Cold email tips for finding clients for your consulting business
If you own or work for a consulting business, you’ll know that finding new clients is a major part of the game. And, in such a competitive field of work, it is important to use every single tool in your outreach arsenal.
One such tool is cold emailing. When used wisely, cold emailing allows you to connect with dozens of potential clients per day.
Of course, the challenge here is to effectively reach people with your pitch. But did you know that professionals receive over 120 emails every day on average?
This statistic underscores the need for your cold emails to be crafted in such a way that they break through the noise and make a lasting impression on your potential clients.
To help consultants navigate this daunting task, we’ve gone over several straightforward tips on mastering the art of cold emailing for client acquisition. Let’s get right into it!
Define your offer and client profile
So, before you start emailing a bunch of people, you need to get your value proposition down to a T! This means developing it in a way that clearly demonstrates why potential clients should choose to work with you in particular.
To do this, you must first have a crystal-clear understanding of what your offer is and, more importantly, how it stands out compared to other options in the market.
Another important factor is to learn what your ideal market is, i.e. what kind of companies your services are best suited for. Knowing who your ideal clients are will help you tailor your cold emailing efforts, which will, in turn, help you close more deals by reaching the most relevant pool of potential clients.
Defining your value proposition
Let’s say you are a marketing consultant aiming to secure a new client.
In order for a potential client to feel compelled by your offer, it should provide three key pieces of information right from the outset: your specialization, the measurable outcomes you can provide, and how it can be customized to fit the client’s specific requirements.
Take a look at this example of a short pitch that could be used for cold emailing:
Greetings! I specialize in data-driven marketing strategies (specialization) that have consistently helped businesses like yours increase their online visibility and sales revenue by 20% in just three months (measurable outcomes; a specific, quantifiable benefit that the potential client can expect).
I never do the same work twice — my services are tailored to each particular client (emphasis on the tailored nature of the services). I would love for a chance to present my offer to you in more detail, so that we could discuss ways I could help you reach your own business goals.
Write the perfect subject line
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Your subject line is the first thing your potential clients see in their inbox, which makes it your initial (and, too often, only) opportunity to capture their attention. To make the most of this chance, you need to write a subject line that sparks their curiosity enough to get them to actually open your email.
Using generic terms like “Consulting Services” or “Opportunity Inside” won’t cut it. Instead, pinpoint a specific benefit or solution you can provide. Consider the following examples:
Generic: “Consulting Services Offer”
versus:
Specific: “Boost Your Sales with Expert Marketing Consulting”
Curiosity-Piquing: “Unlocking Untapped Potential for Your Business”
Value-Oriented: “Increase ROI with Our Proven Consulting Strategies”
If you’re lacking ideas for intriguing subject lines, you can use an email subject line generator to help you with this.
Emphasize the benefits of your services
You got the potential client to open and start reading your email. What now?
Wow them with your pitch, of course!
Without focusing so much on wording here, the way to get started on your cold email pitch is to have a good understanding of your potential clients first. This requires detailed research to uncover their particular business challenges and requirements.
Here’s a breakdown of this approach:
- Thorough research — prior to emailing a prospect, you should learn the intricacies of their company’s operations and objectives. Those are the details that will enable you to tailor your pitch accordingly.
- Identifying challenges — once you’ve done your research, pinpoint the challenges your potential clients are experiencing.
- Customized services — with a clear understanding of all of the above, you can present your services as tailored, effective solutions. This is where you demonstrate the value of your offer by showing how it directly addresses and alleviates the client’s challenges.
Basically, although cold emails can sometimes cause you to dread the fear of rejection, sending them makes sense when you have something specific to offer. Your goal here is to reshape your general pitch so that it matches your services with the client’s actual business needs.
Personalize the Pitch
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Personalization is the name of the game for nearly every single aspect of digital marketing. And what is cold emailing if not a way to market yourself digitally to completely unknown prospects?
When done correctly, personalizing emails demonstrates that you’ve invested time in learning about your potential client (which we’ve already covered in previous sections).
To effectively personalize your email pitch, you should incorporate information like the recipient’s company, recent news they may have posted about on social media, and any specific challenges they might clearly be facing.
It’s relatively easy to find this information through their social media profiles, company websites, and news articles, and it is generally a great way to identify solid leads for your email marketing efforts.
Personalization examples
The number one personalization tip is to always address your recipient by their name to show that your message is intended for them personally, and that it isn’t just part of a mass email campaign.
Similarly, try to mention any specific details you’ve discovered during your research. This could be their company’s recent accomplishments, struggles they may have complained about, or just general industry trends that could make sense for improving business.
