The Email That Gets a Response

You've received them. You've probably received 30 today.

Messages from business development reps, cold outreach bots, LinkedIn strangers all urging you to try something new, talk to an investor, or give them "a coffee." It's a constant barrage of terrible communication, and you do what every sane person does: you delete it, mark it read, and move on.

But here's the problem. That same barrage is affecting your ability to get things done.

You're emailing a client about a renewal. You have a great idea for a prospect. You hit send — and you get silence. You send again. More silence. And as the deadline gets closer, your language gets more urgent, more desperate and the response rate gets smaller and smaller and smaller.

Over the years, I've read the sales books and heard the sales leaders and the most effective communicator I've encountered in my career is Tom Batchelder — author of Barking Up a Dead Horse and Selling 180°. Through his teachings, here are the four elements of an email that actually gets a response.

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Step One: State the facts.

Just like effective feedback, you want to be specific and truthful. When you lead with facts, your recipient can't deflect. They can't argue with a generalization that isn't there, or push back on an attitude that wasn't implied.

If a client has gone radio silent on a renewal, try leading with something like this:

Gary,

We spoke a few months ago about renewing our services with your team. You were open to a conversation and since then I've reached out several times without hearing back.

That's it. Step one. State the facts. They can't ignore what's simply true.

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Step Two: Use disarming language.

Your recipient has their shields up. They don't want to be sold something new. They don't want to be put in an uncomfortable position. And they may not be ready to give you a hard no, so they say nothing at all.

Disarming language takes those shields down. Try something like:

I know you're very busy and it seems your priorities may have shifted since we last spoke.

That's it. No pressure. No guilt trip. When you write like that, the reader exhales. It opens the door to a real conversation.

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Step Three: Offer an easy yes.

Most outreach asks for a meeting. A coffee. A call. With no timeframe attached, our instinct is to mentally book it as an hour, maybe two and suddenly it feels like too much to commit to.

Instead of a vague ask, make it specific and small:

If you're open to it, let's set up a quick 10-minute call to talk about next steps.

Ten minutes is not a big ask. Ten minutes is easy to say yes to. And they will.

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Step Four: Give them an out.

This is the one most people skip and it's the most important.

The biggest reason people don't respond to our emails is that we make ourselves smaller than our recipients. We beg. We plead. We throw ourselves at the foot of their pedestal. And it triggers a hardwired human response: if someone doesn't seem worth our attention, we ignore them.

To counter that, you have to communicate as an equal. And nothing signals equality like genuinely meaning this:

If this is something you're no longer interested in, not a problem. Just let me know and I'll stop reaching out. I wish you nothing but the best.

That's not begging. That's confidence. That's an equal talking to an equal. And that is the email that gets a response.

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State the facts. Use disarming language. Offer an easy yes. Give them an out.

It works 75% of the time.

Give it a spin. Be Esteemed.