3 Hilarious Email Sequences We Run With a 6%-70% Conversion Rate
If you’re a B2B SaaS, you KNOW outbound marketing is super difficult and discouraging.
People are being spammed on LinkedIn and email every day, and the value of each of those messages get’s lower and lower as time moves on.
For outbound to still work in this saturated market, you’ve got to be smart with your outreach.
If you’ve ever sent a LinkedIn connection or follow up message with a pitch, cold email, or a DM anywhere on social and didn’t get any calls from it, it’s not your fault.
In B2B SaaS, everyone sells the “tools” like automation softwares, integrations, etc. and confirms THAT is what you need to land demos.
But no one focuses on WHAT to say.
Who cares right? It’s only the most important part of the entire campaign lol
Pay attention if you are a:
-B2B SaaS founder who has failed with outbound email sequences in the past and wants to actually land demos
-B2B SaaS founder who wants to leverage an unfairly-profitable acquisition stream
To make cold emails yield a 6%-70% conversion-to-demo rate, you need to become an outbound engineer and carefully design and build a cadence with a clear storyline, unique angle, and automated contingencies
The only method of implementing this effectively is consulting a firm who’s focuses 100% of their time on this subject, or having the founder spend years mastering humor, creativity and psychology.
Who else is using this?
[Waylan] - 5X'd Monthly Revenue in 90 Days with 0 Sales Reps
[SQUAVA] - 6X'd Demo Output in 90 Days,10X ROI
[V.One] - 4X'd Demo Output in 60 Days
[Boostopia] - 64 Opportunities in 60 Days, 5-Figure Pipeline
[Rhondre Giscombe] - 2X'd Demo Output in 30 Days, Filling Calendars for 5 Sales Reps
[IT Risk Managers] - 4X'd Lead Output in 30 days
[Alex Diep] - Closed $7,800 in 30 Days
[Pristine Ledgers] - 344 Leads in 30 Days
[IKAN] - 334 Leads in 30 Days
[WeWyll] - 20% Booking Rate with 1 Cold Email in 6 Weeks
[Sergio] - Complex Outreach Funnel Booking Demos in 2 Weeks
Who are we, why are we doing this?
We’re an outbound marketing consulting firm who’s put 100% of our time on mastering modern outbound marketing and applying what we’ve found that works to the market.
Some of our clients have been featured in TechCrunch, Yahoo and Entrepreneur.com
With that out of the way, let’s get into the 3 hilarious email sequences we run with a 6%-70% conversion rate
Sequence 1 - The Multi-Channel Ego-Boost With Convincing Proof and a Low-Barrier Ask
*to ensure the privacy of our clients, we have placed “[redacted]” in the areas of the sequence that reveal sensitive information about our clients or their prospects
Before this client worked with us, he was sitting at about a 1%-2% conversion rate for cold email using another agency. After implementing the copy and system we built for him, he jumped to a 6% conversion rate on cold email. The picture above was just a snapshot after 368 prospects went through.
How did he do it? Well let’s take a look at the copy.
Phase #1 - LinkedIn Campaign
So first we send out this connection message:
“can I ask you something?”
If anyone connects to this message (or if they connect and say “sure/what's your question?” we hit them with this:
“you all are on our short list for [redacted]. we’re quickly surveying and compiling the results of this one question for our meeting next week:
how much of your [redacted] was a direct result of [redacted]?
could you answer this question?
also, would you like me to follow up with you with the results?
p.s thanks for accepting the connect request :-)
-Name”
Then if they don’t respond, we send our last LinkedIn message:
“hey hope you’re well, I didn’t want to bug you, but ive got this deadline in a couple days to get the answers to the survey question above.
If you can take a quick second to reply It would really help me out
what percentage of [redacted] came from [redacted]?”
I know right? Seems simple and unprofessional.
And our connect rate was a bit low at 19%, but we had a 53% reply rate (dude what?!).
This is where it gets fun:
The LinkedIn campaign was NOT meant to close these prospects, it was meant to warm them up.
You see we already have all of their emails and information. If they decided to answer our LinkedIn sequence, that's great, they'll build more rapport with us before we hit them with a pitch later. But if they don't, we're still gonna hit 'em later.
This makes our “decent” connect rate of 19% almost irrelevant, and our 53% reply rate awesome.
It means when someone commits to answering us, they’re engaged.
