Engaging & compelling email templates for sales

With 86% of professionals preferring to use email whenever communicating about anything business-related, if your email game isn’t on point then you can expect your sales to fall flat.

But unless you happen to be one of the few extremely lucky salespeople who have the time to craft the perfect sales email every single time, chances are you’re going to rely on email templates.

But not any email template will do.

You need the kind of sales email templates that go beyond generic subject lines and body copy. The kind that guarantees responses, is compelling to the reader, and helps you close sales more efficiently.

Which is why we’ve gathered 24 of the best sales email templates for you to use:

• before the sale,
• during the sale, and
• after the sale
  

As any good salesperson worth their salt will tell you, the start of a good sales process is a numbers game.

It’s about feeding as many prospects and leads as you can fit into the beast that is your sales funnel.

Whether you’re reaching out to prospects cold, or getting in touch after they’ve showed interest, here’s a whole list of sales email templates for you to use to warm up leads:

Provide immediate value

When you consider how many emails we get every day, you need a way to make your email stand out from the crowd.

By far one of the most useful tactics for doing this is to immediately offer value.No one likes getting emails where all the sender does is demand their time.

Even if the resources you’re sending aren’t yours, sending over content that your prospect might find useful goes a long way to establishing a sense of trust early in the relationship.

Subject line: Thought you might find this useful…

Hi {First Name},

Just wanted to say {congratulate them on a recent success}

I noticed that as the {recipient's position} you might be having some trouble with {pain point} and {pain point}. So I thought you would find these following resources helpful as they {benefit} and {benefit}:

• {resource 1}
• {resource 2}
• {resource 3}

I hope you find them useful. If you have a spare minute though, I’d love to learn more about your current processes and see if there are any other ways how I and {company name} can add value to {recipient's company name}.

I will be looking forward to hearing from you, thanks in advance!

Show them social proof

Whenever you’re reaching out to a cold lead, you need to quickly and efficiently showcase why you’re worth their time. The best way to do that is to load up social proof like this email template does.

Hey {First Name},

I’ve heard amazing things about {Company Name} lately and I just had to reach out :-)

{My Company} is hand-selecting a few stellar products to feature in October and we’d love to showcase {Company Name} along with {Influencer} and {Influencer} to over {numbers social proof}+ potential new customers.

When we asked our customers if they'd be interested in a product like yours, we got a huge resounding "Yes!"

I think they would make for great lifetime {Company Name} customers.

Please email me by the 30th and we'll make it happen.

Cheers,

{Your Name}

Referred by…

People are four times more likely to become a customer if they were referred to the company by a friend.

Even if you have to reach out cold, having a mutual connection drastically increases your chances of receiving a response from your prospect.

In the following sales email template example, notice how the subject line mentions the mutual connection and a pain point for the recipient. Then it dives into how the salesperson can offer personalized help and the kind of value they bring.

Subject line: {Mutual Contact’s Name} says you’re interested in better lead gen strategies

Hi {First Name},

{Mutual Contact’s Name} recently mentioned to me that you two were talking about {pain point}. It’s an issue that many in {industry} are struggling with right now.

I’ve personally had a lot of experience in dealing with {pain point} and have been able to help {Competitor Name} achieve {result}.

After looking at your website and registering for your white paper, I have some thoughts about {reinforce pain point}—and some very simple ideas that you can implement fairly easily that’ll have a positive impact on your {pain point}.

Let’s schedule 30 minutes to talk some more about this.

Ask for the referral

As we’ve already established, getting someone to refer you to your prospect greatly increases your chances of actually getting a response. But not everyone is lucky enough to have the social connection of a second-brother-twice-removed-cousin-in-law with a prospect.

But never fear as there are other ways to get a referral—namely, asking someone else in the company to refer you.

The following email template works because not only does it politely and openly acknowledge that you’re asking for a referral, but it also gives the you a chance to showcase their own unique angle.

