Looking to land deals with creative agencies? Trying to sell your video production services?
In this field of creativity and innovation, you need more than just generic compliments and standard sales tactics!
So, how do you craft an email that strategically engages these agencies?
In this article, Bill, CEO of SalesCaptain shows how to boost your conversion rate with well-written cold email, and ultimately land more deals!
Here's an example of a bad cold email that targets creative agencies and offers collaborative video production 👇
Here are Bill’s insights on what needs to be improved to get more replies:
Mistake #1 → Generic compliments
Giving generic compliments makes your email look like it was sent in bulk. Instead, point out something specific to each lead to prove you did proper research and your email is relevant to them.
Mistake #2 → Bullet points
Even though they can help you communicate your value more clearly, bullet points remind of “old school” cold emails. So, if you want your emails to look less salesy, write paragraphs as you would write them to your colleagues or friends.
Mistake #3 → Moving away from the main topic
Moving away from the main topic of the email into other secondary topics shifts focus. It becomes difficult for prospects to identify the value added by your proposal.
Mistake #4 → Ineffective CTA
There are two aks in one ending line. Instead of asking for too much effort from your leads, try focusing on one action and make it easy for the recipient to take the next step.
Mistake #5 → Information overload
There are too many important points in a single email. Instead, use follow-ups to bring new points, aka value, to each email and let recipients focus on the 1 most important thing that pushes them to take action.
Here is how Bill would rewrite the previous cold email and his tips for booking more meetings!
Tip #1 → Share a relevant observation about the prospect
Identify different leads’ problems and challenges to determine which triggers them the most. Then, include it in your cold email as a hook to catch their attention.
Tip #2 → Relevant success case
Name-drop social proof with which your leads can resonate. If you can’t name-drop, mention a significant result and desirable outcome.
Tip #3 → Conversational CTA
Instead of pushing for a meeting, ask your leads for a conversation first. Use your first email to confirm your interest and hop on the selling part later.
Tip #4 → Focus on 1 benefit at a time
Make sure to focus each email on one benefit. Otherwise, you might overwhelm the reader by giving too much information and discourage them from acting.
Tip #5 → Short and concise email
Recipients first scan your emails to decide if your email is worth reading. Remove the fluff and ensure each paragraph gives them value and reason to read your message.
Hey {{firstName}},
I noticed that creative agencies like {{companyName}} often work and communicate with different tools.
The problem is that it makes them struggle with post-production, and their workflow becomes less effective overall.
{{Famous Production Company}} cut their production and post-production time by half by managing media and collaborating on movie editing with our platform.
Think this could be useful for {{companyName}} as well?
{{Signature}}
Here are Bill's essential strategies for successful cold emails to creative agencies:
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-> Start with an observation specific to the prospect's challenges
-> Use relevant success stories or outcomes as social proof
-> Opt for a conversational call-to-action, focusing on dialogue first
-> Highlight one key benefit per email to avoid information overload
You can watch Bill's complete cold email teardown here!
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PS: Want more tips? Request outbound experts to review your cold emails here!
