Why Do My Cold Emails Get Ignored?
A cold email can be perfectly well written and still get ignored because it starts in the wrong place.
Most sales messages begin with what the seller wants the prospect to believe: we're better, faster, cheaper, easier or more effective.
The problem is that your prospect may already be having a very different conversation with themselves.
Your positive can collide with their negative
Imagine you're selling software that saves salespeople four hours a week.
“Save four hours a week for your salespeople.”
The prospect may be thinking:
“Save time for my salespeople? They're lazy enough as it is.”
Your claim may be completely true. But you've started by asking the prospect to accept a positive idea that conflicts with the thought already in their head.
Start with the thought they already have
Instead, you might begin:
If that's close to what your prospect already thinks, you've created agreement rather than resistance.
Only then do you introduce the positive: perhaps the real value of your software isn't simply saving time, but helping salespeople spend more of that time doing the work that produces results.
Negative doesn't mean miserable
This isn't about making your sales message gloomy. It's about acknowledging the objection, frustration, scepticism or inconvenient truth before trying to overcome it.
Before writing your next cold email, ask two questions:
What negative conversation is already taking place in my prospect's mind?
How can I join that conversation before I tell them what's good about what I sell?