Stu Lierich
The Long Game
Inbox
Champion.
Win More Clients With Exceptional Email
Outreach
The (human-forward) ultimate guide for
business professionals...
O1
The Opening Scene
O2
The Meaty Stuff
Other Helpful Bits
O4
What If They Don't Reply?
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Champion.
CONTENTS
O3
HAVE WE MET?
@stulierich
Hey there Long-Gamer. I'm Stu.
Genuinely excited that you've downloaded Inbox Champion. I trust that it serves
you as the faithful sidekick that is was created to be.
The tide is turning. I can feel it.
Almost back full circle to a time before the hustle brutes & short-gamers stepped in
to compromise the planet.
Your competitive advantage lies within you. An opportunity to outshine the shiny
objects so to speak.
The potential customers of our products & services are craving some new old
fashioned human connection within their buying process.
Sick to the hills of robotic, forceful & hollow messaging - now is the time for the
humans to rise up.
This mini-book has been developed with 30yrs of sales, branding & pro sports
coaching experiences.
No gimmicks, database scrapes or cheesy tactics.
Just remarkably effective communication basics you can start applying now.
Start building long-game profitable relationships with whoever your business is
trying to help.
I don't know everything.
But what I can assure you of, is that this is a stupid simple framework of personal
insight, lessons, iterations & actions that any one can use.
Wish I had this kind of guidance when I started out.
Now, you with me?
ANTI-SCRAPE
ANTI-SALESY
ANTI-SCALE
ANTI-SKIM
NO BOTS
NO MERCENARIES
NO SHORT GAME
1:1 > 1:1,000,000
Inbox
Champion.
To Be Human IS the Skill
For professional sellers of things (aka you!), the modern day business environment
presents more challenges than navigating a ninja warrior course in a North Alaskan
blizzard.
No other past era in business has tempted so many reps, consultants or
solopreneurs with such inflated promises of the 'success promised land' (whatever
that is)
Like some kind of cliched oasis in the desert that turns out to be a desperate mirage
for most.
Seduced by mostly overcomplicated systems that fail to deliver on their
expectations (or expense!)
Not making that any easier are the bro 'email mercenaries' over in the dark corner
promising mega results from massive cold outreach campaigns...
That was a mouthful. Hard to know which path to take, right?
No wonder so many great business people give up, frozen stiff not knowing which
avenue is best for them.
Worse still.
Many that do persevere this path eventually succumb to the in-crowd and end up
suffering a brainwashing of sorts.
Sad.
But you're different. I can sense it.
You downloaded this book as a way of improving your skills but you know it won't be
an instant fix.
You're not after cheesy tactics, just a simple human-forward framework that will
sustain your customer growth over the long term. Ah, that's refreshing.
Following the treasure map laid out in this book will net tremendous results...
...if you execute with intent, focus, authenticity and consistency!
O1
THE
OPENING SCENE
Inbox
Champion.
Everybody & their small fluffy pooches nowadays are in a crazy zombie rush
stumbling through their overly structured lives.
Your potential customers in business are no different.
Back to back (to back) meetings, countless fires to smother and then there's us.
I mean all of us. Salespeople.
Do you possibly think that in their raging river of a suffocating email inbox, that they
have any time to read them all?
Correct. They don't.
And many that are hesitantly opened get deleted even before even getting to level 1
(more on that later).
We must never assume our correspondence is ever getting read just because we
sent it.
They simply aren't just waiting for another sales email to light up their life.
To get opened, avoid deletion & even earn a reply (let alone a meeting) is a pure
competition for attention.
Not just any kind of attention though.
In this email bomb everyone generation it's actually refreshing for prospects to
receive thoughtfully structured & personalized emails from professional humans.
Good news is that you don't need to be talented to deploy this framework.
It's not magic either.
(or a game)
Just requires effort & a little practice. The momentum will smack those sales results
in no time at all.
The only choice here is to become MINT when all your competitors are all vanilla.
Now it's time to dig out your favorite pen, blow the shelf dust off your secret journal
& get cracking!
