With no reviews or social proof, your leads might turn their attention elsewhere.
So, how can your brand leverage social proof effectively?
If you're targeting customer service managers, you'll need a pitch that completely resonates with them.
In this article, Sacha, CEO of Growth Room, shows how social proof helps you transform a cold email into a powerful tool that books meetings!
Here's an example of a cold email that targets customer service (CS) managers in e-commerce to sell an AI-powered CS platform 👇
Here are Sacha’s insights on what needs to be improved to get more replies:
Mistake #1 → Too promotional subject line
Avoid using popular marketing and sales keywords such as “boost”, “customer service”, or “AI”. These words will make your emails sound too salesy, and your leads will stop reading them.
Mistake #2 → Self-centered intro line
The intro line should catch prospects’ attention by talking about them and what you can do for them. Talking about yourself won’t bring them value and interest them in reading the rest of your email.
Mistake #3 → Not-visible CTA
Because your prospects usually scan emails before reading them, adding a space line before the ending line will make their next step clear. Also, get more conversions by writing an eye-catching CTA that aligns with your email's content.
Mistake #4 → Spam words
If you want to ensure your messaging gets through, avoid using spam words like “free”. Those words trigger the spam filters and land your emails in the spam folder, where your target audience can’t read them.
Here is how Sacha would rewrite the previous cold email and his tips for booking more meetings!
Tip #1 → Focus on your prospect
If you want to get replies to your cold emails, talk about their company, compliment them, and ensure that most of your email focuses on them and how to achieve their goals.
Tip #2 → Give a glimpse of the value you bring
By leveraging social proof, you can showcase prospects’ desired outcomes and tease them into replying. Mention clients and their results from relevant industries to build trust and credibility.
Tip #3 → Position yourself as an expert
Position yourself as a problem solver. Showing your leads that you understand their pain point and know how to solve it will make your product/service more relevant.
Tip #4 → Non-intrusive CTA
Instead of talking about demos, ask for less effort and talk about catching up over a call/meeting. It will sound less salesy and push your prospects to reply.
Subject line: How to increase [prospect company]’s customer service
Hello #first_name,
[Icebreaker]
As a flourishing company, I can imagine you must be facing challenges regarding customer service.
At [my company name], we’ve worked with dozens of companies operating in [prospect’s industry], like [company example 1] or [company example 2]. Within a few weeks, we have helped them boost their customer service by X%.
If you want to see how, here’s a sum up.
Having studied [ prospect’s company] on my side, I really believe we could have the same kind of impact working together.
Will you be available [today +3 open days] @3:00 pm to discuss this together ?
Here are Sacha’s tips for effective cold emailing to sell AI-powered platforms to e-commerce CS managers:
-> Focus on the recipient, highlighting their company and goals.
-> Utilize social proof relevant to their industry to establish trust.
-> Position yourself as a solution to their specific challenges.
-> Use a non-intrusive call-to-action, like suggesting a casual call or meeting instead of demo.
You can watch Sacha's complete cold email teardown here!
Not sure how to write your emails? Try lemlist's free cold email generator!
