After working for 20 years in an institute with nearly 500 employees that produces surveys and market studies, Denis realized that he wanted to create an activity related to the web: he therefore created Dropcontact.
What is cold-emailing?
Definition
Cold-emailing is the process of sending cold emails to leads. It will consist in the creation of email sequences, i.e. sequences of actions including messages according to steps, to be automated or to be sent manually. These emails will be sent via campaigns without first making contact in advance, using dedicated tools or a CRM.
We talk a lot about this subject on the Akimbo Bootcamp to become a Business Developer!
Email marketing vs Cold-mailing
Cold-emailing is used for commercial prospecting. It will then be used mainly in B2B, in order to contact potential customers with whom we will try to get an appointment. On the other hand, email marketing consists in contacting a B2B or B2C base.
Unlike cold-emailing, email marketing will rather aim at direct sales (via a link in its content) or at increasing traffic on a website. We will also see a difference in the type of content: cold-emailing is more often written in the form of traditional messages, while email marketing will often have more graphic layouts. However, we can use the same tools for both types of emails: we will find the same principle of sending per campaign, but the message will differ.
Dropcontact and cold-emailing
How did the idea of Dropcontact come about?
The idea came to Denis while spending a lot of time on contact data. It's a very time-consuming thing for a Business Developer. And yet all commercial organizations go through this: this information is essential for prospecting. Denis searched the Internet for solutions which could respond to this problem but none was comprehensive and effective enough. So Denis created a solution that automates the collection of contact data and that is very easy to use.
The opportunity created by Covid for cold-emailing
At the moment, people are ready to talk because they waste less time in transport, have time to participate in webinars, to read emails. It is a opportunity to be entered for a Sales, to create a relationship. The pace of life is less stressful, we take the time to sit down, to reflect, to make decisions. So you have to use this period to be active and seize the opportunity.
How do I do cold-emailing?
Step 1: Target your prospects well in cold-emailing
Identify your target well
The first point to take into account is the targeting. No need to send tons of emails in all directions: you have to target your interlocutors and your business target well (Ideal Customer Profile). Hence the importance for a Sales person to analyze their Buyer Persona (imaginary character representing a target group or segment) and businesses. An example of a Buyer Persona (in English):
What target size should you choose?
The ideal size of the target depends on the company's market:
- For example, our partner Partoo markets a SaaS solution with annual licenses of > €25k aimed at a large account whose approach must be personalized.
- If you work for another of our partner startups that markets a solution ofoptimization of cash flow to small and medium-sized businesses, such as Agicap for example, it is possible to make more volume because the average basket is much lower.
Knowing that you can send a hundred cold emails per day, you can imagine that automated campaigns of 2 weeks on 1000 contacts would be relevant.
Step 2: Prepare your mailing sequences
Find your contacts by scraping on Linkedin
To find the right people to talk to, there's nothing better than Scraper : i.e. extract data, for example on Linkedin. For the list of prospects to be effective, you can remove people who do not have a photo or who only have professional experience. For that, Business Developers use Linkedin. You may need to take or borrow a Sales Navigator license for more precision in research.
To extract data from Linkedin, we will use a tool like PhantomBuster. We can then upload this list of data to Dropcontact for example, which will sort the data and retrieve the emails and phones. It is with this information that we will be able to write very customized.
Preparing emails
First of all, don't be afraid of the “technical” part where you need to refine your “deliverability” to optimize your strategy. Deliverability is the percentage of emails that arrive successfully in the recipient's email box. Some will say that you have to configure SPF and DFKIM. We spare the readers of this article this part: there are recommendations that can be found on the Internet. And, don't worry, it's not very technical and it takes an hour.
For example, you will be able to take care of the message and the subject of your mailing in order in particular to avoid spam words. You will be able to space out the steps and the sending of your sequences. Also, consider sending first emails to acquaintances at first, in order to collect as many responses as possible. In addition, we suggest buying a name for a few euros (and a few minutes of work) dedicated domain. This will make it possible not to compromise the mailbox that allows you to communicate with customers in the event that your deliverability becomes poor (e.g. sending emails from clara@akimbo-formation.com instead of clara@akimboformation.com). This set of small actions will have the effect of improving the reputation of your mailbox with ISPs.
Test emails before sending
When doing cold-emailing, The opening rate after two or three emails should be greater than 60%. Underneath, something is wrong, like the object for example. It is he who will make the prospect want to click on the email. It has to be optimal. Do not hesitate to test your emails. We'll start by sending twenty of them and looking at the opening rate. Then, the next day we send 20 more, we look at which one works best, we retest, we adapt, until we get an opening rate of 60% or more.
Cold-emailing hacks
Copywriting in emails
The Copywriting is the art of writing the right email subjects and contents. It is generally handled by a copywriter, and sometimes by a hacker cave, since it is a job that requires a minimum of training. But you can get by on your own if you respect 2 key factors:
- The personalization of the approach: the more specific you are in your approach, the better the results of the campaigns will be. Hence the need to choose small audiences (e.g. stationery stores in the southwest).
- Iteration: studying the results of your campaigns.
In general, be sure to take good care of the subjects of your emails and the hooks of your messages on Linkedin.
Hyper-personalization of emails
If the email is well done and effective, there will be no need to send more than 100 messages per day. Why? With 100 emails per day and a 60% opening rate and 20% response rate, this already leaves us plenty to do during the day if we want to answer these questions correctly. Leads (prospects). A cold-emailing tool? Lemlist of course.
On Lemlist, we find an option that allows you tohyperpersonalize emails, to contact or to chat, to address a woman or a man, to mention the sector of activity, etc. The solution costs a few dozen euros per month.
An email”automated” in cold-emailing should give its reader the impression that it was written “by hand”, that it is only sent to one person. The prospect should not see the difference, that's why tools/options like Lemlist's are very interesting.
Multiply the points of contact
When the opening rate and therefore the response rate of an email is low, you can send it a second time. If a recipient receives an email at a time when he is too busy or if he already has other emails waiting, he may not even see ours pass, or not take the trouble to open it. That doesn't necessarily mean the person isn't interested! By sending it again, at another time of the week, and at a different time, you can then double your opening rate. It is necessary multiply contact points to have a better chance of reaching our prospects. In short, it is necessary to diversify the channels for sending messages so that your contacting strategy allows campaigns to generate a maximum of actions and sales.
Create links after cold-emailing sequences
Don't give up on a prospect too quickly
Also, remember not to give up too quickly on prospects who say: non. Denis gives an example of a customer who was about to sign a contract and who withdrew because the pause and delivery times of the product were not included in the price. This customer remains a opportunity not negligible. The Business Developer will be able to come back to her in a few months by explaining that break times and delivery are included in the price, because we know that this is his criterion for becoming a customer.
Establishing a relationship via emails
You also have to keep in mind that you are exchanging with people, not just companies. La relationship is important to maintain. For example, if you are in contact with a person, and that person changes company, you will already have a relay in this new company. Indeed, the relationship that we will have acquired is not with the company but with the person himself.
Never neglect an action with prospects, because each lead is a potential customer that will require varying amounts of time to be converted.
