Cold Emailing

Email sequence examples : 3 emails that generate leads

lemlist team
LAST UPDATED
April 10, 2024
READING TIME
7 min.

We'll focus on outbound sales sequences that will help you conquer lead generation. We've already shared the best cold emails, copywriting tips, follow-ups, and cool templates from our clients. But today I'd love to show you full email sequences examples.

What is an email sequence?

Email sequence is a chain of emails sent based on pre-set time intervals or trigger-based automations (or both).

In simpler terms, you get to send X amount of emails to your prospect on autopilot, without having to do it manually.

There are 2 major categories in which we can divide them:

  • sales email sequences - cold email campaigns to generate leads and sales calls
  • marketing email sequences - sent to nurture leads with some content involved

Obviously, we'll focus on sales email sequences in this article...

I've been running quite a few of them in the past months.

So without further ado, let's talk examples now.

Email sequence example by Nadja

This a great cold email sequence by Nadja that generated 80+ leads for our team.

  • Target audience were startups who recently raised capital
  • The objective was to generate qualified leads
  • And here are the results...
email sequence

Here's the first email in her sequence:

sales email sequence

Let's highlight the key things that brought Nadja success:

  • Relevant subject line. If you've just raised money and somebody cold emails you with a "You're funded - now it's on you" subject line, chances are you'll open this message
  • Intro line. It's fun, unusual and personalized. It breaks the "ice" between you and your prospect, and serves as a hook so that they keep reading your email
  • Personalized image. Funny, it's relevant and personalized. Ultimately, it's the first thing people notice and they'll see their head on Tony Stark making it rain. Not bad! :)
  • Great story. On her previous job, Nadja helped raise $15M Series A round, so she can relate to it in a genuine way
  • Call to action. It's not as pushy. Which is great for building relationships first.
  • A/B testing. Nadja run a split test on the first email in the sequence and I recommend you do this as well

Although this is a cool first cold email, you want to add follow-ups to the mix.

The first follow-up was sent with the same subject line so it appeared under the same thread:

Pro tip: In lemlist, keep your follow-up subject lines empty if you want to send all the emails under the same thread.
follow up email

Points to highlight:

  • Intro line. The first part of the email shows a bit more about Nadja. She shares her relevant experience again, so that prospects can relate
  • Funny image. B2B shouldn't be "boring" - never 😂
  • Closure. The final step is a great argument on why they should give Nadja a call

The second follow-up was sent 5 days after the second email... if they didn't respond to any of the first two emails, of course.

second follow up email

In this follow-up, she sends our case study featuring Zendesk that could potentially inspire the prospect's next campaign.

Finally, the last message in this sequence. It was sent one day after the previous follow-up:

follow up email template

And again:

  • Personalized image. Creates a "wow" effect for the prospects 😲
  • CTA. Nadja pitches the reasons why it's cool to connect

This email sequence not only generated leads for lemlist, but also helped Nadja to build warm relationships with prospects.

Email sequence example by Zelie

The next 2-email sequence comes from France. 🥐

This is a sharp campaign by Zelie which gave her 40 demo calls from 130 people that were contacted in total. But I'll tell you, it's informal, friendly and too cool.

  • Target audience were sales people and business development specialists
  • The objective was the same - generate leads
  • Here are the results...

Before sending this email sequence, Zelie contacted them via LinkedIn in order to warm up the audience with this template:

sales email sequence

Here is the actual text if you want to use it:

Hello {{firstName}},
I don't know what you think about it but in view of the current context I find that no one exchanges any more and I find that a shame!
Being myself dev biz I would like to exchange with other dev biz about my work at lemlist as well as what you do at {{companyName}}.
Would you be available for a
virtual coffee?

After that's done, Zelie sends two follow-up emails, with the first being.

sales email sequence

When people click on the image, they'll be redirected to a dynamic landing page with a personalized text and logo. Plus, there was an easy option to book a call too.

dynamic landing page

I can't add this video here, because it's in French. 🇫🇷

But in a nutshell, Zelie explains why it's cool to have a quick coffee chat about sales... in 17 seconds. I mean you have to love these videos.

