Cold Emailing

Techniques to get e-commerce clients with cold outreach [Cold Email Teardown]

Lilibeth Acuna
LAST UPDATED
January 18, 2024
READING TIME
7 min.

Targeting wide industry, such as e-commerce, has its perks - a booming market, with global reach, and stable business models.

However, the competition level is insanely high and their needs may vary depending on their specialty.

Crafting personalized pitches for such a varied audience is a must.

So, how do you create a cold email that resonates and converts?

Let’s learn from Bill, CEO of Sales Captain, would improve a cold email for this target for more replies!

How can you help your e-commerce?

First of all, in order to be able to reach your e-commerce clients more directly, you’ll need to understand their pain points and needs.

If you randomly sell one of your best products, it may or may not coincide with what your client needs.

Dig into potential client’s website’s and do your research.

How can you help them? What can you do that will increase their revenue?

Include personalized videos and images

Bear in mind your e-commerce clients want to see upfront what you’re capable of doing.

Sending a short simple text email may be effective, but think about how a highly personalized video could attract your client’s attention…

Instantly they will know that you know what you’re doing and they’ll be hooked.

Tackle their pain points

A very typical issue that e-commerce clients want to solve is speed in their websites.

Do your research, and when you approach your clients, make sure you’ve spotted a way to make their website faster or clearer.

Ease of use

You want your clients to feel comfortable with you and that you’re making their life easier, not harder.

So in your first cold email, make sure you’re not using confusing language or you’re not adding too many questions or CTAs.

Keep your email simple, actionable, and engaging.

Add social proof

Perhaps you’ve designed another client’s website and it was very successful. That can be your leading example.

Include a link that will showcase your services and more importantly, your client’s reviews.E-commerce clients want to know that you are a surefire way of getting them closer to their goals.

Cold email mistakes to avoid if you want to book more meetings

Here's a networking cold email targeting e-commerce companies with MRR from 50k-100k 👇

Here's what stops prospects from replying to this cold email:

Mistake #1 → Length is too long

A person who has approximately 30 mins per day to go through their inbox is unlikely to spend 5 minutes only on yours. Try to keep it short and scannable, showcasing the value right off the bat.

Mistake #2 → It’s too salesy

The email pitch talks about the sender instead of focusing on the prospect and their pain points. People don’t like to listen about you, but about how you can help specifically them.

Mistake #3 → Lacks industry specificity

Instead of focusing on e-commerce which is a pretty wide term, you can choose prospects’ niche which will make your email way more personal and relatable.

Mistake #4 → Not addressing a specific persona

Targeting different roles in the company will require highlighting their different pain points and goals. If you’re addressing everybody, you’re likely to end up talking with nobody.

Mistake #5 → It’s self-focused

Instead of presenting yourself and your company, try confirming your prospects’ pain points and interests. By focusing on your prospects’ you show you did the proper research and you understand how to help them.

Mistake #6 → No location-based personalization

Instead of mentioning social proof that is recognized worldwide, try talking about a brand specific to your leads’ area. This makes your solution more relatable!

Mistake #7 → Lack of urgency

There should always be specific action in your cold email that needs to be taken as soon as possible.

You can push a sense of urgency by highlighting the pain points and negative outcomes if they aren’t fixed promptly.

Mistake #8 → No clear next step

“Hitting a reply” doesn’t provide much visibility on what comes next. Instead, remove the friction and tell your prospects exactly what needs to be done to get the value.

Mistake #9 → Unnecessary fluff

You should always re-read your email after writing it down to remove the filler words.

They will only make your email look longer without adding value, which pushes your leads away from reading and replying.

How to write a cold email for a high conversion rate

Here’s how Bill would rewrite this cold email to help you sign more deals with e-commerce businesses 👇

What tips can you replicate from this email for more replies?

Tip #1 → Keep it 50 words long

Go straight to the point, and avoid fluff.

This will help your target audience scan your cold email quickly and give them a reason to read the rest of it.

Tip #2 → Use a conversational tone

Instead of sounding salesy, try sounding like a friend who is trying to help.

This will help you build relationships with your leads and make a solid ground for later sales.

Tip #3 → Target specific pain point

By focusing on the specific pain point, you can mention needs, goals, and social proof that are highly relatable to it.

This will prove your email wasn’t generic and sent in bulk but written specifically for that prospect.

Tip #4 → Not pushy yet clear CTA

“Should we talk more” requires a simple “yes” or “no” answer.

This removes friction for your leads of not knowing what to reply when you just ask them to “hit a reply”.

Cold email template to replicate for more replies

Hi {{firstName},

{{icebreaker}}.

So I saw your recent post concerning email delivery rates - tough stuff, huh? Are you constantly battling to keep ahead of spam filters?

{{NameDropClient}}’s increased IPR by 2x, and email revenue also grew +209% in the first three months with us.

Should we talk more?

{{signature}}

Key Takeaways

Here are Bill's tips for crafting cold emails that resonate with e-commerce companies and drive replies:

  • Keep the email concise, aiming for around 50 words, and avoid unnecessary fluff
  • Adopt a conversational tone, with a friendly and helpful vibe
  • Address a specific pain point relevant to the prospect, avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach
  • Use a clear, non-pushy CTA

You can watch Bill's full cold email teardown here!

PS: Want more tips? Request outbound experts to review your cold emails here.

Lilibeth Acuna
Partnerships Manager @lempire | Connecting type A outbound players 🪄
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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
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
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
Table
CDP Software
CRM Software
Approach
Data-centric
Customer-centric
Focus
Interactions across various channels and touchpoints, both online and offline.
Sales, marketing, and customer service interactions.
Functionality
Automatically collects, organizes, tags, and makes data available in real-time.
Helps businesses track customer interactions, sales pipelines, prospects, and service requests.
Goals
Personalized customer experiences across all channels.
Better customer relationships, streamlined processes, and improved profitability.
Benefits
Data integration, management, and accessibility, allowing for detailed analysis and segmentation.
Better communication within teams and with customers by organizing information about customer interactions and history.
Data Handling
Handles both identified and anonymous data, stitches together various data points.
Deals primarily with identified customer data.
Use Cases
Personalized marketing campaigns, targeted advertising, content customization across multiple channels.
Managing campaigns and leads, enhancing customer service, providing better customer support, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Examples
Insider, Bloomreach, Salesforce Marketing Cloud CDP
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
square-check
Custom fields
Basic needs
Not enough info about the free plan
3. Agile CRM
square-check
Deal and sales pipeline tracking
Small teams
Up to 10 users
4. Zoho CRM
square-check
Lead and contact management
Businesses of all sizes
Limited to 3 users
5. ClickUp
square-check
Unlimited tasks and unlimited members
Personal use
Up to 100MB storage
6. EngageBay
square-check
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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