Well that’s great, but now what? How do you convert them? Email Followup
Phase #2 - Cold Email Campaign
So now let’s go over the fun part of this cadence. I personally laughed out loud with my client as we pieced this together because of how crazy detailed it was, and that’s why I wanted to share it.
First we send them this email, which does 90% of the work:
Subject Line: Tom referred me to you
“Hey {{firstName}},
One of our team members was really interested in {{companyName}} during our weekly [redacted] meeting. *see thread below*
We regularly look at [redacted] to companies we are already working with who could benefit from our [redacted].
I agree with Tom that you guys would be a great candidate for our [redacted] because you’re growing, and therefore ready to [redacted].
In this [redacted], we would discuss [redacted]
Would that interest you {{firstName}}? If so, just reply to this email and we can set it up.
Greg Loggins
Co-founder #1
-------On Tue, Jul 28, 2020 at 4:20 PM Greg Loggins <greg@youremail.com> wrote:
np, they qualify for the [redacted] we did for [redacted]
randomly saw someone mention {{companyName}} on linkedin recently and took a look at the team, I believe {{firstName}} {{lastName}} would be our best point person.
(even though their [redacted], it looks like they have at least [redacted]. so they’re
definitely not too small to get value from the [redacted])
will let you know when we coordinate to start so you can get it in the [redacted] que.
-------On Tue, Jul 28, 2020 at 4:19 PM Tom Jenkins <Tom@youremail.com> wrote:
hey Greg,
thanks for the rundown earlier today in our ‘[redacted]’ meeting
{{companyName}} caught my eye when you were discussing those [redacted] they are making on [redacted].
I took a screenshot of our meeting so we didn’t forget (you know how my memory is):
do you think you could reach out to them and offer the [redacted]?
I am backed up with all the other [redacted] the rest of this week and won’t have time.
lmk
--
Tom Jenkins
Co-founder #2
--
Greg Loggins
Co-founder #1”
We’ve got a bit to cover here so let’s get started
If you read carefully, you can see the story line is this:
Tom Jenkins, one of the co-founders “emails” Greg the other co-founder asking to offer the prospects a free asset/offer.
Tom and Greg and other team members already talked about the prospect on their weekly meeting whose subject is an ego-boost to the prospect in itself.
On top of that, we have simulated proof of the meeting occurring on zoom, a website screenshot variable in place, and the people on the call who are mentioned in the email.
So we sent it to Greg, and what does Greg do? He responds very casually (almost like an internal email or slack message) about why he thinks it’s a good idea and why they qualify, and ensures he will reach out to them.
He even offers an assumptive close at the end of that email.
He then attaches the existing email thread to his new email, and this one we are sending to the prospect.
He explains to the prospect what happened at the meeting, why he’s reaching out, how the prospect qualifies for the free offer, and a bit more about the free offer as well.
So now the prospect is thinking “This company found us, talked about us in a meeting, talked about us over internal email, and is now reaching out on top of that to offer me something valuable and free? Yeah, let’s do this”
And understand, if this prospect already replied in any way over LinkedIn (which was a completely unrelated ask) the fact they talked to us put a face to the name and increased the conversion over email.
It doesn’t stop there.
We then send this followup 2 hours later
“Sorry I forgot this in the last email so you can take a look
Link
Greg”
So now we’ve got a super casual looking followup that enhances the “this isn’t automated” vibe we’re implementing on this. Builds more rapport because it shows a mistake.
And this link provides the prospect with more information, which builds more trust, something we’re attempting to do on a cold prospect
After that, pretty simple, we have a 2 day followup of:
“{{firstName}}, did you get my last email? Thought you would find value in our [redacted] since you’re a [redacted] and all.
Tom wanted me to ping you again since we’ve only got 2 spots left for this month.
Just to refresh, this is a [redacted] where we give you [redacted]
Would you be interested in this {{firstName}}? If so, just reply and we can set something up.”
-Greg
So what’s the point in this? We want to push a followup for:
-People who didn’t see the original message
-People who are almost over the line but not yet
-People who dropped off because life got in the way
So we present the same offer, but word it slightly differently, so the email doesn’t need the original messages to “sell”, the juice is right in this email.
And finally, our breakup followup email 3 days after that:
“{{firstName}}, last ping here. We reached out earlier about [redacted] that will show you [redacted] (what?! I know it’s crazy)
We’re booked for the rest of the month but I can schedule you guys for next month.