O2
THE MEATY
STUFF
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Champion.
Inbox
Champion.
P
P R E P A R E
&
P A T T E R N
I N T E R R U P T
Inbox
Champion.
Won't lie.
Whilst you're not studying a communication degree here, some level of
competent research must be undertaken in order to establish interest in
your outreach.
Just remember this.
They. Don't. Know. You.
Revisiting the mental image of the inbox river that's overflowing, this'll take
some thoughtful effort to cut through all the excessive noise.
Here's how to start.
--- Research --The key with homework is to ensure you're able to scrounge up enough
relevant information to be able to demonstrate how you could help your
potential customer...
You know, join the dots.
BUUUUTTT.
Avoid too much information that cuts into valuable time to prepare the next
fresh batch of emails on your to-do list.
Balance is the head honcho here.
Try the 10 minute research rule to avoid the dreaded 'paralysis analysis'
(fried brain!).
And don't ever over plan.
You're sending an email, not constructing a school science project.
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Champion.
Research: Total Cooking Time - 10 mins (max)
Dig into their market scope (who are their customers?)
Are there any particular challenges they're facing?
How do they actually conduct business?
For fun we'll use my favorite fake mega corp - The Acme Widget Co as an
example.
Ready Freddy? Let's go.
Market Scope - Their main product (the one they mostly promote) is the
ZD-7000. It's a little unit that plugs into factory equipment of food
manufacturing businesses and helps........
Challenges - Their research & development team have been trying to
make the product more resistant to hot factory temperatures on summer.
(perhaps this is a potential issue we could illuminate later?)
Business - They manufacture in Germany but sell through distributors in
each European country. Those distributors then sell the ZD-7000 to their
local food manufacturers.
The easiest ways to dig up the dirt:
Website / Blog
LinkedIn
YouTube
Socials (Twitter, IG)
Podcast Episodes (topics & guests)
Industry Publications - (anyone writing about them?)
These research principles apply whether you sell physical products or are a
creator looking to make connections with potential customers online.
Even a 5th grader could do this with a little focus.
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Champion.
--- Subject Line --This is the lifeline between getting opened, read or deleted.
It's that important.
One way to approach subject lines is to consider it to be a micro
newspaper headline - with the ONLY goal to invite curiosity and prompt
your reader to open it.
(We really gotta earn those alley-oops!)
A gazillion ideas out there - but here's the low down on what works over
and above all else.
Do...
1
Stitch two (unrelated) facts about your reader together for maximum
effect - aka stop them in their tracks with familiarity (yet leave dissonance
or gap in their thinking).
2
Lower case
3
Funky text or formatting (ie <> ) stands out (rIgHt?)
4
Question marks invite people to lean in (not required every time)
5
Familiar Languaging (personalized key words recognizable by the reader)
6
Include something from your (relevant) research where possible **a favorite
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Champion.
Don't...
X
Write anything stoopid (you won't believe what I've seen in my time)
X
"Re...." is trickery. They know they know it's not a reply to one of their
emails
X
"Quick Question" - way common now and a flag for salesy outreach
X
Use vanilla company - features - benefits statements
X
Make bold promises just for attention sake
X
Mention your product or calendar availability (yuk)
X
Use 'discount, free or sale' (spam filters eat words like these for brunch)
X
Be Vague, Confusing or Coercive - they all trigger the 'shield of
resistance from readers
Testing will help in the early stages of building your outreach 'muscle'.
When you find subject line formats that work then stick to them.
As long as you capture attention, they reference what's to come & make
them say 'wtf is this' (in a good way lol) - then don't over think it!
Inbox
Champion.
--- PREVIEW TEXT --Know this.
The first line or two (approximately 20 characters) can be read WITHOUT
the email being opened.
To complement the 'un-look-away-able' subject line, we will now recruit
an 'eye catching good looking' introduction in the main text body.
This is blue-chip real estate, buyer beware.
The difference between eating filet mignon or mac-n-cheese is riding on
your word choice here.
Get it right and continue.
