledgeable and showed a willingness to work with or organization. I will use them for future consultation."

Chris Haase, President | Environmental Products Group

"We worked with the App Solve team to implement Salesforce for our organization, including the main system architecture and setting up the data model needed for our business. They have been a true partner in getting us rolling with Salesforce and have also been of great assistance in tackling smaller projects after the implementation was largely completed."

Gregory Kennedy, Controller | Generis

"Fantastic experience working with Pattie & David. Our company recently completed the transition to Lightning with the competent, guiding hand of Pattie. This transition provided us the perfect opportunity to fix an ongoing issue that was caused by a custom-built feature. Pattie & her team took the time to clearly understand the issue and to take the proper steps to fix it. I would highly recommend App Solve to anyone looking to integrate Salesforce into their business."

Lee-Anne Golden, Managing Director | Urban Flats Toronto

"A true partner. The team at App Solve is amazing. We have truly valued their expertise and consider them a partner, helping us maximize our Salesforce experience. They have been lifesavers on more projects than I can count. We look forward to a long and productive relationship. 5 stars all around!"

Kerrie LePage, Director of Marketing and Product Management | Edenred Commuter Benefit Solutions

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Share This