SaaS Cold Email Template #1: "The Four Sentence Initial Email"

Not getting many replies to your cold emails?

Here's a template I've used successfully in the past. And I still use it as a baseline whenever I launch a new cold email campaign.

It's called "The Four-Sentence Initial Email"

The first email in your sequence is critical; it usually gets the highest open and reply rates, and if you don't make a good first impression then a prospect will likely ignore any subsequent emails in your sequence.

So it's really important to nail that initial cold email. And you've only got a small window of opportunity to grab a prospect's attention and convince them to take action.

The nice thing about The Four Sentence Initial Email is that it manages to convey a lot of important information in on very short, very readable email.

Basically, your first email needs to answer 4 critical questions, with a sentence or two on each (explained in detail below).

The Four Sentence Initial Email

1 - Who are you (and why should I care)?

2 - How are you going to make my life better or easier?

3 - Why should I believe you?

4 - What happens next?

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Let's unpack each section one by one.

1 - Who are you (and why should I care)?

Ditch the pleasantries and get straight to the point. Introduce yourself so they know who you are.

“Ryan from StartupSauce here” is perfectly fine because you want to move onto the next point ASAP…

2 - How are you going to make my life better or easier?

Explain your value proposition in simple terms, and link it to one of the 5 reasons why people buy.

Avoid jargon and choose simple words over complex - remember, the goal is to get your meaning across as easily as possible.

3 - Why should I believe you?

Include some social proof, like the number of customers you have or some famous brands you’ve worked with, or a testimonial if you don’t have either of those.

This part is crucial, and is often overlooked by salespeople and entrepreneurs sending cold emails.

For example “We’ve helped over 1400 small businesses simplify their accounting” or “McDonalds, IBM and Nike all trust our software to keep them safe from cyber attacks”

4 - What happens next?

Give them a single, clear call to action. My preferred one? “Up for a quick call next Tuesday or Wednesday?”

This is because most people have already planned out this week, so won't have any availability.

Equally, most people have no idea what they'll be doing in 3 months time, it's too far into the future.

By suggesting a meeting next week - and on a day of the week that is typically less busy - you get the best of both worlds: it's close enough in time for them to commit to it but far enough away that they will still have some availability.

Don’t give them multiple options. Don’t ask them to “let you know”. Make it bleedingly obvious what you want them to do next if they’re even remotely interested.

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Using this template, you can expect a 5-10% reply rate - assuming you use a great subject line and your targeting, messaging and deliverability are on-point.

If you'd like to get reply rates as high as 30% you'll need to use more advanced tactics, like including a Video Pitch, the Thunderclap and the One-Two Punch.

I'll show you how to do all of these in my course The Cold Email Secret Sauce.

You'll also get 110 proven subject lines and 47 high-converting cold email templates included as well.