Get it wrong and frog-kiss goodbye any chance of winning that person's
attention (or business).
With that, you deserve to take a break.
Stand up, roll your shoulders and breathe.
You did great.
We'll pack this into your new IBC tool kit before we continue to layer up
your email construction skillset in the next section, Engaging
Introduction.
Where you'll learn how to keep a reader's attention, whilst smoothly
building into the main body of the message..
Lets go...
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Champion.
E
E N G A G I N G
I N T R O
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Champion.
The last section Prepare & Pattern Interrupt left you hanging without
fully explaining the preview text, didn't it?
Thing is.
The preview text section plays a sizeable role in capturing attention - but
its job is mostly just to frame up the email ahead.
Like rocking up to a party to a sea of unfamiliar faces. Best to kick things
off by making...an exceptional impression.
By leaning into the words you write, a reader is more likely to continue
down the page.
Truth bomb
They're expecting your letter to be just like all the others.
Pushy. Awkward or Vanilla.
You've some swift work ahead my friend, to prove otherwise!
--- Setting The Stage --Introduce the right tone & you invite them to continue. Set off the 'not
another damn salesperson alarm' and they will delete you before reading
on.
Checkpoint 1 is to remove the invisible 'shield of resistance' protecting
their inbox. You crack the code and they'll follow along...
They'll ask themselves...
Is this person a Welcome Guest or an Annoying Pest?
Inbox
Champion.
🥇 Pro Tips...
1
Never Ask How They Are Doing (waste of preview text)
2
Be Succinct (less is more when it comes to our words)
3
Add Color And Emotion With Better Word Choices
4
Must Be Personalized (research)
5
Sprinkle The Curiosity Dust
Sure, this list is helpful.
But here's the thing..
Inbox
Champion.
Are you doing this?...
X
Hi Sue! I hope you're well?
Morning Jason. Bet you've had a hectic week?!
A winning formula is professional, conversational & above all ---> succinct.
Awkwardly excited email intros come in several flavors (and most taste
gross)
There'll be opportunities to demonstrate your (wonderful) personality later.
For now let's invite curiosity, not chase friends.
Do this instead...
Max. Stunned when I first came across...
Josie. Curious. Did you really mean flabbergasted when you
mentioned....
--- Example Bad Email --(a real cold email to my inbox)
Take a look at the introduction below - with particular attention on the
subject line and word choices within the paragraph...
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Champion.
---Teardown Time! ---
X
Subject Line
Why should I care about this?
What exactly does this mean for me?
(It's Snoozeville right?)
X
Introduction (part a)
A nice compliment I suppose, but way boring and looks so copy-paste.
X
Introduction (part b)
Vanilla gratitude - what exactly is stunning or lights you up? Show them. (A
reader may continue but there's no compelling reason to do so).
🛠️ Here's How To Fix It...
Inbox
Champion.
Subject Line
Crispy, familiar language (my own frameworks and terminology).
Introduction (part a)
Substituted 'love' for a more powerful word. Adding color or feeling makes a
big difference here.
Introduction (part b)
Wtf stumble-scrolled? Extra detail on how we discover folks always helps.
Introduction (part c)
Going deeper with a demonstration of research and connection.
See the difference between the examples?
Can you begin to practice this?
In this section, you learned an engaging intro must be attention-snatching,
relevant and to the point - (because the only option is to be considered a
welcome guest in inboxes).
In the next section Offer A Reason To Read More we'll tackle how best to
make a smooth transition from the introduction into the meatiest part of your
message...
Inbox
Champion.
O
O F F E R
A
R E A S O N
T O
R E A D
M O R E
Inbox
Champion.
With attention captured, we're now getting closer to the belly of a cold email.
Don't know about you, but I can almost catch the heady waft of the words
sizzling away now.
Provided you chose 'welcome guest' as your way forward, we're gonna
have some tip-top fun with this next part.
This section is all about how the right word choices & intent help
smoothly transition from an introduction to the main body of the message.
Easy enough to do AND easy enough to get very wrong. (*you don't want to
get it wrong)
Let's revisit our (bad!) cold email example and continue a more effective
reconstruction.