Subject line: Trying to connect

Hi {First name},

My name is {Name} and I’m the business development manager at {Company}. We recently launched a new platform that {one sentence pitch}.

I’m taking an educated stab in the dark here but, based on your online profile, you seem to be the right person to connect with... or to point me in the right direction.

If that’s you, are you open to a 15-minute call on {time and date} to discuss ways the {Company} platform can specifically help your business? If not you, can you please put me in touch with the right person?

I appreciate the help!

Best,

{Name}

Offer personal help

Another way to provide value to a prospect is to get personal.

While you don’t need to get to the level of being able to recommend a good masseuse, you can show off how you can help them in their personal lives in other ways.

An easy way to do this is to find out what you and your prospect have in common, such as shared common interests or the same social circles.

Showing off that personal connection with a prospect can build a sense of trust far quicker, as you can see in this example:

Subject line: Figured you would find this helpful!

Hi {First Name},

I noticed that we’re both members of {social circle} and that you also happen to be into {common interest} too!

There is an {Event name} happening at {time and date} about {benefit}, {benefit}, and

{benefit}, and I figured that this would be something you’d be interested in.

Cheers,

{Name}

Boost their mission

Not all sales emails have to contain a hard-sell.

Try the following approach with executives by showing that you’re aware of their overall vision and goals, and then simply offering to help.

Hey {First Name},

{Congratulations on recent announcement}. Based on your LinkedIn profile, it looks like you've done an amazing job developing your career at {Company}.

I’m always on the lookout for trying to help out others in the same industry, so if there is anyone I could help connect you with I would be more than happy to help. I’d love to help get your message out to my network of {Title of people they’re trying to connect with}.

If there’s anyone else at your {Company Name} that I’d be able to help out too please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Regards,

{Name}

Offer congratulations (Hat tip to Leadfuze on this sales email template)

One of the best ways to approach a cold lead is to simply stroke their ego and make the email all about them.

Anytime a prospect is in the news for something positive, it’s the perfect opportunity to get in touch and offer your congratulations. Also, everyone loves a good Ron Burgundy GIF.

Subject line: I don’t know if you know this, but…

Body copy:

…You’re kind of a big deal

{This awesome GIF}

Congrats to Leadfuze for being the #1 highest-rated lead generation platform!

{Image showing Leadfuze at #1 on their platform}

I don’t have a single customer at #1 that isn’t utilizing their position across all of their marketing channels. I’d love to share with you how some of them are doing it and how you can expect to benefit from doing so. Would you be open to a quick chat perhaps this Tuesday or Friday?

Jump on inbound leads

Sometimes you’ll get a valuable inbound lead that might have downloaded a lead magnet, watched a masterclass of yours, or just happened to have been poking around your site. As soon as these leads come in, strike while the iron is hot.

Provide even more value to the lead by offering them personalized help right after they’ve completed an action, while you’re still fresh in their mind.

Hi {Lead Name},

Thanks for {taking this action} on {website}. I figured that since you were interested in {content topic}, you’d find the following resources valuable as well:

• {resource}
• {resource}

I also happen to be able to offer some advice on {pain point}, especially in regards to {specific pain point} and {specific pain point}, because {social proof}.

If you happen to be free for a 15 minute call tomorrow at {two possible times}, I’d love to share with you how {possible solution} can help your company.

{Signature}

Be direct

What makes the following sales email template so powerful is that it immediately establishes a link between the two brands, and keeps it short and to the point while adding in a little humor.

The kicker though, is how the call-to-action is structured.

It piques the interest of the reader without giving anything away and offers definitive time to get in touch so all the recipient has to say is “Yes” or “No.”

Subject line: {Recipient’s Name} <> {Sender’s Name} from - {Your Company Name}

Hey there {Name},

It looks like you checked out {Company Name} a few months ago about {content topic}.

I would have reached out then and there...but I was deep in my study of how to take the perfect cat picture.

Anyway, my team and I were going through a ton of different sites and especially noticed {Recipient's Company}.

Why?

Because we love what you’re doing but we also saw two things you should fix.

