BDR emails are hard right now. Outbound in general is really tough.
Haven’t you heard? ‘Asking for meetings’ was replaced by ‘providing value’ a few years back. It’s a nice rally cry for salespeople – it guides an entry-level seller to think about what’s in it for the prospect.
But it’s actually hard to deliver value in a cold message…
- over email
- to a stranger
- (when in reality, you really just want the meeting)
Most “value” offers are essentially an invitation to read a vendor’s content or attend their webinar. It’s “thought leadership” around what your target persona likely struggles with, very clearly tied back to your product/value prop.
As a recipient of cold emails, I often get frustrated as I work to understand what they’re offering. It shouldn’t be work. I shouldn’t have to dissect your jargon, click through to your collateral, and actually try to learn something, just to understand why this vendor is emailing in the first place.
Instead – lead with the Aha. “Show” them what your offer would be. Let them experience a day in the life of a happy customer- directly from the cold email. No forms, no collateral, no long-form consumption. Just jump right from an mail to the Aha moment.
Here’s an example from the demand gen team at Troops. Best product you’ve never seen (they operate behind the scenes.) Most purchases are done by the rev ops/sfdc admin role. The most benefit is seen by the salespeople and sales leaders.
So, they threw a quick “value tour” in an email and are rocking it. Reply rates through the roof. Pipeline avalanche.
Click the image below and see where their guided tour takes you. I bet half of you MQL by the time you’re done 😉
Photo by Adam Solomon on Unsplash
Joe Caprio is a cofounder at Reprise.
He also advocates for ICW, ask him about it!