Tattoo this inside your mind: "if they're not interested, it's more than likely
they don't consider us interesting"...
Inbox
Champion.
Let's forge ahead and see where the original leads us next.
Spoiler town: it doesn't do a good job.
Can you see why?
---Example Bad Email (Cont) ---
X
A real jolt from one paragraph to the next (makes the compliment feel
weak).
X
Hey 'you need to improve' (already feels like a sales pitch is coming!)
X
Do you know if I even care about sign-up conversions right now?
Continuing the curiosity trail should be the only focus at this point...
Inbox
Champion.
🛠️ Here's How To Fix It...
🥇 Pro Tips:
Avoid the 'flattery to face slap' sandwich (no one wants to be called out by
strangers!) Ouch.
A smooth transition is a MUST (keep the reader on the slippery word slide)
Can you make a reader 'lean into' your words?
Inbox
Champion.
Bonus Example
(completely made up but you'll get the drift)
"Josie. Read this week on the Global Widget Blog that you're having
tremendous success with the Acme 7000. Looks an incredible
timesaver.
Curious. Does it allow your sales agents to...?"
And now the breadcrumbs along the curiosity trail...
"There's a lesser known idea allowing others we work with in the
Whatzit market to achieve record waste to output ratios, saving
thousands.
Does the Acme 7000 make use of both sides of the..."
(*should offer a hint at your offer's benefit)
These bogus examples are just a sliver of what potential exists for you to
adapt & apply your own -> context, interest, color and thoughtful (attentioncapturing) word choices.
How can you begin to think deeper about what will join the dots for your
offer and those you're trying to reach?
This is why the templates in your swipe folder are no help to you.
They don't make you think.
Taking principles that work then molding them to suit your potential client's
context is the way to sustain long-game consistent results.
Next up in the Position Relevance part of the framework, we'll jump feet
first into THE MOST IMPORTANT section of a cold email.
This is where we take those boots and go walking....
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Champion.
P
P O S I T I O N
R E L E V A N C E
Inbox
Champion.
Three sections now down and done.
Here's a quick recap of the ground we've covered in the previous pages...
You now know:
Prepare & Pattern Interrupt
The importance of capturing a reader's attention BEFORE they open
your email
Engaging Introduction
Why the preview text and email introduction is the gateway to having
a reader lean into your words (a massive advantage when you do
this)
Offer A Reason To Read More
How to construct messaging to allow a smooth transition between
sentences
---------------------------------A clear lack of relevance is the #1 killer of email replies.
Sad, as it's the glue to stitch this whole thing together. Take the email
mercenaries as a prime example. Goes a little something like this...
➡️ Scrape a massive database.
➡️ Put together one templated cold email to blanket every receiver.
➡️ Send out a blast to 500,000 innocent folks in the hope of jagging some
replies.
Inbox
Champion.
This is nothing but spam disguised as lazy outreach.
You can do way better than living on 'Hope Island' with your campaigns.
But first, let's clear something up. Personalization isn't relevance.
We must help our reader answer the following question:
"Who is this person & what do they want?"
---Bad Email Example Cont ---
1
What if I already have one. Did you even check?
2
Vague (& broad) promise of results - be specific in order to resonate.
What is the offer exactly? Punch readers in the face with detail that
speaks directly to them.
3
Social proof is a great inclusion - yet doesn't appear in this cold email.
If you preach it, then we gotta show them, right?
Inbox
Champion.
🛠️ Here's How To Fix...
Continue the curiosity trail. 'Lesser known' infers they may be missing out
on something. FOMO is absolutely real...
Don't present a value prop assuming they want it. Re frame the words. If
you work with others in similar contexts then you'll know what you suggest
is more likely to be interesting.
Using 'solopreneurs' could be substituted for your client or market group.
Add names of those you've worked with (flex) your reader can relate to.
This is a basic example but you need to state in exact detail what you
Inbox
achieved for others if choosing this path.
Champion.