Would you be interested in this {{firstName}}?
Again, we go over [redacted]
Just reply and we can set something up.
Greg”
So we’ve ratcheted up the urgency by saying there’s no more spots left this month, we introduce the breakup by saying this is the last followup (so last chance to hop on the ship).
And lastly, although it’s redacted, we explain the offer in simpler terms and say “I know it's crazy” to hype them up. Here’s an example of what you could do in this case to help clarify the offer.
Original Offer: Free Growth Audit Covering LinkedIn and Email
What you would say on this email: Free Call That’ll Make You Revenue in 14 Days from Social
So you’re re-wording it to more direct-result terms, and presenting in a different way.
To recap, these were the results snapshot at the time:
81% open rate, 20% click rate, 21% reply rate, 6% conversion rate
Is it perfect? No lol, you’ll get replies “nice try” “unsubscribe” “clever but no”
That’s what outbound is about guys haha. You’re not pleasing everybody, you’re quickly, affordably and efficiently getting demos booked fast
Sequence 2 - The Humor that Makes Me Forget It’s Cold with a Harmless Offer
So here at Waylan, we wanted to make an industry report for B2B SaaS. This is useful for: other founders, people wanting to create SaaS ideas and need problems to solve, and for us to better understand our market even deeper.
With this unique angle we took, you’ll see we got a 6% conversion rate, and booked 13 interviews after just 2 weeks (because we ran this at only 30 leads/day). If we ran 500/day, this would have happened in a few days.
Let’s take a look at the copy.
It’s actually really simple, we did two emails. The first one did most of the work, the second was a re-entrance of the offer and also allowed a point to the original email to make sure they saw the original humor.
Here’s the first email:
Subject Line: {{firstName}} you're on my fridge lol
“{{firstName}} I've been meaning to email you! I literally wrote it on my fridge
co-founder and I are compiling a super detailed report on B2B SaaS trends in the U.S and are in need of 12 more B2B SaaS founders to interview.
Could I grab 30-45 minutes of your time to ask you some questions? I'll be happy to throw you a $20 gift card of your choosing + early access to the report for your trouble.
let me know,
Joe
{{signature}}”
So right off the bat, this is a cold email, so we need a solid subject line.
Our market was early-mid stage SaaS founders, who are normally younger, so we hit them with a casual subject line.
We then get right to the point and introduce our humor with some realistic personalization.
“been meaning to email you! I literally wrote it on my fridge” is like me saying “I want to prove to you that you’ve been on my radar for a while because I revere you and your company”
Then we’ve got custom variables on our image of the prospects name and company name to assemble a unique angle that they were on my “to-do list”
So now, given I’m using Lemlist, I’ve been able to personalize the image at scale and have it look like I wrote the prospects information on my actual list, appearing much more personal.
I then throw in “shave” and “pick up dry cleaners” to add a bit of humor, and position the words differently and with a different color to stress the “this is my handwriting” point.
I then throw in some background about why I’m emailing the prospect with some lowercase letters for casual flavor, and attach the pitch to get them on an interview.
If they don’t respond, I hit them with this 2 days later:
“{{firstName}}, how are you? pinging about my last email, would love to get your insights on our 2020 B2B SaaS Insights Report.
Just need 30-45 minutes of your time, will throw you a $20 gift card of your choosing + early access to the report for your trouble.
Let me know if you'd be down for that.
Joe P.
{{signature}}”
So I point to the last message (because I want them to see the image, (that way they convert) but also re-sum up the CTA with casual writing to have it seem like I'm individually following up with people.
To recap, these were the results snapshot at the time:
70% open rate, 8% click rate, 11% reply rate, 6% conversion rate
Sequence 3 - The “I’m Special because I was Accepted and am Pumped to Move Forward”
So when you run a SaaS, and you’re booking demos, you always want to qualify. An application is a great way to do this.
The problem is, once the application is submitted, they still have to book the demo. We don’t want them to fall off.
After implementing this campaign, which emails prospects after they successfully completed the application, and replacing the old system (intro call, manually book demos), we had a 70%, automated conversion rate. The picture above was just a snapshot after 18 prospects went through it.
Let’s take a look at the copy:
Subject Line: [Application Received] - {CompanyName}
“Thanks for submitting your application, you're OFFICIALLY added to our wall!
