Market Research Cold Email Template
When you are looking for expensive problems to solve, there’s no one better to ask than - you guessed it! - your potential customers. But if you’re just starting out and don’t have any connections to folks in your desired target market, how do you initiate a conversation?
I know this will strike fear in your heart or hearts, but... cold emails are pretty effective for this. These are not spammy bulk emails that you send to thousands of anonymous targets! These are thoughtful, humble messages, and you will customize each one specifically for one person.
The goal of this first email is nothing more than to get a “yes/thumbs-up” reply. Once you have that, you can reply with an email intended to get a phone call scheduled.
NOTE: If your target buyer is a corporate executive, this template probably won’t work. Check out my notes on Selling to Big Companies for more info.
Template
Subject: [HIS/HER BUSINESS NAME]
Hi [HIS/HER FIRST NAME],
[SOMETHING PERSONAL AND AUTHENTIC ABOUT HIM/HER]
I’m a [DISCIPLINE] in [MY CITY] researching [HIS/HER TYPE OF BUSINESS] companies for a business I’m considering starting. You are exactly the type of business owner who I would like to serve, so my hope is that you might have time for a quick chat. Your expertise and unique perspective would help give me the confidence to make a go/no-go decision about moving forward with my idea.
As a small thank you, I’d be more than happy to share any info you might find useful from my area of expertise, which is [MY AREA OF EXPERTISE] - e.g., [THING I DID], [THING I DID], [THING I DID], and so on.
Shoot me back a yes/thumbs-up and I’ll send across a few potential times for a short 20-minute call.
Regards,
[MY FULL NAME]
P.S. Feel free to give me a call anytime at [MY NUMBER].
Example
Subject: Powderhill Ski Training
Hi Bob,
Your talk at NSAA last month was amazing! Your passion for the sport is infectious. I love skiing myself (although I haven’t done much since my 5yo was born - yikes, time flies!) Your story about that high school ski team had me dreaming of my last visit to the back bowls at Vail :)
I’m a software engineer in Providence, RI researching ski training companies for a business I’m considering starting. You are exactly the type of business owner who I would like to serve, so my hope is that you might have time for a quick chat. Your expertise and unique perpsective would help give me the confidence to make a go/no-go decision about moving forward with my idea.
As a small thank you, I’d be more than happy to share any info you might find useful from my area of expertise, which is mobile software consulting - e.g., iPhone apps, responsive web sites, mobile marketing, and so on.
Shoot me back a yes/thumbs-up and I’ll send across a few potential times for a short 20-minute call.
Regards,
[MY FULL NAME]
P.S. Feel free to give me a call anytime at (401) 952-8899.
Follow Ups
My students typically get a 10-20% immediate and positive response rate to this email. But, if you don’t hear back after a few days, here’s a sequence of follow-up messages you can send:
I just wanted to be sure you got my previous email. I hope we can talk soon!
I’m sure you’re super busy. Is there any chance we could find 15 minutes for a call this week?
Sorry to keep bugging you - I swear this is my last message :) It’d be great if you could find 15 minutes but I understand if you’re too busy.
I recommend leaving 3-5 business days between each message. If you’d like to automate this process, I’ve heard good things about QuickMail and Boomerang. If you don’t hear back after the last message, it’s time to give up.
What If They Ask For More Info?
Some respondents will respond positively but ask for more info (e.g., “What sorts of things do you want to discuss?”). In this case you should reply with something informative but not so detailed as to color the eventual discussion. IOW - beware of “leading the witness” too much because it will skew your results. Most people are nice and if they think they can tell what you want to hear, they’ll probably tell you exactly that. This is sweet but not useful :)
Here’s a possible example response: “A few of my past clients have exhibited a pattern of difficulty that I’m considering making the sole focus of a new business venture. I’m hoping your experience and expertise will help me validate my hypothesis. At a high level, my interest is to create business growth for [HIS/HER TYPE OF BUSINESS] so my questions will revolve around things related to increasing revenue, decreasing costs, maximizing capacity, streamlining workflow, etc.”
What If They Say Yes?
Eventually you’ll have a few calls scheduled. You’ll want to prepare a few questions in advance to ensure a productive talk. For example:
- If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about your business or industry, what would it be? Never mind if it’s possible... just anything.
- Is there anything that has been at the top of your to-do list forever?
- Is there anything about your business keeps you up at night?
- Is there anything on your radar that has the potential to revolutionize your industry?
Practice asking each out loud in advance. Tweak to fit your speech pattern so they sound natural. Have them on a piece of paper for easy reference.
Once you get on the line with your interviewee, I would start with typical “setting the stage” type stuff (e.g., thank them for their time, reiterate the purpose of the call, state the expected length, etc) and then ask the magic wand question without much preamble, like this:
“Ready to get started? Great! Here we go. If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about your business or industry, what would it be? Never mind if it’s possible... just anything?
If the interviewee start brain dumping, perfect! Ride the convo from there... if the conversation stalls, ask the next question on your paper. Unless the person is exceptionally laconic, odds are good that you’ll only get to two or three questions in the allotted time.
PRO TIP: Capture as much EXACT language as you can - especially if they use unusual or incorrect terms for certain things... eventually you’re going to want to use this language verbatim in your marketing to speak to the audience in their own familiar terms.
ASIDE: One thing you want to avoid is asking something that will trigger a “spy alert!” in the other person’s mind. Some industries will be more sensitive about talking to a stranger about certain topics; just use your best judgment. Start with the least sensitive questions and proceed to more sensitive as you gain rapport.
UPDATE: At the request of a few of my coaching students, I created a more concise and less labor intensive initial email that might be more appropriate if the people you are targeting are extremely busy people:
Dead-Simple Market Research Email Template