We’ve all heard it. Many marketers say cold outreach is dead.

 

 

It may be true, but not entirely.

 

 

Of course, sending generic and templated messages is your ticket to doomsday. You’re cold, you’re impersonal, and you offer no value.

 

 

Nobody likes being cold-called, so it makes sense that cold outreach would have a bad reputation.

 

 

But what if we told you there was a way to do a cold email outreach campaign without being cold? That’s exactly what smart outreach is all about.

 

 

What is Smart Outreach?

 

Smart outreach is the new wave of cold outreach.

 

 

Smart outreach is a cold email outreach campaign done right.

 

 

Cold outreach campaigns tend to have low open rates, high unsubscribe rates, and low click-through rates. 

 

 

Why? Because, again, they’re cold and impersonal. 

 

 

On the other hand, smart outreach is more likely to get higher open rates, and have higher response rates. 

 

 

Why? Because it’s a more personalized, relevant, and targeted approach that can actually get results.

 

 

• Cold Outreach  = impersonal, generic messages
• Smart Outreach = personalized, relevant, targeted messages

 

How Can You Make Your Cold Emails Smart?

 

 

Transforming your outreach campaigns into a smart one requires a strategic plan, research, and getting a hold of inside-out knowledge of your potential customers. It’s not about changing what you’re saying; it’s about changing how you’re saying it.

 

 

You can do this with technology that delivers valuable insights and the ability to reach out at scale, combined with a little old-fashioned human ingenuity. 

 

 

Here are 5 things that you can do to make your cold outreach smart:

 

 

1. Personalized Messages

 

A cold email is more likely to get opened if it’s personalized. A generic message that says: “I saw your website and thought you might be interested in my product,” is not gonna cut it. Studies have shown that more personalized messages get you a 17% response rate, compared to just 7% for non-personalized emails.

 

 

That’s why a cold email should never be generic. If you send the same message to everyone on your list, you’re doing it wrong. Instead, your recipient should feel like you’re speaking directly to them.

 

 

The same goes for LinkedIn InMail messages. If you’re going to reach out, take the time to personalize your message. For example, mention something you have in common or something you saw on their profile that you found interesting.

 

 

Personalized messages show that you’re not just spraying and praying. You took the time to research the person you’re reaching out to, and you tailored your message specifically for them. That’s the kind of thing people respond to.

 

 

2. Relevant to the Recipient

 

Your message should be relevant to your recipient. Relevancy is key in getting your message read, clicked, and responded to. So, your email should be about something important to your prospect, not just something important to you.

 

 

For example, let’s say you sell software that helps with website design. You wouldn’t want to reach out to someone who doesn’t have a website or already has a website design company. That would be a waste of your effort and time.

 

 

You want to target people who either don’t have a website design or are unhappy with their current website design company.

 

 

To ensure your message is relevant, take the time to do your research. Look at their website, their LinkedIn profile, and anything else you can find. The more you know about them, the easier it will be to craft a relevant message.

 

 

3. Targeted to the Right People

 

Your cold email outreach campaign will be more successful if it’s targeted to the right people. That means you need to have a well-defined target audience.

 

 

Ask yourself these questions:

 

• Who are you trying to reach?
• What kind of companies are you targeting?
• What size of companies are you looking for?
• What industries are you targeting?

 

The more specific you can be with your ideal customer, the better. Likewise, the more focused your campaign is, the better your response rates will be.

 

 

4. Provides Value

 

Your cold outreach email should provide value to the recipient. It should be something that they would want to read, even if they don’t know you.

 

 

For example, let’s say you’re reaching out to a potential lead for your SaaS startup. You don’t want to just list the features of your product, you want to show how their company specifically can benefit from partnering with you. Talk about what you’ve achieved for similar clients so they can see what results or ROI they can expect.

 

 

It’s also great to offer something free at this point (like a free consultation or demo), which gives them something for nothing. That’s great value.

 

 

When you provide value, you build trust and credibility with your recipients. And that’s what you need if you want them to respond to your cold email.

 

 

5. Has a Clear Call-to-Action

 

Some cold outreach emails are very clever and provide a lot of value, but they don’t include a clear call-to-action (CTA). As a result, the recipient doesn’t know what to do next.

 

 

That’s why your cold email must have a clear CTA.

 

 

What do you want your potential customers to do after they read your email?

 

• Do you want them to click on a link?
• Do you want them to download a white paper?
• Do you want them to schedule a meeting?
• Do you want them to subscribe to your newsletter?

 

Whatever it is, make sure it’s clear and visible. You don’t want your recipient to be confused about what you want them to do. If they’re confused, they’re not going to do anything.

 

 

Spice Up Your Outreach Campaigns

 

Cold outreach remains a great way to generate leads and sales for your business. But it’s essential to do it right and smart.

 

 

Your outreach campaign will only be successful if the recipient opens, reads, and takes action. Otherwise, it’s effort and time wasted. Remember that seeing different results means changing what you say and how you say it.

 

 

So, if you want your cold email campaign to be successful, make sure that your emails are personalized, relevant, targeted, and provide value. And most importantly, make sure that you provide your readers with a clear CTA.

 

 

Need help crafting smart cold email campaigns to generate leads and close more deals? Contact ScaleUpSales for a free consultation on how we can help grow your business.