The library
B2B Sales·email·Difficulty: easy
The Cold Sales Email That Actually Gets Replies
Six lines. Four tricks. One reply rate that beats the agency average by 4×.
White hatSource: Outbound playbook (composite)
2/10
🪄 The act
Read the source — then read the reveal.
The source
Subject: quick question about your Q3 hiring plan
Hi Sarah —
1Saw on LinkedIn you just opened 4 SDR roles in Austin. Congrats.
2We helped Lattice hire their last 11 SDRs in 6 weeks (vs. their usual 14).
4Worth a 15-min call this Thursday or Friday?
— Jamie
The reveal
1
The Detail
Copy
Specificity proves the email isn't a blast. The number, the role, and the city tell Sarah this was written for her — even if the rest is templated.
2
The Crowd
Trust
Named brand + concrete numbers + before/after. Three trust signals in one sentence.
3
The Promise
Copy
Doesn't say 'we help you hire faster'. Says exactly how much faster, for whom. Sarah can picture this happening at her company.
4
The Frame
Copy
Tiny ask, narrow choice. Not 'do you want to talk' (yes/no, defaults to no) but 'which day' (defaults to picking one).
🎩 The recipe
Steal it. Use it tonight.
- 1Open with a specific, recent observation that proves you're a human reading their world.
- 2One sentence of social proof: named customer, concrete metric, before/after.
- 3One sentence of outcome: what you'd help them achieve, in their units.
- 4Close with a small ask framed as 'which', not 'whether'.
- 5Send it Tuesday morning. No attachments. No links. No PS.
☠️ Don't be that marketer
False familiarity ('Loved your recent post!' when you didn't read it). Fake mutual connections. Subject lines pretending to be a reply. All instantly burn the relationship.
The tricks at work