⏰ waking the inbox

Turn your email messages sent worth opening

Aaron Reeves outlines a cold email system that helped him secure 147 meetings built around precision, not volume. Close deals by providing value through responses:

Understand who you're targeting

Before writing a single email, get clear on who actually converts.

→ Review latest meetings:

Who booked them? What were they trying to fix?

→ Identify patterns in various job titles, pain points, buying attitude.

↳ For example:

“Maybe VPs of Sales book the first call 80% of the time, then bring in the CRO.”

That tells you exactly where to begin now.

If you skip this step, you're just guessing.

Write better first email sequences

Your first email should connect relevance to pain.

✱ Relevance = Why them? Why now? 

Anchor with business trigger:

• Job change

• Open roles

• Company news

✱ Pain = A specific problem with direct cost of inaction

If you're selling to execs, don’t just name a pain: show what ignoring costs them.

They already know what’s broken in their system.

Your job is to make them care enough to act on it.

❌ Don’t just say: “You’re likely currently facing X problem.”

✔ Do say: “If [X] continues, you’ll see [specific KPI] suffer.”

Following up prospects the right way

⇒ Following up isn’t about begging.

⇒ It’s about bringing value for them.

There are different kinds of follow-up:

➤ Value-based: Send something helpful (case study, blog, resource) improving their current workflows.

➤ Bump email: Reference the original message and establish it back to context.

Example: “Given [open role], thought it made sense to circle back…”

➤ Final ask: Keep it low-friction. Instead of one last pitch, ask for a quick referral.

Example: “Happy to get out of your inbox. Is there someone else this is more relevant for?”

Every message should earn its rightful spot on their inbox.

Write your email responses in a personal manner

Olaf Lesniak gives a tactical breakdown of what separates ignored cold emails from the legitimate ones that always get responses by correctly tapping your prospects :

Begin with a great subject line

91% of cold emails go unread while most die in the subject line.

✱ Make it attention-grabbing

✱ Keep it direct and relevant

✱ Build curiosity without misleading

Example that worked:

→ “John referred me to you”

↳ This resulted in a 65% open rate because it promised a story and delivered on the body.

If the subject line doesn’t match your email, you lose trust immediately.

Connect subject line to openers

Your first sentence must pick up where the subject left off.

➤ Refer to the same person, events, or insights

➤ Make your intro about them, not your product

➤ Keep focus on their situation, not your pitch

Example opener:

→ “I was just talking with John at the event, and your name came up when we discussed [problem].”

This instantly sets relevance and makes it personal for them

Deliver your value in the body

When opened, your email has to prove it's worth their time.

❖ Keep replies direct, and straightforward

❖ Focus directly on their business challenges

❖ Explain how you’ve helped similar people

Don’t explain the features present on it.

Talk about specific results to problems.

⇢ “We recently worked with a company like yours to reduce [problem] by 30%.”

It must feel like a helpful suggestion, not a generic broadcast.

End with low-friction call to action

Don’t ask for time right away — question for interest.

✔ Keep it direct and short

✔ Reduces the mental effort

✔ Makes next step feel easy

Better than “Book a call”:

“Reply ‘yes’ if you’re open to more info — I’ll send details.”

This makes it effortless to raise a hand.

Personalize them with human touch

Automated doesn’t have to feel robotic.

↳ Avoid formal tone when messaging

↳ Acknowledge the reader’s challenges

↳ Show empathy for their time and role

Skip those usual AI-drafted fluff.

Take your time to make it feel real.

Your cold email should feel like it’s written for the prospect, not for your pipeline.

Cold emailing responses for better prospecting

Aaron Margolis breaks down prospecting emails into four clear “zones” that make or break whether your message gets read or trashed instantly by your prospects:

Zone 1: Subject line

Most reps lose the battle at the subject line.

Too boring, too aggressive, or too self-serving? Delete.

⇒ Keep things action-oriented and curiosity-driven

Examples:

↳ “This might help your approach to outbound…”

↳ “35-sec video – how [company] saved time doing X”

✘ Don’t overpromise things

✘ Don’t make it about you

If your emails don’t get opened, nothing else matters.

Zone 2: First sentence

This is where most of your emails fall apart.

Avoid leading with “we” or pitching your solution too early.

Instead:

✔ Make your discussion revolve around your client and their problems

✔ Anchor to something genuine: either projects, or role-specific challenge

The first line must say: I completely get your world.

If your responses smells like a template, it’s totally game over for you.

Zone 3: The body email

Keep it short and simple

➤ Be clear on your intentions

➤ Be direct with your purpose

➤ Avoid rambling to clients

Every word should help them know that you understand their pain — and that you might just have something that’s worthy of exploring.

No overexplaining, no long introductions. Just what’s important

Zone 4: Call to Action

Don’t bury the question instantly.

Focus on possibility towards action.

End with a simple, focused CTA aligning with their problems:

❖ “I’m recommending we meet this week to go over [specific issue].”

❖ “Are you open to connecting for 15 mins? What’s your schedule next week?”

This isn’t your room for pitching — it’s to begin a real conversation.

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