Cold emailing is an effective way to acquire hot leads for any business and make more sales. Even if you spend a fortune on other marketing approaches, cold emailing will still be the best for B2B lead generation. However, doing it manually can be a task.

Don’t worry! We’ll show you how to automate cold emails, and how you should consider using automated cold outreach tools for sales. Also, find out the best practices you should follow while doing cold outreach.

Let’s dive in!

What Is Cold Emailing?

Cold emailing is the practice of sending cold emails. A cold email is an email you send to a person who has no prior connection with you or your business. They might have not even heard of your company. For instance, if you send an email to a person you haven’t met or interacted with before through an email address you found online, it is a cold email.   

Though there is no fixed structure of a cold email, here is what all should be a part of your cold email,

Subject line: Keep a short yet attractive subject line.

Opening line: Make sure the cold email introduction is relevant to the prospect and has information about you and your business. 

Body: In the body, you have to mention the purpose of sending the email and ask about the prospect’s pain points. 

Closing: In the closing section, you have to add a CTA or call to action. It is a must-have in every cold email. It will tell prospects what you want them to do. 

Signature: Adding a professional-looking email signature will help them gather more information about you and your company. 

Benefits Of Sending Cold Emails

Even in this age, cold email outreach is thriving because of the following reasons,

1. Emails are not too intrusive

Emails are beyond doubt one of the least intrusive channels of reaching out to prospects. It doesn’t disturb prospects the way cold calling would. The recipient can see your email and choose to respond to it at their convenience. Also, you don’t have to come face-to-face with anyone, and it will help you face rejection. 

2. You can personalize them 

You can personalize your cold email and get more responses from prospects. With automated cold outreach tools, it is possible to do so at scale so that you don’t have to put in the extra effort. With the right software, you can take it to another level, from personalizing text to embedding personalized images and videos in emails. Just make sure to reduce the video size before attaching it.

3. Get higher ROI

The ROI you get with sending cold emails is relatively high. Using automated cold outreach tools, you can send more emails and reach out to more people. It would mean more chances of closing deals which ultimately gives better ROI. 

All of the above make cold email the best for lead generation. 

What To Look For In Automated Cold Outreach Tools?

There are hundreds of cold email tools out there, and it can get challenging to choose one for you. Here are a few features that your outreach automation tool should ideally have, 

1. Personalization features

As you have already seen, personalization is an essential part of cold emailing. It is one feature that you should look for in your tool. While almost all tools offer personalization to some extent, you have to choose the one that suits the nature of your business. Some tools allow text personalization alone, while others provide image personalization

2. Email tracking feature

Every cold email outreach tool has to offer email tracking and analytics. It should give you an overview of open rates, clicks, and response rates. It will help find out the effectiveness of campaigns so that you can make changes accordingly in future campaigns. Make sure your tool has this feature.

3. Automation of outreach campaigns

An ideal tool can automate the process of creating and sending emails. It will be easier when your follow-up emails are automated so that you don’t have to track them manually. 

4. In-built deliverability features

Email deliverability is essential because if your emails don’t hit recipients’ inbox, you can’t connect with the prospect rendering your campaign futile. 

Try to pick a tool that has in-built deliverability features to offer. It may be a feature to warm up the email account automatically you are sending emails from, adding delays between emails, enabling setting up a custom tracking domain, and so on. 

You need not depend on other standalone tools if your cold outreach tool is fully-loaded. 

5. Team collaboration features

If you have a larger sales team, it is ideal to look for a tool that allows collaboration. Your tool must have a shared dashboard, provide analytics to measure individual and team performance, and the option to rotate inboxes. For huge teams, the requirements can be even more than this.

10 Best Automated Cold Outreach Tools

Here’s a list of the best email outreach software available, 

Automated Cold Outreach Software - SalesBlink

SalesBlink is a sales outreach automation tool that takes you from outreach to closing at a lightning-fast speed. Using this platform, you can launch custom sequences, send follow-up emails and personalize your emails all in one place. Using SalesBlink, it is also possible to see your outreach results. With multi-channel outreach, you can see your response rates increase. 

There are several positive reviews by leading sites about the outreach email platform,

Reviews of SalesBlink - cold outreach tools

After having a list of targeting prospects, you can use SalesBlink for automating cold emails. SalesBlink offers an email verification tool through which you can verify the emails of the prospects. It is done by the SMTP email-verifier so that you don’t send emails to invalid email addresses. This prevents email bounces, helping you maintain your sender reputation.