A couple of simple tweaks removes the feeling of effort and friction for our
reader to not only continue but reply to us. Make it sound easy for them.
Re read your research before crafting the words. Are you absolutely sure
this email will hit the mark with the person (or list) you're sending to?
Holding back enough detail keeps the intrigue. If we push too much in the
first email then we leave no mystery (or content for a follow up or
response) - we must think an email ahead when planning.
Shining a flashlight on a potential costly problem (they're unaware of) is a
cheat code that invites them to reflect.
The seed of doubt can be planted by posing a simple question, inviting
evaluation of potential impacts on their biz.
By far the single most important ingredient (if only one could be selected)
is what will be revealed on the next page.
If this book ends up gathering e-dust with all the others in your swipe
folder, then promise you won't ever forget what will be revealed on the
next page.
Pinky promise & spit in your eye
Do not ever send a cold email without....
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Champion.
---The Ah-Ha Fuel --Ever read an ad, book or a sales email and thought "wow, she really gets me?"
This is Ah-Ha Fuel. The magic dust that powers the feelings we want our
readers to experience...
When we influence an emotional response, we are helping connect them
to the essence of our message.
And great writers know how to keep the fuel tank full.
By tuning their frequency into WIIFM (what's in it for me?) you'll be
laneways ahead of your rivals competing for your prospect's attention.
Read that last line again.
Think of it like this
Take anything you've read lately that was highly interesting or motivating.
Have you caught yourself nodding along in agreement as you work
through the message? I know I have.
These 'micro-yesses' are the golden treasure.
So, how do you achieve this in a cold email campaign?
Make sure your research is absolutely on point - then set about to join the
dots between your offer and their needs. That's it.
The remainder of the book will continue to piece it all together, now you've
got such a rock-solid base.
Stay tuned to the section Letting Go Of Outcomes we roll up the shirt
Inbox
sleeves to discuss your overall writing 'vibe'...
Champion.
L
L E T T I N G
G O
O F
O U T C O M E S
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Champion.
Almost there!
Hope you found some nuggets in the Position Relevance section and are
now blending up some of the learning points together.
You now understand:
➡️ Personalization isn't the same as relevance.
➡️ The Ah-Ha Fuel is the way to emotionally connect with readers
Whilst this particular part of the PEOPLE method is simple...
You must be warned.
"What is simple to do is also simple not to do...."
If we don't have the right mindset - no amount of technical knowledge is
going to help.
None.
Here's the thing.
No one can control outcomes or the choices other people make.
So don't sweat.
For all the care you take with the *PEOPLE method - your outreach is
completely in the hands of the email gods once it leaves your MacBook Air.
Just keep going.
Your goal is simply to establish whether they're open to a conversation.
Inbox
Champion.
Relax & detach if you've:
Researched The Customer & Biz
lluminated A (potentially costly $) Problem)
Established Relevance & Helped Them Join The Dots (between your offer
and their needs)
This is a test of wit for spirited entrepreneurs who can't bear the thought old
fashioned patience.
And a rewarding experience for others like you, who are able to hold their
nerve.
Make no mistake - being perceived as helpful and trustworthy is either built
or burned at this point.
Your cold email is but moments away from getting banished to where all the
bad emails go to die. Any reply will be determined by the perception they
have of you at this point.
Sure we all want to 'sell our stuff' - but we don't know yet if they're even
interested, right?
Keeping your vibe stress-free is made easier when you have a focused list
of other businesses to reach out to. (and you do have a list, right?)
Stay committed to your output, not hung up obsessing on every potential
connection.
Neediness cannot live here.
It's your choice.
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Champion.
E
E N D
A
W I T H O U T
P I T C H
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Champion.
Oh god.
I know what you're thinking.
"I'm almost out the other side of the most practical cold email course
ever
- and now he tells me not to pitch!"
😉
I get it.
On the surface, it makes no sense.
Let me explain.
If you've a big picture approach then you're not concerned about the time it
could take to win a customer over. Not up to us to decide this anyhow,
right?
Second, if we expect the buying process to be a gloriously straight line then
we've another thing coming (it's never that easy!)