Recommended read: Make personalized videos in your emails

Points to highlight:

  • Connect on LinkedIn. Zelie used a multi-channel outreach to warm up the audience on different platforms. This is a good idea if you want to gain more followers on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and just about any other social network.
  • Personalized video. If someone records a video for you - you'll check it out. This is what you can scale with lemlist.

The next email was too cool for school.

sales email sequence

Zelie followed up with a personalized image. For those who don't know French, the text on the image means: "gin for FirstName".

Points to highlight:

  • A simple follow-up. Just a reminder, nothing else
  • Sales humor is okay. It's a cool thing to use in your email sequences

Email sequence example by Anaëlle

The last but not least, a cold email sequence example that generated 50 leads. It's the 3-step email sequence by Anaëlle.

  • Target audience were social media agencies
  • The objective was to network and build partnerships
  • And here are the results...
networking email sequence

Let's dive deeper into templates:

networking email sequence

The {{icebreaker}} tag puts a unique text for every prospect. Anaëlle did her homework and wrote sentences that are unique for each individual. This is what moves personalization to the next level. 🔥

People want to read tailored-made emails just for them.

Here are a few cool things to highlight:

  • Personalization. Recipients will never feel like it's an automated message
  • Authentic writing style. This is 100% Anaëlle. Every word, every statement, type of jokes... making it authentic to the way she speaks too
  • Funny "PS" part. Rarely does someone do that, so it's a great thing to add

First follow-up email that fires off 3 days after the initial email... of course, if people didn't reply to it.

networking email sequence

And again, it's her style that makes it work. They are different and make you feel good after reading it. Which is the whole point anyway.

  • Personalization. Personalized coffee template always catches attention 😉
  • Value first. You don't need to pitch to have a call with you before you bring some value first

And let's come to the final message in this email sequence example:

That's just a kind and friendly follow-up, a way to close your sequence. All emails performed really well:

  • 1st email generated 36 calls
  • 2d email generated 20 calls
  • 3d email generated 8 calls

[Checklist] Create your email sequence

You saw cool email sequence examples and it's time to create your own campaign!

To help you create your cold email sequence both efficiently and effectively, I've prepared this quick checklist to guide you through the process... should you need it of course.

Step 1: Prepare your email account

In order to avoid SPAM, you need to lay out the groundwork. This means setting up these:

  1. Set up your email profile correctly
  2. Set up SPF and DKIM
  3. Start the email warm-up with lemwarm

Step 2: Identify your target audience and their emails

Now we need to find people you'd reach out to:

  1. Find your buyer persona
  2. Find anyone's email
  3. Connect with LinkedIn prospects via cold email
  4. Verify email addresses to avoid bounce rate
lemlist

Step 3: Start creating your outbound sales sequence

  1. Create a custom domain for your outreach tool
  2. Write perfect cold emails
  3. Prepare cool subject line and intro sentences
  4. Personalize your emails with text, images, and videos

And if you need inspiration, you will enjoy these cold email templates.

lemlist

Summary

Today I shared with you 3 cool cold email sequences. Real examples, with all the steps Nadja, Zelie and Anaëlle used to schedule calls.

My advice?

Don't just copy them, but borrow the winning formula. Adapt it to the way you and your audience speak and think, and keep testing until you find what works and what doesn't.

Authenticity is the only thing nobody can ever take away from you. :)

Hope the article was helpful!