G2 Rating | Price | Best for | Standout feature | Con | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.9 star star star star star | $30/mo $75/mo $2,999/mo | Large, distributed sales teams | AI evaluation precision, gamified KPIs | Lack of tracking system | |
4.6 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Sales operations and finance teams | Powerful configurability | Limited training resources and complex to navigate | |
4.4 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Mid-market and enterprise businesses | Comprehensive incentive management | Potentially high cost and steep learning curve | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | $15/user/mo $40/user/mo Enterprise: custom price | Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes | Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes | Steep learning curve | |
4.6 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Collaborative teams | Connected planning | Complexity and steep learning curve | |
4.6 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies with complex sales structures | Complex incentive compensation management (ICM) with high efficiency and accuracy | Complexity for smaller teams and potentially high costs | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies who want to automate commission calculations and payouts | Simplicity and ease of use | Lack of features like redirection | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | $30/user/mo $35/user/mo Custom: upon request | Businesses that need a comprehensive and user-friendly sales compensation management software | Ease of use and adoption | Lack of ability to configure the product based on user needs | |
4.8 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies with modern sales culture and businesses who want real-time insights | A built-in dispute management and real-time visibility | Users say it works slowly, customer support is slow | |
4.9 star star star star star | $30/user/mo $50/user/mo | Smaller sales teams | Powerful automation | Lesser user base and average user interface | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies with scalable needs | Automated Commission Calculations | Lack of filtering by date, no mobile app |
PRM Tool | Rating | Feature | Pro | Con | Mobile App | Integrations | Free Plan | Pricing |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.65 star star star star star-half | Org-wide alignment | User-friendly layout and database | Suboptimal as a personal CRM | square-check | Lack of tracking system | square-check | Team: $20/month Business: $45/month | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Social Media Integration | Easy contact data collection | No marketing/sales features | square-check | Lack of tracking system | square-xmark 7-day trial | $12/month | |
4.75 star star star star star-half | Block Functions | High customization capability | Not a dedicated CRM | square-check | Limited | square-check | Plus: €7.50/month Business: €14/month | |
N/A | Open-source | Open-source flexibility | Requires extensive manual input | square-xmark | Limited | square-check Self-hosted | $9/month or $90/year | |
3.1 star star star | Simple iOS app | Ideal for non-tech-savvy users | iPhone only | square-check iOSÂ only | Limited | square-xmark 1-month trial | $1.49/month or $14.99/month | |
3.6 star star star star-half | Smart Contact Management | Feature-rich and flexible | Reported bugs | square-check | Rich | square-xmark 7-day trial | Premium: $13.99/month Teams: $17.99/month | |
4.4 star star star star star-half | Customizable Interface | Customizable for teamwork | Pricey for personal use | square-check | Rich | square-xmark | Standard: $24/member Premium: $39/member | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Integrated Calling | Integrated Calling | Too sales-oriented & pricey | square-check | Rich | square-xmark 14-day trial | Startup: $59/user/month Professional: $329/user/month | |
4.8 star star star star star | Business Card Scanning | Business Card Scanning | Mobile only | square-check | Limited | square-check | $9.99/month | |
4.45 star star star star star-half | 160+ app integrations | Comprehensive integrations | No free app version | square-check | Rich | square-xmark 14-day trial | $29.90/month or $24.90/month (billed annually) |
Capterra Rating | Free Trial | Free Plan | Starting Price (excluding the free plan) | Maximum Price (for the most expensive plan) | Best for | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.5 star star star star star-half | square-check 14-day | square-check | €15/month/seat billed annually | €792/month/3 seats billed annually + €45/month for each extra seat | Versatility and free plan | |
4.2 star star star star | square-check 30-day | square-xmark But it offers reduced price to authorised nonprofit organisations | €25/user/month | €500/user/month billed annually (includes Einstein AI) | Best overall operational CRM | |
4.3 star star star star star-half | square-xmark | square-check Limited to 3 users | Comprehensive incentive management | €52/user/month billed annually | Small-medium businesses and automation | |
4.5 star star star star star-half | square-check 14-day | square-xmark | €14/seat/month billed annually | €99/seat/month billed annually | Sales teams and ease of use | |
4.1 star star star star | square-xmark | square-check Limited 10 users | $9.99/user/month billed annually | $64.99/user/month billed annually | Free plan for very small teams up to 10 |
CRM goal | Increase the sales conversion rate for qualified leads from marketing automation campaigns by 10% in the next 6 months. | ||||
SMART Breakdown | 1. Specific: It targets a specific area (conversion rate) for a defined segment (qualified leads from marketing automation). | 2. Measurable: The desired increase (10%) is a clear metric, and the timeframe (6 months) allows for progress tracking. | 3. Achievable: A 10% increase is possible based on historical data and potential improvements. | 4. Relevant: Boosting sales from marketing efforts aligns with overall business objectives. | 5. Time-bound: The 6-month timeframe creates urgency and a clear target date. |
Actions | Step 1: Refine lead qualification criteria to ensure high-quality leads are nurtured through marketing automation. | Step 2: Personalize marketing automation campaigns based on lead demographics, interests, and behavior. | Step 3: Develop targeted landing pages with clear calls to action for qualified leads. | Step 4: Implement lead scoring to prioritize high-potential leads for sales follow-up. | Step 5: Track and analyze campaign performance to identify areas for optimization. |
Outcomes | Increased sales and revenue | Improved marketing automation ROI | Marketing and sales alignment | Data-driven marketing optimization |