Moving from endless cold calling to pitching a new product to a key decision-maker demands a balance between informative and persuasive.
If you miss the mark, your message will likely end up in the trash. This article will explore the secret to writing a good sales pitch email, common pitfalls, a sales pitch email template, and how artificial intelligence (AI) changes the outreach game.
- What Is a Sales Pitch?
- How Do You Write an Effective Sales Pitch Email?
- Solving Common Sales Pitch Email Problems
- Mastering Sales Pitch Email A/B Testing
- How AI Can Amp Up Your Personalised Sales Pitch Emails
What Is a Sales Pitch?
A sales pitch, also known as an ‘elevator pitch,’ is a short, compelling introduction where a salesperson showcases the value of a product/service. The goal is to pique a prospect’s interest in two minutes or less.
Traditionally, sales pitches originated in markets where sellers verbally advertised their goods to those passing by. Over time, these pitches adapted to various channels, including print, television, and, most recently, digital platforms. These changes mirror the advancements in how consumers and sales professionals interact.
Related Resource: What Good Client Engagement Looks Like
How Do You Write an Effective Sales Pitch Email?
The secret to a good sales pitch email is explaining your product’s value to the right audience. Start with a catchy subject line to draw the recipient in. Personalise the introduction, highlight the value proposition, and end with a clear call to action. This structure guides the prospect towards a defined action, moving them through the sales funnel.
For example, if you’re selling a sales management tool, craft a subject line tailored to the prospect’s specific role, an award they’ve won, a recent company press release, or a book they’ve written. Then, tailor the greeting by mentioning a challenge their company faces that your tool can solve. Next, detail the benefits of your tool, such as AI time-saving features. Finally, wrap up with a call-to-action inviting them to talk to you or see your product. This approach connects potential customers’ needs with a compelling narrative that nudges them closer to a decision.
Sales Pitch Email Template
This sales pitch email example helps create a message that is the right length, nails personalisation, and grabs attention, increasing your odds of avoiding the digital bin.
Subject: [Personalised Element] + [Value Proposition]
Greeting: Dear or Hello [Recipient’s Name],
Introduction: I noticed that [specific reference to their work, recent achievement, or a challenge you know they face].
Value Proposition: At [Your Company Name], we specialise in [brief description of product/service] that helps companies like yours [the value you bring]. For example, [short statistic or result from a case study relevant to their industry or problem].
Social Proof: [One sentence testimonial from a satisfied customer or a quick mention of a well-known customer in their industry].
Call to Action: I’d love to explore how we can achieve similar results for [Recipient’s Company]. Are you available for a quick call [suggest a specific time frame, “later this week” or “early next week”] to discuss this further?
Closing: Looking forward to your thoughts, [Recipient’s Name]. Thank you for considering [Your Company/Product].
Signature: [Your Name] [Your Role] [Your Contact Information]
Solving Common Sales Pitch Email Problems
The reaction of prospects and customers to your sales pitch email—whether they open, delete, or disregard it—speaks volumes. Crafting the perfect sales pitch email comes with obstacles that can derail your message. Success hinges on every detail, from the initial impression to the timely follow-up.
Let’s explore six of the most common challenges with sales pitch emails and how to overcome them.
1. Transform Poor Email Subject Lines into Door Openers
Subject lines can make or break your sales pitch emails, with, 64% of recipients deciding to open or delete an email based solely on the subject line. Yet, many sellers make the mistake of writing subject lines that are too long, use too many caps and symbols, or reek of desperation.
To ensure you grab attention, use action words, such as ‘join,’ ‘improve,’ and ‘update,’ and personalise where possible. You should also avoid jargon, use 40 or fewer characters, and create a sense of urgency.
2. Get to Know Your Target Audience
Generic emails end up in the trash, and you end up with a bad reputation. Research your audience to tailor messages that address their specific needs.
3. Ensure Brand Consistency Across all Emails
Varied tones or styles confuse recipients about who you are. Ensure all communications align with your brand’s voice and visual style for immediate recognition.
4. Clarify Your Call-to-Action
Emails with unclear or several CTAs confuse readers with too many vague options. Stick to a single, appropriate call-to-action that guides recipients on the next steps. This may be a specific landing page, an opportunity to schedule a phone call, or a link to a special pricing offer.
5. Master the Art of Follow-Up
Failing to follow up can mean missing out on potential conversations and deals. Some high-performing sales reps automate or schedule follow-up emails at the right time to keep prospects engaged without being intrusive. Doing so also helps enhance sales productivity.
6. Never Neglect Email Performance Metrics Again
Not monitoring email metrics leads to missed improvement opportunities. Schedule regular reviews of key performance indicators (KPIs) such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. This will help you know when and how to improve tactics.
Learn more about how to reach the modern buyer with our sales pitch best practices.
Effective Ways to Personalise Your Sales Pitches
The rise of personalisation in social media and consumer advertising has set high standards for B2B sales. Customers expect messages to appeal to their unique circumstances. But the challenge lies in crafting pitches that are tailored enough.
How does a busy sales rep craft a sales pitch email that appeals to every contact’s unique situation?