lemlist team
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Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes
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Companies with complex sales structures
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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
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Powerful automation
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Companies with scalable needs
Automated Commission Calculations
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ERP vs. CRM
ERP
CRM
Summary
Backbone of a business's internal operations.
Backbone of customer-centric interactions and operations.
Goal
To centralize and streamline core business processes in a company.
To increase customer experience, satisfaction and loyalty, and boost sales.
Focus
Internal operations and processes across departments (finance, accounting, inventory, supply chain, HR, and sales).
All interactions with leads and customers.
Manages
Internal business data like financial data, inventory levels, production details, supply chain, HR info.
All customer data like contact info, purchase history, communication history, customer preferences and more.
Users
Finance, accounting, operations, supply chain, and HR departments.
Customer-facing teams like sales, marketing, and customer service.
Benefits
Streamlines operations, improves data accuracy, enhances decision-making, boosts collaboration, increases productivity.
Improves customer relationships, increases sales, strengthens customer service, personalizes marketing campaigns, provides insights.
Price
$150 per user per year on average.
$10 to $30 per user per month on average.
PRM Tool
Rating
Feature
Pro
Con
Mobile App
Integrations
Free Plan
Pricing
4.65
star
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star-half
Org-wide alignment
User-friendly layout and database
Suboptimal as a personal CRM
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Lack of tracking system
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Team: $20/month
Business: $45/month
4.7
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Social Media Integration
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Lack of tracking system
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7-day trial
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Block Functions
High customization capability
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Limited
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Plus: €7.50/month
Business: €14/month
N/A
Open-source
Open-source flexibility
Requires extensive manual input
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Limited
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Self-hosted
$9/month or
$90/year
3.1
star
star
star
Simple iOS app
Ideal for non-tech-savvy users
iPhone only
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iOS only
Limited
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1-month trial
$1.49/month or
$14.99/month
3.6
star
star
star
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Smart Contact Management
Feature-rich and flexible
Reported bugs
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Rich
square-xmark
7-day trial
Premium: $13.99/month
Teams: $17.99/month
4.4
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Customizable Interface
Customizable for teamwork
Pricey for personal use
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Rich
square-xmark
Standard: $24/member
Premium: $39/member
4.7
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Integrated Calling
Integrated Calling
Too sales-oriented & pricey
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Rich
square-xmark
14-day trial
Startup: $59/user/month
Professional: $329/user/month
4.8
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star
star
star
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Business Card Scanning
Business Card Scanning
Mobile only
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Limited
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$9.99/month
4.45
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160+ app integrations
Comprehensive integrations
No free app version
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Rich
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14-day trial
$29.90/month or
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14-day
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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
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square-xmark
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Limited to 3 users
Comprehensive incentive management
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Small-medium businesses and automation
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14-day
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Sales teams and ease of use
4.1
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star
star
star
square-xmark
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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.
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Step 1: Refine lead qualification criteria to ensure high-quality leads are nurtured through marketing automation.
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Increased sales and revenue
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Table
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CRM Software
Approach
Data-centric
Customer-centric
Focus
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Sales, marketing, and customer service interactions.
Functionality
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HubSpot, Salesforce Sales Cloud Lightning Professional, and Zoho CRM
CRM
Free plan
Best feature
Best for
Con
1. HubSpot CRM
square-check
Sales automation
Sales teams
Up to 1,000 contacts
2. Insightly
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Custom fields
Basic needs
Not enough info about the free plan
3. Agile CRM
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Deal and sales pipeline tracking
Small teams
Up to 10 users
4. Zoho CRM
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Lead and contact management
Businesses of all sizes
Limited to 3 users
5. ClickUp
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Unlimited tasks and unlimited members
Personal use
Up to 100MB storage
6. EngageBay
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Live chat
Small and midsize enterprises
Up to 1,000 branded emails per month
7. Bitrix24
square-check
Unlimited users and 5 scrum teams
Big teams
Up to 5GB of cloud storage
8. FreshSales
square-check
Easy to use and simple setup
Beginners
Up to 3 users
9. Mailchimp
square-check
Very beginner friendly
Marketing teams
Send up to 500 branded emails per month
Type of Affiliate Marketing
Unattached
Related
Involved
Format
Paid advertising
Social media or YouTube channels
Dedicated website or blog
Focus
Quick income
Your niche
Your audience
Engagement with your audience
square-xmark
square-check
square-check
square-check
square-check
Very close connection with your audience
Pro
Little effort
Higher credibility thanks to your niche
Long-lasting and scalable
Con
Paid ads cost a lot
Potential for bias since you don’t use the thing you promote
Require time, effort, and dedication

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