In today’s newsletter, I’ll share three rules you need to follow if you want to get replies from your cold emails. By keeping these rules in mind, you’ll receive fewer rejections, start more conversations, and book more meetings.

Here are the rules:

Rule 1: Keep your subject line under 5 words

An email’s subject line has one goal: to get the email opened. If you can’t stand out in your prospects’ mailbox, they won’t open your email.

A good way to optimize your subject line is to look for inspiration in your own mailbox. What are some emails that caught your attention? What are the ones you ignored?

Emails that resemble internal communication tend to be opened more by prospects. You can also write in lowercase only to increase the chances of getting your emails opened. Here are a few examples of subject lines from my own mailbox:

• thoughts?
• thurs
• call today
• you joining?
• tomorrow

Rule 2: No more than 125 words

If your prospects have to scroll to read your email on their phones, then it’s too long. The goal of a cold email is to get a reply, and prospects often stop reading an email if it’s too long. Take a look at this example email: I scanned it quickly and immediately ignored it.

In today’s newsletter, I’ll share a simple tactic to follow when you’re struggling to book meetings, no matter what you’ve tried. By following these steps, you can avoid being ignored by prospects, start more conversations, and ultimately book more meetings.

Here’s how:

Step 1: List inactive customers and lost opportunities

To get started, create a list of all customers who have purchased something from you. For instance, I have compiled a list of individuals who have purchased my AI Outreach System. I reach out to five of them every day, with a reply rate of around 40%.

Next, create a list of lost opportunities. In my experience, leads who were previously in conversation to purchase something from me tend to reply more than complete strangers.

Step 2: Build a “conversation sequence”

With your two lists ready, you can now start working on your sequences. Instead of trying to book a meeting right away, focus on restarting the conversation. Use anything that is relevant to reignite the conversation. For example, you can try something similar to what I did below:

Welcome to a special edition of the Tactical Selling Newsletter…

BIG news – I’m launching a live online masterclass.

I created it because most SDRs know they have to use a sequence to be successful, but they don’t have a system in place to build them.

That’s usually because:

1. Building a sequence is overwhelming – Where should I start? What channels, how many touchpoints?…
2. They don’t know if the sequence will actually work – I don’t want to spend hours building a sequence, only to get no replies…
   
3. They need to be creative, but they don’t know where to start – How can I try new stuff without wasting my time?…

This online masterclass answers all the above and teaches you how to build a sequence skeleton, how to identify prospects’ problems, and how to use them to build messages that get you replies (some of my customers get reply rates above 30%).

If you’re interested in building an outbound sequence from scratch, then this is for you.

And because you’re a subscriber to my newsletter, you get a discount code. Use “AP4Z5U9” at checkout and you’ll get 20% off (valid until Saturday).

You can reserve your seat here (the live masterclass will start at 4:00PM Paris Time on the 5th of July).

Cheers,
Thibaut

PS: This masterclass is limited to 50 people. It will be recorded if you can’t show up, and you’ll receive an invitation with the login credentials as soon as you book your seat.

In today’s newsletter, I’ll share the exact process I follow to create an outbound sequence from scratch.

In today’s newsletter, I’ll share how to properly use calendar links to book meetings. By following these steps, you can avoid turning off prospects and discover a better way to use these productivity tools for sales.

Here’s the step-by-step process:

Step 1: Understand when to use them

Meeting links should not be included in your outbound sequences. The purpose of a sequence is to get a reply, not to book a meeting. If you include a meeting link in your cold message, you increase the likelihood of being marked as spam, which can significantly reduce your reply rate.

Instead, keep the meeting link as a facilitation tool once a meeting has been agreed upon. For more information on crafting messages with a 38% or higher reply rate, check out this article.

Step 2: Navigate the conversation

Before asking for a meeting, your goal should be to get a reply. Once you receive a reply, your goal is to schedule a meeting. You can achieve this by following this 4-step process:

• Step 1: Use a problem question with the formula “How do you avoid/prevent problem.” For example, “How do you prevent your team from turning off prospects with pushy outreach?”
• Step 2: Offer a reciprocity resource, such as a marketing material turned into a prospecting asset. For instance, “If you’re interested, I can share a 5-step sequence that typically gets over a 38% reply rate.”
• Step 3: Ask for feedback. If the prospect responds, share the resource, wait for two days, and use the following formula: “What do you think of the resource? Is it useful for your team?”
• Step 4: Use a negative-reversing question. For example, “Would it be a bad idea to have a quick call so I can give you a few tips on how your team can use this sequence?”

Go check this detailed article for a tactical guide on how to navigate conversations.