Conduct Thorough Prospect Research
To fully understand your prospect’s business context and needs, begin with research. Showing your investment in their success builds respect and establishes you as a committed partner. Use social media, such as LinkedIn, search for company news, and connect with others who may know their industry or business.
Solve Your Prospect’s Primary Pain Points
Address the prospect’s main issue. Customise your sales email to demonstrate that you understand and intend to solve their unique problem.
Know the Competition
Who is the prospect competing against? Analyse and understand who they must outshine in product, service, or process. It is beneficial if you can show how they can use your product to improve and differentiate.
Refine Email Segmentation
Email segmentation divides your contact list into groups based on behaviours, demographics, and other factors. This strategy addresses individual preferences and needs with personalised communications. In fact, over three-quarters of consumers (76%) have indicated that personalised communications greatly influence their decision to consider a brand.
Take, for example, a gourmet coffee brand that segments its market not just by coffee drinkers but by a niche psychographic group: speciality coffee enthusiasts. These individuals seek out unique, high-quality coffee experiences, value the origin and processing of the beans, and enjoy learning about different brewing techniques. Through this focus, the brand connects with the right consumers, demonstrating email segmentation’s power.
Partner Over Preacher
Focus on being an ally in your pitch rather than just another salesperson. This mindset demonstrates a willingness to understand and contribute to your prospect’s success, creating trust-based relationships.
Enhance Sales Pitch Emails with AI
AI’s ability to digest data volumes helps reveal prospect information you may not have otherwise uncovered. This includes demographic information, interaction history, purchase patterns, and even sentiment analysis from previous communications. AI sales tools can interpret these data points and predict the best timing, message, and frequency for more personalised engagement.
Mastering Sales Pitch Email A/B Testing
A/B testing identifies the best email versions based on recipient reactions. A/B testing your subject lines and content can increase your ROI by up to 25%.
Create two email variations, distribute each to half your test group, and track metrics like opens, clicks, and response rates. The better-performing version is sent to the rest of your prospects for the best possible engagement.
Try these variations when split-testing emails:
Experiment with Subject Lines
Testing different subject lines can significantly improve open rates.
- Experiment with phrases and lengths to identify the highest open rates.
- Contrast the impact of personalised greetings with generic ones.
- Explore the effect of urgency in your subject lines by comparing phrases like “Limited-Time Offer” with less urgent terms.
Vary Email Body Content
You can discover which engages best by testing your content makeup and length variations.
- Test variations in your opening lines to see which are more engaging.
- Evaluate the success of detailed content against brief messages.
- Contrast the inclusion of personal anecdotes or humour with a purely professional tone and customer testimonials.
Compare CTA Results
A successful CTA is the driving force behind converting recipients into customers.
- Experiment with various CTA designs and colours to see which attract more clicks.
- Assess the performance of CTAs placed in different positions in your email.
- Compare different CTA’s to find the most compelling invitation. This may be links to success stories and case studies or simple word adjustments like “Learn more” versus “Get your free demo today.”
Adjust Timing and Frequency
Reaching your prospect at the right time of day without annoying them balances awareness with intrusion.
- Investigate the optimal times and days for sending emails.
- Explore different sending frequencies, like daily versus weekly, to understand recipient preferences.
How AI Can Amp Up Your Personalised Sales Pitch Emails
Sales AI makes personalisation easier to achieve. Your sales team can use predictive analytics, natural language processing (NLP), machine learning (ML), and generative models to personalise and capture a prospect’s attention while saving time. These technologies can work individually or collectively to enhance sales and email marketing outreach.
Each brings its strengths to the sales process:
- Predictive analytics: Predictive sales analytics uses historical data to predict future outcomes, behaviours, and trends. It can help the sales rep determine which message variations are most likely to resonate with different audience segments or groups.
- ML: ML algorithms learn from data, improving accuracy without being programmed. ML analyses the outcomes of previous emails to refine the targeting, content, and timing of future emails. This helps emails improve with each iteration.
- NLP: NLP, such as Highspot’s conversation intelligence software, enables computers to understand, interpret, and generate meaningful and contextually relevant human language. By applying NLP, sales teams can craft emails that feel more personal and engaging, improving connection with the recipient.
- Generative: Generative AI creates content that mimics human-like text, images, or other media. Think ChatGPT. It can produce creative content for sales emails that aligns with the prospect’s interests and behaviours.
Highspot strengthens sales pitch emails by providing AI-driven recommendations, scoring, and analytics, helping sales teams craft copy that resonates with individual prospects. Our sales enablement solution offers a robust toolkit for creating highly customised, engaging sales emails that convert prospects into customers. Watch our on-demand webinar to learn how AI-powered insights and generative AI can streamline your sales process.
Make Every Sales Pitch Count With Highspot
Evolving from the uncomfortable, pushy sales pitch email of the past is the only way forward. Today’s sales pitches must be purposeful and explain how a product or service will improve the buyer’s life. A great sales pitch email is an art honed by knowing your audience, understanding your product’s value, using the right automation tools, and continuously improving your approach. Highspot will arm you with personalised cold email templates and CRM integration and use AI to suggest supporting content, such as social proof and customer testimonials.
Highspot is at the forefront of AI-supported sales pitch email capabilities. Request a Highspot demo today!
