SimpleBenefit - Write Better Cold Emails 🥶

While teaching our AI at Swayle to write better emails, I did a lot of digging into what makes a cold email work. I started with a simple Google search: “How to write cold sales emails?”.

What I found were mostly personal tips from sales reps about what worked for them at some company at some point in their careers. It wasn’t something you could generally apply to cold outreach and use everywhere. So, I combined all the research I could find with the sales rep’s advice to create the more generally applicable SimpleBenefit Framework.

The SimpleBenefit Framework consists of five parts:

Simplicity, Benefit, Trustworthiness, Researched and Relevant

Simplicity - Less Is More

When it comes to cold emails, less is definitely more. The truth is, most people follow the path of least recistance, so if your email asks for too much, it’s likely to be ignored. Keep it simple to catch their attention. A good rule of thumb is to keep your email short, ideally between 50-125 words or 5-15 lines.

Your call-to-action (CTA) should be clear and easy to respond to. For example, instead of a vague “Do you have time for a meeting?” ask, “Can we have a 15-minute chat on Thursday at 10 AM?” This specific request makes it simple for the recipient to check their schedule and reply hassle-free.

Also, think about the effort it takes to say “yes.” It’s generally easier for someone to click on a link than to schedule a meeting. So, choose CTAs that require minimal effort. This approach increases the chances of getting a positive response.

Benefit - What’s in It for Me?

People don’t check their emails for fun; they’re looking for something that benefits them, whether it’s a message from a customer, supplier, partner, or even a salesperson with a compelling offer.

What can you offer? For businesses, it boils down to three main benefits: saving money, making money, or reducing risk. For individuals, the range is broader—you might offer something that increases their status, enhances their satisfaction, or improves their safety. These personal benefits can tap into deeper needs, like those described in Maslow’s hierarchy.

Your job as the seller is to clearly connect your product’s features to these benefits. But remember, claiming something valuable isn’t enough; you need to make it believable. Support your claims with logic or evidence. If you can’t convincingly explain why your offer is beneficial, it’s just a claim without value.

The “time value of money” concept also applies here — immediate benefits are better than promises of future gains. It’s all about the “time value of value.”

Trustworthiness - Establishing a Genuine Connection

Building trust is crucial in cold emails since the recipient (by definition) doesn’t know you. Begin with a conversational tone, using clear and straightforward language that makes your email feel like a chat between acquaintances. Mentioning a mutual contact or highlighting a shared experience, like attending the same conference or sharing a common hobby, can quickly establish a meaningful connection.

Identifying and pointing out any specific similarities you share with the recipient—especially those that are rare—can significantly boost your credibility. These personal touches make your message stand out as genuine and thoughtful, building actual trust right from the start.

Researched - Show You Care

The principle of reciprocity plays a significant role in effective communication, especially in cold emails. When recipients see that you’ve invested time and effort into understanding their needs and challenges, they are more likely to respond.

To leverage this, ensure your email reflects genuine research. Mention specific details about their business that aren’t widely known or refer to recent news about their company. This shows that you’ve done more than a surface-level glance and are genuinely interested in them.

Relevant - Timing Is Everything

Relevance is all about the “right person, right time”-part of sales. It’s essential for the recipient to understand why they are being contacted and why it matters now. This aspect strongly ties in with the other elements of the framework.

Ensure your message aligns with current events or recent developments in the recipient’s industry or company. This timing shows that you’re not only informed but also considerate of their circumstances.

Conclusion

You might have noticed that our SimpleBenefit Framework doesn’t mention the exact balance between simplicity, benefit, trustworthiness, research, and relevance. That’s because there’s no one-size-fits-all; the impact of each aspect varies based on who’s reading your email. Some might be drawn to the detail of your research, while others lean towards the authenticity and trust you convey.

This is where your ability to adapt becomes crucial. Tailor your approach as you see how different kinds of recipients react to your emails and gather feedback, refining your strategy to align more closely with your recipients’ preferences.

If this last part was a bit discouraging, you can sleep well knowing that if you have at least some of the aspects above covered, your email will already be better than 95% of what's out there!