For example:
Hi [Name]! I saw that [Company Name] recently won the [Industry Award]. What a testament to your team’s dedication and drive!
Once you’ve set the scene like this, move on to explaining why your consulting services are particularly relevant to the recipient’s situation:
I understand you work in project management at [Company Name]. I believe my expertise in Marketing and PR can significantly contribute to spreading the word about the great work your company does and how it’s being recognized.
Then, empathize with the recipient’s challenges and express your genuine interest in helping them with those. Make it clear that your email is not just about what you can offer in a general sense, but also about your understanding of their position.
I saw your post about [challenge/pain point/struggle] and I know what a daunting obstacle it can be in this industry. I’ve worked with many people who have faced the same issue and am glad to say I helped them overcome it through [mention any specific method or tool you used during your consulting work].
Finally, drive your point home by suggesting customized solutions, rather than just mentioning what you’ve done for previous clients.
However, personalization does not start and end with your email pitch — it can and should extend to your resume. So, make sure to personalize your CV to make sure it fits the client’s scope of work and requirements.
Be human and transparent
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Personalizing your pitch with conversational, human language can truly enhance the impact of your cold email outreach. Never forget that your potential clients are not just names on a screen; always strive to appeal to their emotions and connect on a personal level to create a more meaningful impression.
Here’s what to keep in mind when finalizing your pitch:
- Empathize with their struggles. As previously mentioned, always make it a point to acknowledge the challenges or pain points your potential client is likely facing. Show empathy by demonstrating that you understand the difficulties they encounter in their industry.
Example: I understand that the rapidly changing regulatory environment in the healthcare industry can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to maintaining compliance and ensuring data security.
- Share success stories that resonate. Mention anecdotes that evoke emotion and illustrate how your services have made a difference for similar clients. Real-life success stories help potential clients visualize the positive impact your services can have on their own work.
Example: Let me share a recent success story that mirrors your situation. We worked with [Client X], a mid-sized healthcare tech firm struggling with similar compliance issues. With our tailored strategies, particularly [specific service or method], they not only achieved compliance but also witnessed a 40% increase in customer trust and retention. It was a game-changer for them.
- Employ uplifting, personal language. Strive to convey optimism in your email by using words that create a positive atmosphere and motivate the recipient to take action.
Example: Together, we can transform your challenges into opportunities and chart a course for success that will leave you feeling empowered.
According to sales and cold calling expert Josh Braun, being empathetic and human throughout your cold emailing efforts is an essential factor to making it work. “Use emotionally-charged language,” he writes. “Emotions hit differently than facts and logic.”
Remember that, while emotional appeal is potent, it should always be aligned with the recipient’s specific situation for a truly authentic and effective outreach. As Josh Braun lists in his own cold email copywriting rules, “distinguish what’s meaningfully different” and, more importantly, “never lie.”
Find clients using automation
If you’ve successfully formulated your offer and updated your CV, you can embrace automation to do the rest of the leg work for you.
LoopCV is a platform that helps you reach hundreds of potential business contacts based on your skillset and desired work locations, and it automatically applies to open job postings on your behalf. Of course, if you want to review the postings prior to applying, you can do so via the LoopCV platform and then apply manually to those that seem the most suitable to you – in just one click.
The LoopCV platform works by automatically discovering the recruiter’s email within a company and sending a customized email. You have the option to choose from predefined email templates or create your own. LoopCV will then use this email to reach out to companies seeking consultants with your profile.
LoopCV gathers data on metrics like the number of companies that opened your email, the response rate, and the level of attention received by each CV. You can conduct A/B testing with various CVs, experiment with different keywords, and leverage LoopCV as a tool to refine your job search strategy!
Test it out for yourself and learn why over 50,000 professionals trust LoopCV with their job search.
Takeaway
Cold email outreach is both a science and an art, and success may not be immediate. It’s a journey of constant improvement and fine-tuning your approach to resonate with your potential client base.
The key is to remain persistent while always respecting the boundaries of your potential clients. This will not only help you form initial connections, but also build lasting relationships.
It’s your turn to put these cold email tips into practice, and as you do, remember that every successful consultant was once a novice navigating the path to client acquisition!
Author
Nina Petrov is a content marketing specialist, passionate about graphic design, content marketing, and the new generation of green and social businesses. She starts the day scrolling her digest on new digital trends while sipping a cup of coffee with milk and sugar. Her white little bunny tends to reply to your emails when she is on vacation.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nina-petrov/