"Your team thinks you're an a**hole"
Cold email subject lines are in decline...
I recently received a cold email with the subject line: your team thinks you’re an a**hole. Yes this is a real email.
Outbound sales is hard. Sending 1000s of cold emails is tough. There is all kinds of pressure to get results.
I imagine this is what most outbound cold prospecting feels like:
I have to say I was intrigued by the email (not offended - maybe my team does think I’m an a**hole) but it was off. So I posted it to LinkedIn to see what the sales community had to say.
In less than 24 hours there were over 160 comments - this clearly struck a cord in the sales community on LinkedIn.
Here is a summary of the reactions:
Open rate must be 100% - I believe open rates are a vanity metric for most outbound sales managers. The cost of this open rate is the appointment or the sale. No chance I’d transact - it’s a bad start to a relationship.
We are trading in our integrity (kindness, humanity, etc…) for click rates - Gimmicks for a reaction will get you noticed, but mostly for the wrong reasons.
This can’t be true (disbelieve at the audacity) or This is hilarious (bold) - I lean more on the this is hilarious side and didn’t take offense.
As a sales leader I think about this from a sales effectiveness perspective.
Was it effective at getting me to open the email?
Yes.
Was it effective at getting a reaction?
Yes.
Was it effective at getting me to read the email and engage with the sales rep?
No.
While this rep took a risk and was effective at getting an opening and a reaction (which we’re trying to do as sales people, separate ourselves from the noise) - it wasn’t done in a way that I was even remotely interested in working with that rep, or that company.
Result - unsubscribe.
Subject lines like this fall into the gimmick category of: shock and awe which is questionably creative.
Do better. There are some that are doing it - way better.
Guys like Dale Dupree - who plays the long game and builds relationships, but is also creative about getting through to a prospect (see his crumpled letter campaign).
Or Scott Leese - who teaches reps to leverage their network to create value and build relationship rather than use slick gimmicks to drive meaningless vanity metrics.
Happy selling.
A**hole out.