In the outreach stage, you can launch email sequences and perform LinkedIn outreach(manually via task). It is possible to automate email sequences.

SalesBlink's sequence builder

Furthermore, you can track opens, clicks, and replies to find out how your campaign is performing. 

In the closing stage, you can manage prospects and customers with the in-built CRM. Also, scheduling meetings is an easy task with SalesBlink’s meeting scheduler. You won’t have to go back and forth sending emails to finalize the meeting date and time with the prospect. 

SalesBlink's meeting Scheduler

Pros 

  • Enables personalization of emails
  • Is powered by ChatGPT to write email templates

Cons

  • There is no forever free plan. However, there’s a 7-day free trial.

Pricing

Scale – $29/mo

Growth – $99/mo

Business – $199/mo

2. GetProspect

Automated Cold Outreach Software - GetProspect

GetProspect is a bulk email finding software offering a real-time email finder, adequate verification feature, and an extensive database with CRM features. To find email addresses, you have different options: in bulk or one-time extraction, data enrichment, and LinkedIn Chrome extension. The latter allows you to get email addresses from the LinkedIn search and profile pages. Notably, you can search for leads by name, surname, company, position, and even LinkedIn URL with the database. 

You can integrate GetProspect with SalesBlink.

Pros

  • Available as Chrome extension
  • Easy to integrate

Cons

  • Poor customer service

Pricing

A free plan offers 100 email discoveries and 400 credits for verification. The Starter and Basic packages cost 49$ and 99$, offering 1000 and 5000 email discoveries, respectively. For the most expensive package, you will pay 399$ to get 50000 discoveries.

3. Woodpecker

Automated Cold Outreach Software - Woodpecker

Woodpecker is a well-known platform for cold outreach automation. It enables you to automate email sequences,  personalize emails and follow-ups, and schedule campaigns. The follow-up sequences are customizable, and you can send 7 follow-up emails. It is possible to pick a time to send them and keep a gap between each email. 

There is open-rate tracking and analytics as well. There is an automatic reply detection feature that is quite useful for salespeople. Talking about integration, you can integrate it with Gmail and Outlook. Woodpecker also has a smart sending feature whereby it won’t send an email to addresses that look questionable. It would save you from getting too many bounces and save your sending address from getting blacklisted by email service providers. 

You can integrate Woodpecker with SalesBlink.

Pros

  • The interface is user-friendly.
  • Enables automated A/B testing. 

Cons

You can’t go beyond 7 follow ups with the tool.

Pricing

Their plan starts at $39 a month per slot. There is a free trial as well. 

4. Lemlist

Lemlist

This automated cold outreach tool allows you to create cold email campaigns using a custom email template. The tool enables you to create personalized emails. The personalization feature is the unique selling point as it lets you add the prospect’s name in photos and embed personalized interactive videos in emails.

When you purchase their email outreach plan, you can also enjoy its auto email warm-up features that help you automatically warm up your email domain and improve deliverability. 

Additionally, the tool also helps in creating advanced reports of campaigns. You can perform an A/B test to find out what is working and what is not. You can integrate this tool with Zapier and other best CRM software. 

You can integrate Lemlist with SalesBlink.

Pros

  • The interface is user-friendly.
  • Enables email warm up

Cons

  • Doesn’t have options for detailed personalization

Pricing

The email outreach plan is available at $59 per user per month. 

The sales engagement plan is available at $99 per user per month. 

5. Overloop

Overloop

Overloop is a handy cold emailing tool for generating leads and email automation. You can find leads and reach out to them using this tool via email. It lets you create personalized drip campaigns, customize email templates, track email replies, bounces, and clicks. Additionally,  you can integrate this tool with other platforms. Also, as it is a Chrome extension, you can search for prospect details from sites. 

You can integrate Overloop with SalesBlink.

Pros

  • The tool is easy to use
  • Has options to add more credits

Cons

  • Is not cost-effective

Pricing

The base plan starts at $19 a month per user. For email finder and verifier, you have to pay $39 per month. An additional $69 per month is needed to put your email account on autopilot. Help from experts costs another $99 per month. 

6. Close

Close.io

Close is an automated cold outreach software. It allows you to email prospects and tracks the whole communication with them in one place. It lets you preload templates that the tool automatically fills in with information. You can personalize email templates and automate email sequences as well. 

You can integrate Close with SalesBlink.

Pros

  • Enables easy integrations
  • Support SMS outreach

Cons

  • There is no free plan

Pricing

The starter plan costs $29 per month per user. The basic plan costs $69 per month per user. Their professional plan costs $99 per month per user, and the business plan is available at $149 per user per month. 

