B2B cold email sequence template

What to personalize

Brackets are where the work is. If you can’t fill one with something specific to the reader, the email isn’t ready to send.

Why it works

• Step 1 asks one question they can say yes to. The question shows you know their world, and it is built so the honest answer is yes. It is the only question in the email, so they know what to answer, and it asks about interest, not a meeting: asking a stranger for their calendar in the first email is too much too soon. The shortest version works because there is almost nothing to read before the question.

• Step 2 brings something new. A follow-up that repeats step 1 gives them no new reason to reply. Bring a result, or offer something useful and let the reply be the signal. Only offer what you can send to every person on the list. If you have no case study yet, research one: a fact about their market, a result someone like them achieved, a number that makes the problem concrete.

• Step 3 routes. Most non-replies are not a no; the email reached the wrong person or the wrong week. Asking who owns it gets you a name more often than a third pitch gets you a meeting. Naming two colleagues makes it even easier to answer: pull them from the same company on your list, in the roles closest to the area.

• The follow-ups get shorter and less formal (Hi {{firstName}},, then Hi again {{firstName}},, then {{firstName}},), the way a real thread does.

Common mistakes

• A ridiculous assumption about the reader. One wrong guess about their business and the rest of the email doesn’t get read.

• Introducing yourself. “Hi, I’m Sam from Acme, we help companies with custom solutions” tells them nothing. If you’re reaching out, you’d better have something to say.

• Asking for a meeting in step 1. Ask about interest; the meeting comes after the yes.

• Opening on a competitor’s flaws. Leading with what’s wrong with the tool they already use puts them on the defensive about a choice they made. Write about their problem, not someone else’s product.

• “Just checking in” in step 2. Bring something new or don’t send it.

• Listing every feature in the follow-up. Seven options in a bulleted list reads like a brochure. Pick the one that matters to this reader.

• A joke in every P.S. A little humour can work once, when it fits the reader. In every email it stops being charming.

• Title Case subject lines. “Accelerate Your Pipeline Growth” reads like an ad. pipeline reads like a colleague.

• Guilt-trip breakups. “Should I close your file?” gets replies, mostly angry ones.

• Spam words and long emails. Free, special offer, promo, and anything over a few short paragraphs, unless you have something genuinely valuable to share.