Step 3: Share your availability

If your prospect responds, you can share your availability by using your meeting link. I recommend giving your prospect the option to share their own calendar link or availability, as some may prefer not to share their data.

Alternatively, you could try Mixmax’s sales engagement platform for free. They have a cool feature that allows you to share your availability directly in your email, which I was told could increase your booked meetings by 57%.

That’s how you can use calendar links to book outbound cold meetings.

I hope this helps!

Cheers,

Thibaut Souyris

In today’s newsletter, I’ll share how I turn a marketing resource into a prospecting asset in less than 6 minutes.

Big news – The Ultimate Guide to AI-Powered Outreach is live!

I have partnered with Outreach to create this free guide to help you navigate the AI revolution for prospecting. AI is a game changer, but most salespeople don’t know how to use it to make their job easier.

That’s why I have decided to share 3 specific use cases you can implement right away. In this guide, you’ll learn:

• Why AI is a major revolution for salespeople
• Three ways to use AI for prospecting
• How not to use AI for prospecting

I have included a few prompt examples that you can copy/paste into ChatGPT, so you can start seeing results immediately.

You can access this 24 pages guide for free here.

Hope it will be useful!

Cheers,

Thibaut Souyris

In today’s newsletter, I will share how I created my latest LinkedIn headshot and why using AI was so helpful. By following these steps, you can avoid wasting hours of your time in a professional studio and the expense that goes with it.

In sales, your professional image is crucial. If you use LinkedIn to prospect, your headshot is the first thing prospects will see when you connect with them. That’s why having a professional headshot is critical.

However, shooting a professional headshot is a time-consuming and expensive process. It involves picking the right studio, traveling to the shoot, striking poses, and selecting the right picture. It’s a process most people would rather skip.

Here’s how you can do it for $49 and around 10 minutes:

Step 1: Go to Secta

Secta is an AI tool that can turn your existing selfies into hundreds of professional headshots in less than an hour. With Secta, you won’t need to select a suit, do your hair, or travel to a professional studio.

To get started, simply visit Secta, follow the instructions, and generate hundreds of different selfies of yourself, just like the ones shown here:

In today’s newsletter, I’ll share four outbound message frameworks that I’ve been trying recently. By using these frameworks, you will catch the attention of your prospects, start more conversations, and eventually book more meetings.

Let’s dive in.

Framework #1: Question + Teaser + CTA

• Question: A problem-oriented question to get your prospect to reflect.
• Teaser: An intriguing resource to help your prospect solve a part of the problem you mentioned in your question.
• CTA: A simple question to get the prospect to reply.

Example:

• Question: Eric, curious to know how you’re preventing your new hires from taking too much time to go through their onboarding.
• Teaser: If you’re interested, I can share a short, 3-step playbook on fixing your onboarding process.
• CTA: Sounds interesting?

Why it works?

This approach works because you focus on a concrete symptom of a problem that your prospect may have. By hinting at a potential solution, prospects who are experiencing the problem you mentioned are more likely to reply (in my case, 38% to 42% do).

Framework #2: Jobs to be done

• Memory: A past topic of conversation
• Tool: A tool/resource related to the conversation
• Confirm: A question to confirm it is still a priority
• Teaser: A sentence to get the prospect intrigued about the tool

Example:

• Memory: Mary, last time we spoke, new employee churn was an issue.
• Tool: I stumbled on a checklist to disqualify bad candidates and immediately thought of you.
• Confirm: Are you still working on reducing new employee churn?
• Teaser: If so, just hit reply and I’ll share the resource with you.

Why it works?

This framework works well when a prospect has been unresponsive or has requested to follow up later. Rather than simply checking in, you can provide value to your prospect by offering a specific resource.

Welcome to a special edition of the Tactical Selling Newsletter…

BIG news – the AI Outreach System goes live tomorrow!

I created it because most salespeople know AI is a game changer for their job, but they don’t know where to start.

That’s usually because:

1. AI is overwhelming – I don’t know how to write a prompt…
2. Learning how to use AI for prospecting is time consuming – I don’t want to spend hours learning the ropes, only to find out the results are mediocre…
   
3. There’s a ton of new tools going live every day – Which one should I pick?!…

This online course answers all the above and teaches you how to research, contact, and book meetings with AI (and ChatGPT).

If you’re interested in integrating AI in your daily prospecting, then this is for you.

And because you’re a subscriber to my newsletter, you get a discount code. Use “BPP0IWE” at checkout and you’ll get 30% off (valid until Saturday).

You can access the video course here (live tomorrow at 4:00 PM Berlin time).

Cheers,
Thibaut

PS: This is the last special edition, I promise. We’re back to our normal Thursday-only programming next week. Sincere thank you for letting me add a couple emails while I share the news about the course.