So, can we show you exactly how to fix it next {time and date} your time! :)

You up for a quick screen share to see what I mean?

{Signature}

The next step of any good sales process is taking the time to qualify your prospects.

Unless you get lucky, moving someone through the pipeline will require more than just one email.

During the sales process, you’ll need to follow up multiple times and address any objections or pain points they might have.

Use any of these sales email templates to help close the sale:

Follow up after a call

After any phone conversation you have with a prospect, you should immediately follow up with an email.

Not only is it polite to do so, but it’s also a good way to stay top of mind as much as possible. Here’s a great follow-up email template.

Re: {Subject}

Hi {Name},

I really enjoyed our {phone conversation or meeting} earlier today and especially liked learning about your unique role at {Company}. I understand the challenges you’re facing with {challenges discussed} and the impact they’re having on {personal impact}.

As promised, I’ve {attached or linked to} the resources and materials that’ll help you better understand how we can help you solve {insert compelling reason to buy}.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Otherwise, I look forward to talking with you again on {date and time}.

Follow-up email series

There are a whole host of reasons as to why someone won’t reply to your initial follow-up email.

But don’t be disheartened. A non-response doesn’t necessarily mean that they have no interest in doing business with you. Oftentimes they’ve just forgotten or haven’t had to the time to reply yet.

Generally speaking, you want to give yourself at least four to five days between each email. This way, when you’re following up, it’s more of a gentle nudge rather than incessant nagging.

Second follow-up email

Hi {Prospect Name},

I just want to check if you got my email and voicemail last week. I’m reviewing my files for the month and noticed yours is still open.

Do you have time for a call to discuss how we can help with {offer}? If you’re not interested, let me know so I can close your file.

{Signature}

Third follow-up email (Thanks to ContactMonkey for this template)

Hi {Prospect Name},

I noticed you haven’t replied to my previous email about {offer}. I’m guessing this means you either haven’t had time to read it or you aren’t interested in {result}.

Could you drop me a line to let me know where you stand on this?

{Signature}

Overcome objections

Sometimes, when a prospect has an objection to your pitch, they’ll choose to politely ignore you as opposed to just telling you what their issues are outright. No one likes being the bearer of bad news after all.

You can nip this in the bud by sending a follow-up email specifically designed to overcome the most common objections a prospect might have.

In the following sales email template, notice how the language isn’t pushy when it comes to the sale, but it focuses entirely on showing the value the sales rep can bring and the specific ways they can help.

Hey {Name},

Following up on my last email, I wanted to see if achieving {benefit} was something you were still interesting in learning about.

In the past we’ve helped many customers in {Industry} achieve {benefit}, and we’d love to help you achieve even better results. For example we could:

• {Feature #1 and how it achieved benefit}
• {Feature #2 and how it achieved benefit}
• {Feature #3 and how it achieved benefit}

Do any of the above results interest you?

I’d be happy to give you a walk-through of the different ways {Company Name} can leverage our services and help you achieve your goals.

What do you think?

{Your name}

After they’ve gone dark

There are some occasions when a prospect will just go dark for no reason. Even after you’ve gone through your follow-up email series, they still won’t reply.

Never fear as this doesn’t necessarily mean that this prospect is a lost cause.

After a prospect has gone dark, send a friendly email reminding them of the value you offer and what you do, in the time since they last spoke to you they might be more open to the idea of working together.

Subject line: How have you been?

Hi {First Name},

How have things been with you? Hope everything has been going well on your end of the world.

I remember that the last time we spoke you were interested in {Feature} and achieving {result}. We’ve made a lot of significant progress on this and have even {social proof}!

I’d love to share these key updates with you whenever you’re free. Please let me know if {date and time} works, If not, feel free to suggest a better time.

Best,

{Name}

Reconnect with a trigger event

Anytime a lost prospect launches a new site, opened up a new office, closed a round of funding, or recently announced any sort of achievement, you have a great excuse to get back in touch with them.