You'll get your chance to put forward an offer or pitch when your prospect
feels it's the right time. Not when you decide.
Could be the next email, a phone call BUUTTT...
Never the initial outreach...
Why?
This is where you'll set yourself apart by creating an advantage over your
rivals with their putrid 'sales breathe' and all - it stinks and our customers
can detect it streets away.
Another way to view it is that it's a matter of - Trust
And you can't earn it - if you burn it.
Inbox
Champion.
Lean in, this is decent.
Let the competitors go for the throat. You're going to earn some 'first email
trust' that money can't buy. You'll earn it, while the others will burn it.
Really is that simple. Just resist those urges to push.
You'll get your chance.
If the email establishes credibility, invites curiosity or illuminates a potential
issue they weren't aware of...
...then you're every chance to progress deeper into conversation and
exploring potential partnership scenarios.
One step at a time is the speed limit. Trust you'll earn an opportunity to
unpack all the wonderful aspects of your product or service when they invite
you to share those details.
What about the CTA? Every cold email must have a CTA!
Yes. Your cold email should have a call to action - aka what specific action
would you like your reader to take?
Whilst it's not recommended to hard pitch up front in the first email, there's
several things to consider for including toward the end.
Such as:
➡️ One Message
➡️ One Goal
➡️ One Idea
Making our message crystal clear is the cornerstone of effectiveness. Avoid
any temptation to sprint off on tangents and keep the main thing, the main
thing. This will make presenting your ASK at the end a whole lot easier for
them to digest & accept.
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Champion.
Don't Do This...
X
All about the sender's needs (of course you'd love to send it - darr!)
X
Sounds like they made an effort BUT they don't even know if I'm interested!
X
Sentence is wordy and has two messages. Question not well framed.
ARRGHH
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Champion.
🛠️ Here's How To Fix...
These are some email finishers you can pose to your recipient to promote
a worthy reply. Ideally best as an extension of the curiosity theme.
Kind of like leaving them hanging on a cliff (hopefully) wanting to know
more...
Open to learning more?
Worth exploring next Quarter?
Could send some ideas if you were open to it?
Would continuing an email conversation make sense?
Understand you'd be booked but could explain in more depth on a call?
All the CTA's above can be maneuvered any way you like.
Why don't you go make up some of your own?
Bet you can super easily.
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Champion.
🏠 The Completed Renovation...
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Champion.
.
➡️ Never hard pitch on the (first) cold email
➡️ Trust you've made a good enough impression to continue the
conversation
➡️ Keep your 'ask' to ONE CLEAR MESSAGE to avoid confusion (and
inaction)
➡️ Use a thoughtful (context specific) question to 'hook' a reader's curiosity
➡️ Trust your email body & hook are enough for a reply (where conversation
becomes 'meaty')
Well, that's a wrap! Well done -you did great smashed it!
Congrats - you're almost ready to be crowned an Inbox Champion.
Time now to get busy looking at how you can join the dots between your
ideal clients and offer.
Thanks a million for taking the time to work your way through the book.
I sincerely hope you're able to take the course learnings and really make an
impact for growing your business.
If you've established credibility, invited curiosity & even poked a potential
issue they weren't aware of -
Then you're every chance to earn that reply and progress deeper into a
conversation that explores the potential of working together.
One step at a time is the speed limit.
Now, go win some awesome new clients already!
Stu
Inbox
Champion.
O3
OTHER
HELPFUL
BITS
Inbox
Champion.
Hopefully you've inhaled the key stages of constructing an exceptional
sales email. Now it's time to dissect the final variables that will determine
the eventual consistency of your results.
(ah yep, there's more!)
Outlined below are critical reference points for troubleshooting your open
rates, replies and above all meeting or demo invites.
In order of importance.
1
Use An Eraser...
The discipline of being succinct cannot be underrated.
We must get good at conveying our messaging with the fewest amount of
words as possible. (they ain't got time for a novel!)
Try the 15 second test.
Like this.