7. SalesLoft

SalesLoft

SalesLoft is a sales engagement platform you can use to reach prospects. You can follow up with prospects effectively as you learn about the activities from one place. Integrating the tool with your CRM tools is possible to manage prospects better. Using the tool, you can create email templates and save them for future use. In addition, it is possible to track email metrics like open rate, click-through rate, and reply rate to know how your email campaign is faring. 

You can integrate SalesLoft with SalesBlink.

Pros 

  • Works well for large sales teams.
  • Offers email and SMS outreach. 

Cons

  • Setting up a campaign is time-consuming.

Pricing

The pricing of the tool is not available on their website. You have to request a quote. 

8. Smartreach.io

Smartreach.io

Smartreach.io is a cold email platform that helps send personalized emails with automated follow-ups. It helps reduce the busy work and increases productivity of the sales team. That will come with the email spam tester that ensures you only send emails that the spam filter does not withhold. In addition, the tool enables you to perform A/B tests to course-correct email campaigns.

You can integrate SmartReach with SalesBlink.

Pros

  • Email personalization features
  • Can create any number of campaigns

Cons

  • Reporting spam is not possible beyond 4 times a month.

Pricing

The standard plan starts at $24 per month. The Pro plan costs $39 per month, while the Ultimate plan costs $59 per month. There’s a 14-day free trial. 

9. Reply.io

Reply.io

With Reply.io it is possible to write personalized emails and create email sequences. You can also perform LinkedIn outreach and search for emails of prospects. In addition, the tool enables you to track the performance of your campaign. What’s more, it assists you with writing email templates using AI-backed suggestions.

You can integrate Reply.io with SalesBlink.

Pros 

  • Is available as a Chrome extension
  • Notifies when a prospect replies

Cons

  • Process of setting up is complicated

Pricing

The paid plan starts at $60 per user, per month. There’s a professional plan at $90 per user per month. 

10. Mailshake

Mailshake - cold outreach tools

Mailshake is a cold email outreach tool that creates personalized campaigns and schedules follow-up emails. The tool offers an AI-backed writing assistant to help craft email templates faster. Along with that, it offers cold-calling features as well. You can integrate the tool with most CRMs like HubSpot and Salesforce. It is also possible to integrate Mailshake with SalesBlink.

Pros

  • Zapier integrations help connect with other tools
  • Enables uploading prospect lists

Cons

  • Limit the emails you can send daily.

Pricing

The email outreach plan costs $58 per user per month (annual plan). The sales engagement plan costs $83 per user per month (annual plan). 

Cold Emailing Best Practices

You send cold emails with the aim of getting a response from the recipient. Here are a few practices that will help you get better outcomes,

1. Email the right individual

Avoid sending emails to general email addresses like info@ as a team manages them, and your email will go unnoticed. Instead, choose to reach out to a person.  Invest some time in finding out which person from a company would be better to contact. If possible, find the email address of the decision-maker and reach out to them. It will increase the chance of getting a response to your email.

2. Never send the same email to everyone

Many salespeople send the same email to all the prospects. This practice will never fetch you results. To understand why to try placing yourself in the recipient’s position and see how difficult it is to spot an email in an already cluttered inbox. Upon opening it, if it is another generic and boring email, you would probably ignore it. Your prospects would also do the same when you send a generic email to them. 

That is why you should put in some effort to make your email stand out from the rest. Consider making it attractive and of value to the prospect.

3. Personalize the cold emails

Use personalization to make emails more relatable to the recipient. A personalized email fetches more responses as it makes the recipient feel special. 

As per a study, personalized emails have 14% higher click-through rates and 10% higher conversion rates. 

31% of customers have increased chances of making a purchase when they get personalized content

Here’s a little about how to personalize your cold emails,

a. Use the prospect’s name in the email  

It is a relatively common way of personalizing emails. Adding the prospect’s name in the greeting and the email body can make them pay attention to you. This is because upon spotting their name, there is a quick reaction in the brain that makes them listen to you. However, don’t go beyond using more than a couple of times.

b. Personalize based on buyer personas

Create the content of your emails after grouping prospects based on their job profile, organization size, and the challenges they face. 

