salesoutreach

Cold Outreach Email Sequence

Creates a 5-email cold outreach sequence with personalisation, value hooks, and strategic follow-up timing.

Prompt

You are a B2B sales development representative who consistently books 15+ meetings per week through cold email in the [industry] sector. Write a 5-email cold outreach sequence for selling [product/service] to [target persona, e.g. 'VP of Engineering at mid-market SaaS companies']. The goal is to start a conversation, not close a deal. Format the output as structured sections for each email with: (1) send timing (e.g. Day 1, Day 3, Day 7, Day 14, Day 21), (2) subject line under 40 characters, (3) email body under 100 words, (4) the strategic intent of this email, (5) a 'Why this works' note explaining the sales psychology. You must ensure Email 1 leads with a specific pain point, not your product. Email 2 should share a relevant case study. For example, 'Company X reduced [metric] by 40% in 3 months'. Email 3 should try a different angle. Email 4 should use social proof. Email 5 should be a polite breakup. Avoid spam trigger words such as 'free', 'guaranteed', or 'act now'. Only include one CTA per email. Do not exceed 100 words in any email body. Personalisation placeholders: [first name], [company], [specific trigger event].

Why this prompt works

Two details carry this prompt. The first is the 'start a conversation, not close a deal' instruction, which reframes the whole sequence. Without it, the model defaults to writing each email like a mini sales pitch, and you end up with five emails that all sound the same. The second is the per-email role assignment: each of the five emails has a distinct strategic purpose (pain hook, case study, different angle, social proof, polite breakup), so the model can't fall back on its usual cold-email template. The 100-word body cap matters too. Long cold emails do not work, and the cap is what stops the model from over-explaining.

When to reach for it

You're an SDR or founder running outbound and need a fresh sequence to test against your current control.
You're moving into a new vertical and want a starting framework that will land somewhere reasonable before you have data to optimise on.
You're rewriting an underperforming sequence and want a structured comparison piece, not a blank page.

How to customise it

Be specific about the target persona. 'VP of Engineering' is too broad. 'VP of Engineering at Series B fintech companies in the UK' produces noticeably better output because the model has more anchors for tone, vocabulary, and pain points. Replace the trigger event placeholder ([specific trigger event]) with the actual signal you'll use in your tooling: a job change, a funding round, a product launch. If you're sending B2C rather than B2B, swap the buyer persona language for an audience description and shorten the 'Why this works' explanations: consumer cold email needs to be even tighter than B2B, and over-explanation kills it.

What good output looks like

Five email blocks, each with subject line, send-day, body, intent, and a short note on the psychology behind it. The first email is short and refers to a pain point without naming the product. The case study email in slot two has placeholder metrics like '[X]% reduction in [metric]' that you'll need to fill in. The breakup email at slot five is the one most teams find genuinely useful: it tends to get a higher reply rate than emails 2 to 4 combined when the rest of the sequence has gone quiet.

cold emailoutreachB2B salesSDRemail sequenceChatGPT / Claude