Episode 024 – The power of cold emails for customer acquisition and how to write the perfect email, with Alex Berman of InspireBeats

Alex tells us about the secret to cold emails, how to identify quality leads, and how to identify buying signals in ideal customers.

Today’s guest, Alex Berman, is the Chief Marketing Sumo for InspireBeats, a Lead Generation, Lead Research, and Personalized Prospecting Solution for Startups. Alex is responsible for generating over $21 million dollars in B2B leads. He and the team at InspireBeats have sent over 1 million cold emails to create leads for startups and software-as-a-service companies in the last two years.

By validating their process through those 1 million cold emails, InspireBeats has developed very consistent conversion rates for their cold email service. 2-3% is the average meeting book rate, and 1% turn into paying customers. This conversion rate remains consistent as businesses scale, too.

Alex was kind enough to provide templates for cold emails to the podcast. See below.

We’re going to learn why e-mail isn’t dead, how Alex acquires leads and customers through cold e-mails, the secret to sending a cold e-mail, and how to identify the buying signals of your desired customers.

“I believe that, if you invest in yourself, even to the point that you go deep into debt for it, and you actually work, things will pay off.” (click to tweet)

In this episode, you’ll learn from Alex:

Why e-mail isn’t dead
How to acquire leads and customers through cold e-mails
Qualification – make sure you’re reaching out to people who actually want what you want
How to avoid spamming people with your email marketing
The secret to sending a cold e-mail:
- Start with a subject line that mentions something specific about them or their company. Introductions also work really well.
- A customized intro that demonstrates relevant knowledge about your prospective customer. This is the most important part of the message.
- Following is a one- or two-sentence pitch, which fully encapsulates what you do and the value you offer
- Call to action – make it a question
- P.S. – go to their social networks and find something you have in common
Sending cold e-mails in bulk can help, because psychologically there is less rejection
You can fake an introduction in an email subject line by researching individuals, leveraging that information and being honest about it
Quality of leads is very important – “Make sure you’re only emailing people who want to use your service.”
Learn to identify buying signals – If someone is looking for a service like mine, what will they be doing publicly to acknowledge that?

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Resources mentioned in this episode:

Answers to Quickfire Q&A:

If you could chat with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
1. “I really like Henry Ford. He started the whole car-making revolution … and I think he would have some really good tips on scaling.”
Name a tool, app, or website that you can’t live without and why.
1. “The boring answer is Gmail. I friggin’ love Gmail.”
2. “I’m a big fan of Base CRM, especially if you’re doing any larger enterprise sales … if you’re a starting entrepreneur and you don’t have some sort of CRM tracking mechanism, Base is a good start. I don’t think I could survive in business without something like that.”
Tell us something unique and interesting about you that not many may know.
1. This week Alex turned the tables on Mike, and we learn that he used to take breakdancing classes.
2. Alex writes pop music under an alias on SoundCloud, which he did not divulge.
What are the top three skills or characteristics that you look for in people you work with?
1. They have to be willing to own a number – If they’re job is to get 10 guests, they should get 10 guests
2. The ability to ask questions
3. Consistency in work
What is something you believe, but few others agree with you?
1. “I believe that, if you invest in yourself, even to the point that you go deep into debt for it, and you actually work, things will pay off.”

How to contact Alex:

You can keep up with Alex and InspireBeats at InspireBeats.com.

If you like this episode, you may enjoy these episodes:

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