How to Write a B2B Sales Email?

What is a B2B sales email?

The sales email is our darling here at LaGrowthMachine.

In Layman’s terms, it is the basis of any B2B prospecting strategy.

It is a message sent to a list of pre-established contacts through either a manual or automated process.

The purpose of these emails is to establish a relationship between you and the recipient so that you can later make your sales pitch.

They also can help you increase your sales, nurture leads, and drive revenue. According to HubSpot, email delivers an astonishing 4,200% ROI, which means it gives you $42 in return for every $1 invested.

In order to write an effective B2B sales email (and make sure it gets opened and read), it’s important that you first understand what makes them so effective and then follow some simple tips on how to write an effective one.

How to write perfect B2B sales emails?

A good sales email is like a good salesperson, and a good salesperson has the ability to say exactly what they what and what they mean.

Almost all businesses use emails as their primary channel to engage with customers. According to Barilliance, of all the transactions made on the internet, 19.8% were made through emails.

But what is the best way to write a sales email? An ideal email should be persuasive, knowledgeable, and personable.

We have put together three important tips that will help you write an effective B2B sales email.

Write an attractive subject line

The subject line is very important as it will be the major factor of your B2B email marketing campaign.

Financesonline’s report states that 64% of the email recipients decide to open an email only after reading the subject line, and 33% of the recipients are more likely to open an email with a catchy subject line.

Whatever subject line you choose, make sure it’s short, personalized, and includes some information about why they might want to open this email.

Here are a few tips to help you craft a subject line that will generate attention and compel them to open your email.

• Use keywords that target their pain points or problems
• Address the reader directly with their first name (if appropriate) or company name
• Make an offer or promise that’s unique
• Include a deadline to add urgency
• Include the recipient’s company name
• Use a question to entice them to open the email
• Be clear, concise, and compelling

According to Campaignmonitor, an ideal length of a subject line should be about 41 characters. Get straight to the point without using too many words. People are busy, they will appreciate your straightforward approach.

Here are a few examples of good subject lines for B2B email campaigns.

• Did you know my company makes [product or solution for pain points]?
• [name], did you know my company helps you with [pain point]?
• [name], 55% of businesses don’t do this!
• Hello [name]! Want to learn about [subject]?

Be clear, concise, and compelling

According to Statista report 2021, more than 306 billion emails are sent and received daily, but the open rate is only 19.8% (Constant Contact, 2021).

The challenge is that it’s harder than ever to connect with your audience in a way that will build trust and credibility.

But if you can manage to write an email that is clear, concise, and compelling, you’ll be able to get your message across in a way that won’t overwhelm or annoy the recipient.

First, make sure that the message is simple and clear. It’s best not to make people read through several paragraphs to get to the point.

Ask yourself the following questions: What are you trying to say? Why should this person care? You have a limited number of words, so use them wisely! Don’t waste time on fluff or irrelevant details.

Second, be concise: According to Time.com, the attention span of an average human being is less than 8 seconds.

So if you’re not getting a response from sales prospects, it may be because your email is too long.

Consider the following tips to make your email easy to read through:

• Include bullet points
• If you can’t fit your story into one email, consider splitting it up into multiple emails.
• Send a brochure as an attachment for the topics that include in-depth explanations. i.e business plan, pricing structure, or product details.
• Be specific about what the reader will get in exchange for their attention

And finally, be compelling, figure out what will keep your reader’s interest. This means including some form of an offer or deal, but it could also be something that can make the reader feel they are missing out like “Limited Time Offer” or “New Arrivals”.

Include a one-line Call To Action (CTA)

A good sales email should include a clear call to action that also creates a sense of urgency because people like to feel that they are getting a great deal, and if they don’t act now, they might miss out on it.

To write a good CTA line, ask yourself what you want the reader to do. How can they take action?

A call to action can be as simple as “Click here” or “Buy now.” Or it could be something more specific like refund emails that says, “Please reply with your order number, and we’ll credit your account $100.”

A strong CTA will help your reader understand what they should do next — whether it’s clicking on a link or heading over to your storefront page.

Now that you know what to do when writing a B2B sales email, there are still many mistakes you should avoid. Read on to discover what NOT to do when sending sales emails.

If you apply these few tips, your cold email prospecting should convert much more effectively than a hastily thrown together campaign.

If you don’t hear from your contact, don’t be afraid to call them back and/or send them follow-up emails.

Thanks to LaGrowthMachine, you can automate your entire prospecting process, from contact to follow-up, and this on several channels simultaneously!

You can add as many actions and triggers as you want:

For a 100% organic result, and a very high conversion rate on cold prospecting!

How Not to write a B2B sales email?

There are certain things you should be aware of while writing your sales email. If you’re not careful, you can turn away potential buyers. We will discuss the top 5 five mistakes that you should avoid while writing a sales email:

Don’t use a generic subject line.

We discussed how the subject line of your sales email is a key factor in whether or not the recipient will open it.

Use a professional tone but don’t use an overly formal tone because it can come off as cold and uninviting.

Instead, try using first names or even nicknames if you know them well enough to do so. Don’t forget, you’re still talking to human beings, be friendly.