G2 Rating | Price | Best for | Standout feature | Con | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.9 star star star star star | $30/mo $75/mo $2,999/mo | Large, distributed sales teams | AI evaluation precision, gamified KPIs | Lack of tracking system | |
4.6 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Sales operations and finance teams | Powerful configurability | Limited training resources and complex to navigate | |
4.4 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Mid-market and enterprise businesses | Comprehensive incentive management | Potentially high cost and steep learning curve | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | $15/user/mo $40/user/mo Enterprise: custom price | Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes | Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes | Steep learning curve | |
4.6 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Collaborative teams | Connected planning | Complexity and steep learning curve | |
4.6 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies with complex sales structures | Complex incentive compensation management (ICM) with high efficiency and accuracy | Complexity for smaller teams and potentially high costs | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies who want to automate commission calculations and payouts | Simplicity and ease of use | Lack of features like redirection | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | $30/user/mo $35/user/mo Custom: upon request | Businesses that need a comprehensive and user-friendly sales compensation management software | Ease of use and adoption | Lack of ability to configure the product based on user needs | |
4.8 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies with modern sales culture and businesses who want real-time insights | A built-in dispute management and real-time visibility | Users say it works slowly, customer support is slow | |
4.9 star star star star star | $30/user/mo $50/user/mo | Smaller sales teams | Powerful automation | Lesser user base and average user interface | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies with scalable needs | Automated Commission Calculations | Lack of filtering by date, no mobile app |
PRM Tool | Rating | Feature | Pro | Con | Mobile App | Integrations | Free Plan | Pricing |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.65 star star star star star-half | Org-wide alignment | User-friendly layout and database | Suboptimal as a personal CRM | square-check | Lack of tracking system | square-check | Team: $20/month Business: $45/month | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Social Media Integration | Easy contact data collection | No marketing/sales features | square-check | Lack of tracking system | square-xmark 7-day trial | $12/month | |
4.75 star star star star star-half | Block Functions | High customization capability | Not a dedicated CRM | square-check | Limited | square-check | Plus: €7.50/month Business: €14/month | |
N/A | Open-source | Open-source flexibility | Requires extensive manual input | square-xmark | Limited | square-check Self-hosted | $9/month or $90/year | |
3.1 star star star | Simple iOS app | Ideal for non-tech-savvy users | iPhone only | square-check iOS only | Limited | square-xmark 1-month trial | $1.49/month or $14.99/month | |
3.6 star star star star-half | Smart Contact Management | Feature-rich and flexible | Reported bugs | square-check | Rich | square-xmark 7-day trial | Premium: $13.99/month Teams: $17.99/month | |
4.4 star star star star star-half | Customizable Interface | Customizable for teamwork | Pricey for personal use | square-check | Rich | square-xmark | Standard: $24/member Premium: $39/member | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Integrated Calling | Integrated Calling | Too sales-oriented & pricey | square-check | Rich | square-xmark 14-day trial | Startup: $59/user/month Professional: $329/user/month | |
4.8 star star star star star | Business Card Scanning | Business Card Scanning | Mobile only | square-check | Limited | square-check | $9.99/month | |
4.45 star star star star star-half | 160+ app integrations | Comprehensive integrations | No free app version | square-check | Rich | square-xmark 14-day trial | $29.90/month or $24.90/month (billed annually) |
Capterra Rating | Free Trial | Free Plan | Starting Price (excluding the free plan) | Maximum Price (for the most expensive plan) | Best for | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.5 star star star star star-half | square-check 14-day | square-check | €15/month/seat billed annually | €792/month/3 seats billed annually + €45/month for each extra seat | Versatility and free plan | |
4.2 star star star star | square-check 30-day | square-xmark But it offers reduced price to authorised nonprofit organisations | €25/user/month | €500/user/month billed annually (includes Einstein AI) | Best overall operational CRM | |
4.3 star star star star star-half | square-xmark | square-check Limited to 3 users | Comprehensive incentive management | €52/user/month billed annually | Small-medium businesses and automation | |
4.5 star star star star star-half | square-check 14-day | square-xmark | €14/seat/month billed annually | €99/seat/month billed annually | Sales teams and ease of use | |
4.1 star star star star | square-xmark | square-check Limited 10 users | $9.99/user/month billed annually | $64.99/user/month billed annually | Free plan for very small teams up to 10 |
CRM goal | Increase the sales conversion rate for qualified leads from marketing automation campaigns by 10% in the next 6 months. | ||||
SMART Breakdown | 1. Specific: It targets a specific area (conversion rate) for a defined segment (qualified leads from marketing automation). | 2. Measurable: The desired increase (10%) is a clear metric, and the timeframe (6 months) allows for progress tracking. | 3. Achievable: A 10% increase is possible based on historical data and potential improvements. | 4. Relevant: Boosting sales from marketing efforts aligns with overall business objectives. | 5. Time-bound: The 6-month timeframe creates urgency and a clear target date. |
Actions | Step 1: Refine lead qualification criteria to ensure high-quality leads are nurtured through marketing automation. | Step 2: Personalize marketing automation campaigns based on lead demographics, interests, and behavior. | Step 3: Develop targeted landing pages with clear calls to action for qualified leads. | Step 4: Implement lead scoring to prioritize high-potential leads for sales follow-up. | Step 5: Track and analyze campaign performance to identify areas for optimization. |
Outcomes | Increased sales and revenue | Improved marketing automation ROI | Marketing and sales alignment | Data-driven marketing optimization |