It’s frustrating when you put a lot of time and effort into creating an email to a prospective client, only to have them never respond. You might not realize that their lack of a response isn’t necessarily because they’re uninterested or rude. According to an article by Devin Reed on the Sales 3.0 Conference website, your call to action could probably use some work.

Types of Call to Action Examples

There are three basic call to action types in cold sales emailing, says Reed.

1. Specific 

It is when you end your sales email with a request for the recipient to take a specific course of action. You could be asking the prospect for a meeting at a particular time and day. Or you could be requesting that they register for your company’s next webinar. No matter what, if you’re directly asking the prospect to do precisely what you’re hoping they’ll do, you’re using a specific call to action.

2. Interest-​Based

When you conclude an email with a sentence along the lines of, “Are you interested in learning more?”, you’re using the interest-​based type. You’re searching for a basic interest in your product or service.

3. Open-​Ended

Open-​ended calls to action express a base interest in what you would like to happen and leave the ball mainly in the prospect’s court. Reed's example is, “Do you have time next week to meet?”

Which are the Best Cold Emails for Sales?

If you’re like me, you probably thought that specific calls to action would almost always be the most effective choice. We’re both wrong.

Interest calls to actions have the highest success rates at 30% (at least double what the other two have). Why is that? “Even though time is finite, we tend to ask buyers — who, in cold emails, have no idea who we are — if we can steal some of their valuable time, a resource most people wish they had more of,” says Reed. 

In short, how are cold prospects supposed to know if you are worth meeting with after just one cold sales email? After hearing from you the first time, most of them want to learn more about your product or service and you as a person before even considering purchasing from you. And proposing sales meetings just seems to be skipping to the finish line. Interest-​based calls to action offer a conversation instead of expectations of a meeting and then a sale.

What to do Now

Take a look back through your previous cold sales emails. Do you have a go-​to call to action type? Which of the three is it? You may not have to change the entirety of your email — just how you close it. Make sure your content is primarily based around Interest. Reed writes, “Interest is not finite, nor is it a resource. If you can pique a buyer’s Interest and curiosity instead of asking for resources (like time) upfront, you are more likely to find success.”