Give them a teaser of what they’ll be reading about. For example “We have an important announcement for you!”

Make sure the recipients recognize you

No one likes getting emails from strangers they don’t recognize. You might feel comfortable doing so since the recipient has signed up to receive your emails.

However, if they don’t recognize you right away, they will most likely see your message as spam and delete it without reading it.

The best way to avoid this mistake is to make sure you properly introduce yourself in your email.

You should also always include a link to your website and/or social media so that if they don’t recognize you, they can find out more about you if they want to learn more about your business.

Avoid asking redundant questions.

If you’ve ever had a conversation with someone who repeats everything you say, then you know how irritating it can be.

And yet, we often do this in our emails to clients. It’s important to ask questions that are relevant to the recipients.

Research your leads and find out what they like to talk about and how they’re talking about it. Incorporate all the information you can find about them in your sales email so that a lot of redundant questions can be avoided.

Do not send multiple follow-ups.

It’s not uncommon for salespeople to send multiple follow-ups in an attempt to get their leads to respond.

However, this can backfire and actually make people unsubscribe from your emails or even send you to the hellhole that is the SPAM folder.

If you send too many messages, it might come across as annoying and unprofessional — a surefire way for people to mark your email as spam.

Depending on your industry and the relationship you have with your leads, this frequency can vary greatly.

For instance, you can send your first follow-up email 3-5 days after you send an initial outreach email. If you don’t hear back from the prospect within that time frame, then send a second follow-up email 2 weeks later.

That said, always make sure you adapt your follow-up emailing strategies to the needs and wants of your community.

Don’t use a generic email

A generic email is usually a basic email template that you can use to create the body, the header, and the footer of your emails for any type of conversation.

Your audience has probably been on the receiving end of hundreds (if not thousands) of sales emails in their lifetime. They’ll likely immediately recognize that yours is just another one in a long line of them.

Instead, use a custom-tailored approach where you build each email around the person receiving it, their interests, needs, and desires so that your message resonates with them on a personal level and makes them want to respond.

You might feel a bit overwhelmed by all the do’s and don’ts of how to write a perfect sales email. But don’t worry! I will share some templates with you that will help you get started.

Free B2B Sales Email templates

We’ve all had that feeling of dread when it’s time to write a new email, you don’t know what to say and you feel like you’re wasting your time.

The time for that is over! Here I have laid out a list of scenario-based email templates that will help you write like a pro.

Finding the right decision-makers

Scenario: Sometimes you will find information about the decision-makers of a company on their website or LinkedIn, but that’s not always the case.

In this scenario, you should reach out to other people who might be available and ask them to connect you with the decision-makers.

Introducing yourself & Establishing your value

Scenario: The following template will help you introduce yourself and the values of your company to a potential prospect.

Following up on a previous convo or action taken

Scenario: Follow-up emails are one of the most effective ways to get noticed by prospects, so it’s important to send them at the right time.

The following template will help you to craft your own personalized follow-up email:

Retargeting

Scenario: Retargeting is a way to go after warm leads or existing customers based on their behavior.

Pushing prospects into a meeting or attending an info session

Scenario: Asking prospects for a meeting is a big ask, and it can be difficult to get people to commit. This email is designed to get them to take the next step in your sales process.

The Before-After-Bridge (BAB) formula

Scenario: This method is a very simple way of taking them from the past to the future and accomplishing this by showing them how you’re going to get them there.

Offering a Free Trial

Scenario: You are asking the prospect to try your product or service.

Asking for feedback on a completed trial

Scenario: The prospect has already completed the trial and you’re looking to convince them to become a full-time customer.

“Love your […], check out our product” (Exchange ideas Email)

Scenario: This template is useful when you feel you will have a mutually beneficial relationship with your prospect (e.g. you use their product in your company).

Now that you have figured out your sales email template strategy, you will need a tool that helps you execute it just the way you want to!

LaGrowthMachine: Automate your B2B sales emails and much more

LaGrowthMachine lets you create email templates with a simple drag-and-drop editor. This means you can use all the email templates I have shared with you (or if you have your own) for the scenarios that are useful to use, and automate the entire process with our workflows feature!

Over 4000 business have automated their sales email strategies using LaGrowthMachine and saved 40% of their sales team time with our state-of-the-art sales automation system. This means less headache for you and more efficiency for your sales and marketing teams!

LaGrowthMachine even lets you add actions, such as sending an email sequence with one click, and schedule actions based on a date or action taken by the user (e.g., If the prospect opens my first email, send them my second email 1 day later).

This way you can send out carefully crafted campaigns without lifting a finger!

What are you waiting for? Boost your responsiveness and agility by testing our growth marketing solution.

Conclusion

No matter what you’re selling, there’s a lot of competition out there. To leave your mark and attract the attention of potential buyers, it’s essential to craft sales emails that rise above the fray!

By following the tips in this guide, you’ll be well on your way to faster, more effective sales with email.

If you’ve enjoyed this article or have any questions, please leave a comment and let me know. I hope the tips I shared will help take your email conversation to the next level. Cheers!