While you might not be able to get the sale right away, it opens the door to reconnect—and potentially recapture a lost lead.

Subject line: Congrats on {trigger event}

Hey {Name}, just saw the news about your {trigger event} and just wanted to say congratulations!

Hopefully, it’ll bring you {benefit}.

Please don’t hesitate to let me know if I can be of any help!

{Signature}

Break up

If you’ve sent multiple emails and haven’t received a response, then it might be time to move on.

In the following example you can see how, even though you won’t be contacting them anymore, the prospect still has a chance to respond.

By also offering options as to why they haven’t responded, it can help you differentiate between prospects who:

• Simply haven’t had the time to respond properly
• Wish to do business at a later date
• Have absolutely no interest in what you’re offering

Subject line: What's up?

Hi {Name},

I’ve tried to reach you a few times to go over {subject}, but haven’t heard back which tells me it could be one of three things:

1)  You’re all set with {Product} and don't need any help.

2)  You’re still interested but haven’t had the time to get back to met yet.

3)  You’ve fallen and can’t get up and in that case let me know and I’ll call someone to help you…

Please let me know which one it is as I’m starting to worry!

A good salesperson will consider it a job well done after they’ve closed a deal, but a great one knows that the deal is far from being done and dusted.

Asking for referrals, a customer review, or even a simple email to welcoming them to the family, can produce huge dividends in the long run.

Consider using any of these sales email templates after you’ve closed the sale.

Ask for a referral

A happy customer is your best source of business. Not only is a happy customer more loyal to your company, but they’ll also happily recommend others to you.

The following sales email template is a great example of how to ask for a referral from a customer.

It begins by reminding the customer about all the value you’ve brought them so far before gently asking if they know anyone in their network who would also be interested.

Although, do make sure to keep in mind that before you send this email, you want to be 100% certain that you have a happy customer on your hands. Otherwise, you might end up annoying them and doing more damage than good.

Hey {Customer Name},

It’s so good to hear that you’ve been kicking so many goals since working {Your Company Name}.

Since things are going so well, I found myself wondering if you happened to know anyone else in the {industry} who could also benefit from our {Product or service}. We’d love to help others achieve similar results to yours, so anyone you could introduce us to would be great.

Thanks,

{Your Name}

Gather feedback

No sales process is perfect. There are always things that can be further optimized or done better.

The only way you can gather these types of valuable insights is to ask how your new customer found the whole process.

Hi {Customer Name},

Thanks for choosing {Your Product}. I wanted to reach out personally and ask about your experience.

What was your experience like? (e.g. amazing, terrible, etc.)

We want to be better. Your feedback helps us accomplish that. If you’re willing, it only takes a minute or two.

Share your review here >> {link}

Thanks for your trust,

{Your Name}

Welcome them to the family

If you’ve done everything right, everyone should be incredibly pleased by the time you’ve reached the end of the sales process.

To keep on riding that wave of positive emotion, it’s a good idea to send out an email formally welcoming them into the business. It’s a great way to continue building that sense of customer loyalty even after the sale is over.

Subject line: Welcome to the family!

Hey {Name}!

Thank you so much for choosing to do business with {Company}. Now it’s my pleasure to welcome you to the {Company} family!

{Insert celebration GIF}

Now that you’re a part of the family I can let you in on a little family secret...

All {Company} members get:

• {Reward #1}
• {Reward #2}
• {Reward #3}

Our customers are our number one priority, so I’d just like to check in and make sure that everything is up to your standards. If there’s anything bothering you (even if it's minor), please don’t hesitate to let me know. You can email any time, or give me a call at {phone number}.

Thanks again!

{Signature}

And there you have it. Our carefully curated list of sales email templates that you can immediately put to use, or inspire you to create your own!

The great thing about using email templates is that they’re constantly evolving.

Just like with your sales process, you’ll undoubtedly find dozens of little things that can be refined or improved upon to help you get even stronger response rates.

Keep testing and testing until you find the email template that works best for you and your business.