Can it be read before the brain says
'Hey man this looks like a heap of effort to get through. I'm out!"
In rough terms this equates to about 75 words (max).
Time to think more like drafting up a killer tweet or text than writing a big
fat sales letter.
Less is (definitely) more. Reverse engineer it.
Start by dumping all the sections and thoughts on the page then get
cracking on your editing process from there.
Inbox
Champion.
2
Trim The Fat...
This is not so much about how many words but using the right words.
Some call it fluff. Whatever you call, them don't over indulge on words.
The excess will only suck the life out of your message, causing the reader
to care less. (not your goal)
Resist or remove unnecessary words that don't add to meaning or context
to keep your messaging clear as the blue green waters off the coast of Fiji
in summer (it's actually that clear)
"Here's what writing a sentence with too many excess words
would look like if I wrote it"
Vs
"This sentence contains too many words"
Capeesh?
Inbox
Champion.
3
Drop The Jargon... (Ironic - a big word for big words!)
Let's face it. No one likes sounding like a tosser.
When we try too hard to sound smart in written communication it doesn't
end well. We end up looking like a 'Tommy Try-Hard' instead.
Whilst industry terminologies can help build a little peer credibility, the
safest bet is to peel back your language and keep it simple stupid
(K.I.S.S)
4
Sensible Sentences...
Make it easy for your your targets to follow along. Reduce sentence size
and unnecessary punctuation (see #2) where required.
Small paragraphs only to chunk the information, and PLEASE
break up the sentence size. They will thank you.
keep readers away from fatigue by making it effortless to glide through the
words and formatting.
5
One More Thing...
The single most job of every sentence is ONLY to invite the reader to want
to continue on to the next one (and so forth).
Don't overcomplicate it.
Like those cool kids from that gingerbread house showed us in the forest
that day - leaving bread crumbs for people to pick up your 'trail' is all you
need to do.
Inbox
Champion.
O4
WHAT IF THEY
DON'T REPLY?
Inbox
Champion.
News just in.
There's no guarantee they'll respond to you.
Whether it's an email or DM we need to accept there's plenty out of our
control.
Not an excuse. Just the reality of reaching out to fellow humans.
And, they're unpredictable at the best of times. We need to understand
this before we hit send. No matter how good we think our emails are...
There's every chance you won't get a reply to the first cold email you send
to someone. People are busy remember? And even those with the best
intentions of getting back to you are swimming against the current in their
own everyday tasks.
We aren't a priority to them, don't forget this.
What makes for a good follow-up sequence?
An outreach strategy contains both the original email and the follow up
emails (sometimes called a sequence). I suggest before any email is
sent, the full series is planned and prepared together.
You must decide the amount of follow-up emails you’re prepared to send,
before any decision to abandon the mission.
For 'chasing ghosts' is incredibly unproductive.
A great cold email will often earn a reply, but you're smart and will plan for
any contingencies.
A tip is to frame any further communication as...
Pleasantly Persistent
Inbox
Champion.
Bumping (or nudging) cold emails is tricky.
The most common approach is to hit 'reply' on our original cold email so
that it reappears under this 'follow-up' email that's now being created...
These are more like atomic emails, incredibly short.
The words still matter, so taking care is a must.
Don't Do This...
X
Sending an assertive or assumptive follow-up, pointing to the original
email will earn you a delete (or marked as spam)
X
Write anything cheesy like "just floating this email to the top of your inbox"
as it will make them feel sick. Truly this is ugly behavior.
X
Don't include any of the BS 'assume you didn't reply as you may have
been captured by aliens' kind of trash (it's out there!). No Sherlock, they
saw your email and didn't think it was interesting or professional...
Do This...
No more than two (2) follow-up emails - and send the last one without any
anger or attachment. They simply may not be ready yet. Don't burn
bridges.
Make sure any follow-up is an-add on to a cold email. Is there something
more helpful you could mention, share or prompt them with? Let's assume
they've read the first, so keep emotions in check.
Choose words to leave the door always open. Never send a crappy breakInbox
up email - they suck and people hate them.
Champion.