For instance, the CEO of large enterprises may have similar kinds of customer pain points. If you present your product or service as a solution for them, it would seem to be relevant enough.

c. Give a compliment

You can choose to build a good bond with the prospect by giving a compliment to the prospect in your email, Compliment them for winning an award or for achieving a new milestone. They will be more interested in knowing what you have to offer. 

d. Mention the interests of the prospect

Try finding out the interests of the prospect on social media and include them in your email. Doing so will help you capture the attention of prospects and build a connection with them. It can be anything like their favorite sport, town, or movie. 

e. Personalize using an image or short video

Communicate better by using visual images as they help in grabbing the attention of prospects. Including a video prospecting about your organisation makes it more personable, and the prospect is more likely to connect with your email. 

6. Highlight a mutual connection

By mentioning a mutual connection, you can bridge the gap between the prospect and you. It helps make the prospect relate better with you, and you won’t be a stranger to them anymore. You both could be from the same city, school, or university. There can also be chances of you both knowing the same person. It is more of a psychological effect, and you must leverage its benefits.

4. Write impressive subject lines

The subject line of your email matters a lot in deciding whether the recipient will open the email or trash it. So, try your best to make it captivating. Try to mention the name of the prospect and their company in the subject line to grab attention. You can also use SalesBlink’s free cold email subject line generator. Make it intriguing and tap the curiosity of the prospect. Even using the FOMO tactic is excellent to create a sense of urgency. You can get creative and see what works the best for you.

5. Add a CTA

You must add a CTA at the end of the email so that the recipient knows what to do next. The content of the email copy should be such that it drives the recipient towards the CTA. It can be a request for a call, a personal sales meeting, or a demo. Also, ensure that you use only one CTA in an email to avoid confusing the prospect. 

6. Add an email signature

You should sign off with your sales email signature as it is your e-business card. Having one will make you look more professional. It is a way to let recipients know more about you and your company. Therefore, add a link to your website and your logo in your signature. 

7. Be persistent with follow-ups

Send follow-up emails and do not quit too soon. Most often, the answer will not be a yes the first time. You have to follow up to get the prospect interested in you. This way, you can close more deals. 

Tips To Automate Cold Email Outreach

In the recent past, you must have observed that there has been an upsurge in the number of cold email software. There is a considerable difference between these sales engagement platforms and the conventional cold email marketing software designed to send thousands of emails to people in marketing lists. Tools that automate cold outreach aim at sending fewer highly personalized emails. After the initial emails, you can automate follow-up emails as well with these tools. 

Using a reliable automated cold outreach tool, you can increase the productivity of a sales team. Therefore, you have to choose the right cold outreach tools. It has to meet your business needs and produce results. 

Here are a few tips that will be helpful to you while preparing to automate cold email outreach. 

1. Keep the batch of automated emails small

While cold email automation tools can handle sending emails to thousands of people in one go, you mustn’t do so. Your email will not stay relevant to the entire mailing list and sound too generic to the recipients.  Lack of personalization would make the recipient uninterested in going ahead with your offer.  That is why you choose to send targeted emails to a smaller group of prospects even when using a tool. That will help you get the best results.

2. Get your follow-up email automated

The fact that most people don’t follow up is a blessing in disguise for you. You can follow up persistently. With automated sales outreach software like SalesBlink, it is possible to automate follow-ups so that you don’t have to keep track of when to send which follow-up email manually. You can automate their sending based on triggers. It is possible to send fully automated follow-ups as long as you personalize the initial email. It would save a lot of time and decrease your workload. This is precisely where the email automation tool will be of help to you. 

3. Send fewer emails so that you have the time to reiterate them 

As already discussed, you may be eager to send all the emails at once with automated cold email tools. However, when you send fewer emails, you have the chance to iterate various aspects of the email. You can choose to perform A/B testing on a small group to find out how it is performing. You can try a different approach with the next batch as you haven’t emailed them previously. It will give you better results than simply sending emails to thousands of prospects. 

Use Cold Outreach Tools For Best Results!

You can win the heart of your target audience through email. While many felt that it might not survive long, the truth is that it is currently the best channel for marketing. The use of cold email outreach software makes the whole outreach process easier. 

Now that you know how to do sales outreach automation, you can get started! Don’t forget to thank us once you see replies coming in!

FAQs

1. What is cold emailing?

Cold emailing is the practice of sending cold outreach emails. A cold email is an email you send to a person who has no prior connection with you or your business. They might have not even heard of your company.

2. What are In-built deliverability features?

In-built email deliverability features include warming up the email account automatically you are sending emails from, adding delays between emails, and enabling setting up a custom tracking domain.

3. What is an email tracking feature?

Every cold email outreach tool offers email tracking and analytics. You get an overview of open rates, clicks, and response rates that tell about email campaigns’ effectiveness.