My team will get back to you soon, but for now, I just wanted to share that with you ;)
{{signature}}”
1 Day Later
Subject Line: [Application Accepted] - let's DO this!
“Congrats, your application to work with us has been accepted!
Schedule Your [redacted]
Who knows, maybe you'll join the people below? ;)
[Case Study]
[Case Study]
[Case Study]
Let's do it!
{{signature}}”
3 Days Later
“Today is a sad day
I found out you didn't schedule your demo with us yet :/
Haha I'm kidding, we're all busy people. Here's the link again:
Schedule Your [redacted] here
Excited to talk to you!
{{signature}}”
5 Days later
Subject Line: Are you really committed?
“{{firstName}}, are you committed?
I know you applied to work with us but haven't scheduled your demo yet.
The demo will show you our process, that way you can walk away from it with enough information to know if this is a good fit or not.
This will be my last email to you, here's the link again:
Schedule Your [redacted]
Hopefully we'll talk soon!
{{signature}}”
So with an application, I’m a firm believer that you need to make these submissions either
A. Actually selective.
or
B. Appear to be selective.
Making something selective draws urgency and pressure, and also incites the feelings of “I’m good enough to be considered for this special opportunity”
Which means you’ve got two options
Have prospects apply, look them over, and say “Yes” and “no” and email the good ones back to get on a call.
Have prospects apply for your services, automatically accept each one of them, and add a delay + clever copy to make it look like they’re approved
“But isn’t that, like, not cool? Isn’t that lying?”
No. Your definition for a quality lead simply needs to shift to “someone who took their time to apply”
If they’re willing to do that, they’re probably facing an urgent problem they want solved.
With that in mind, auto-accepting applications is simply a psychological tool to add positive feelings into your prospects brain.
So, we start with our “Application received email” and add some clever image personalization.
We’ve got fake names/real names on the wall written out, and then the first name variable for the prospect inserted in the next available spot on the wall.
This looks like I’m handwriting the applications, making it look more genuine and personalized.
This gets them excited that their application is being pushed through to the next step.
I then send off the “Application Accepted” email, 1 day later, where we’ve shown them “hey, you’re good enough to work with us, we’d love to hop on a demo with you.”
We also throw out some case studies, and a custom screenshot of their website homepage. Finally, we give a booking link to book their demo.
At this point, they’re excited to book, they’ve been accepted, they’ve seen social proof and case studies, and now want to learn more.
If they haven’t booked at that point, we send two more emails that point at them for not booking yet, but still casually allowing them to not feel SO pressured that they're turned off.
At the point of the follow ups, they should feel FOMO, and that they're going to miss out if they don’t book, because we just went through so much to get them in the door, and their problem simultaneously STILL exists. So...what’s stopping you from booking Mr./Mrs. Prospect?
To recap, these were the results snapshot at the time:
94% open rate, 76% click rate, 47% reply rate, 70% conversion rate
Look, if this all sounds confusing, and you’re honestly just overwhelmed with the idea of having to come up with all of these messages from scratch, it’s gonna be okay.
At Waylan, we help B2B SaaS companies 4X monthly demos in 90 days without hiring a single SDR.
Here’s a bit of our track record:
[Waylan] - 5X'd Monthly Revenue in 90 Days with 0 Sales Reps
[SQUAVA] - 6X'd Demo Output in 90 Days,10X ROI
[V.One] - 4X'd Demo Output in 60 Days
[Boostopia] - 64 Opportunities in 60 Days, 5-Figure Pipeline
[Rhondre Giscombe] - 2X'd Demo Output in 30 Days, Filling Calendars for 5 Sales Reps
[IT Risk Managers] - 4X'd Lead Output in 30 days
[Alex Diep] - Closed $7,800 in 30 Days
[Pristine Ledgers] - 344 Leads in 30 Days
[IKAN] - 334 Leads in 30 Days
[WeWyll] - 20% Booking Rate with 1 Cold Email in 6 Weeks
[Sergio] - Complex Outreach Funnel Booking Demos in 2 Weeks
Clients backed by Techstars and Launch
Clients Featured in Tech Crunch, Yahoo and Entrepreneur
If you need more help, join our free Facebook group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/outboundmastermind
If you want to know more about how to 5X your revenue with genuine outreach, you can watch our in-depth thesis video here:
https://www.waylanconsultinggroup.com/thesis