Introduction
Outbound messages are not about selling straight away. They’re about starting a relevant conversation with the right person.
Whether you’re writing emails or LinkedIn messages, the best results come from keeping it simple, specific, and rooted in real challenges.
This guide breaks down how to prepare before writing, and how to structure your messages once you’re ready.
What to Prepare Before Writing
1. Understand the person you’re targeting
Get clear on their role and responsibilities. Think about what they’re accountable for, how they’re measured, and what pressures they’re likely facing.
Ask yourself:
- What do they spend their time thinking about?
- What problems keep showing up in their role?
- What would make their job easier or more successful?
Something that has helped me with this is to open up a few of my prospects LinkedIn profiles and skim through their experience. If that doesn’t work, look up job adverts for roles that match their title and read through the “Role and Responsibilities” section.
2. Identify 1 or 2 real problems they likely care about
Focus your message on challenges they’re already aware of or feeling in their day-to-day work.
Avoid making the message about your product, start with what they care about.
Ask yourself:
- What’s frustrating or slowing them down?
- What are they trying to improve but struggling with?
- What might be broken of inefficient in their current process?
I like to imagine that my prospect is sitting in a pub with a friend. They’ve finished their first pint and are now about to sip their second. Their friend asks them “How’s work going?”
They take a pause, sigh and say…
”It’s…..”
This is what you want to tap into!
3. Be clear on what you offer
Write down the specific outcome you help people like them achieve. Focus on the business impact, not your tools or services.
Ask:
- What results have we delivered for others like them?
- What’s the simplest way to explain how we help?
- What is the outcome that we actually deliver?
4. Gather one relevant proof point
Messages are stronger when backed by a quick success story, stat, or example.
It shows you’ve done this before and that you understand the space.
Even a one-sentence reference to a past result can help build trust.
If you’re drawing a blank here there are two places to look:
- Your customer case studies, testimonials and/or reviews
- If you’re very early stage and don’t have any social proof, look for industry statistics and insights that support your claims.
5. Choose one angle per message
Each message should focus on one clear problem or insight. Don’t try to cover everything…your goal is to be relevant, not comprehensive.
You can use your other messages to cover different challenges that you help solve.
But for the purpose of this email, stick to one main problem.
6. Decide the next step you want from them
I know you want them to reply and say: “John, can I set up a meeting with your team and bring my Director? I’ll have my credit card ready and we’ll purchase immediately”.
But we all know that this has never happened (well not to me anyway).
So avoid pushing for a meeting right away.
A soft question that invites a reply works best.
Examples:
- “Is this something you’ve been exploring?”
- “Would you be open to learning more?”
- “Does this resonate with what you’re seeing?”
You want to get a reply from your messages and then you can be all salesy in your back and forth with the prospect.
Ok, so we’ve covered some preparation. By now, your heart rate is increasing and you’re ready to write the best damn message ever.
How to Structure the Message
When you sit down to write the message, remember: the goal is not to pitch your service, it’s to create a moment of relevance.
You want the reader to think, “This feels like it’s for me.”
The best way to do that is by structuring your message around one clear problem, a simple point of credibility, and an easy next step.
Here’s one way in which you can structure your message:
Problem > Impact > Proof > Soft Ask
ps. if you want 10+ cold email frameworks and a more comprehensive guide, then I have a free course on Cold Email Campaigns here.
1. Start with the problem
Open with something the reader is likely feeling or dealing with. This shows them immediately that you understand their role or situation. The more specific the problem, the more likely they are to read on.
Examples:
- “Many [job title]s I speak with are under pressure to show results but working with limited internal resources.”
- “Most [role]s I talk to are struggling to generate quality leads from their current marketing efforts.”
Don’t start by introducing yourself or your company…get straight to the thing they care about.
2 .Explain the impact of that problem
Once you’ve highlighted the challenge, show why it matters.
What happens if they don’t solve it?
This helps them feel the weight of the problem and builds urgency without being pushy.
Examples:
- “The result is often wasted budget, internal pressure, and no clear path forward.”
- “This usually leads to inconsistent pipeline and too much reliance on traditional sales channels.”
You don’t need to be dramatic…just clear about what’s at stake.
3. Share a quick proof point
After you’ve made the problem real, show that you’ve helped others solve it. A short stat, client example, or result makes your message feel credible and grounded.
Examples:
- “We recently helped a company in a similar space improve lead quality by 50% in 90 days.”
- “One of our clients saw a 45% boost in conversion rates after we fixed a few key website issues.”
Keep it short, there’s no need to go into full case study mode.
4. End with a soft, low-pressure question
Your goal is to get a reply, not a commitment. End with a question that invites conversation rather than pushes for a meeting.
Think of it as starting a dialogue.
Examples:
- “Is this something you’ve been exploring?”
- “Would you be open to hearing how others are solving this?”
- “Does this sound familiar?”
Avoid phrases like “Let me know a good time to talk” or “Can we jump on a quick call?” in the first message.
That’s like asking for marriage on the first date! Don’t be that person.
Each message should be simple, focused, and easy to read in under 20 seconds.
If you follow this structure: problem > impact > proof > soft ask…you’ll write messages that feel relevant and get replies.
Examples of emails with this framework
Audience: Marketing Manager at a B2B SaaS company
Solution: Landing page and CRO improvements
Hi {{first_name}}, many marketing managers I speak with are driving solid traffic but struggling to convert visitors into demo requests.
It usually means paid campaigns look underperforming, and it’s hard to justify further spend.
We helped a SaaS platform increase sign-up conversion by 38% just by fixing a few key elements on their landing pages.
Worth a look at what might be possible?
Audience: CEO at a manufacturing company
Solution: Building a digital lead generation engine
Hi {{first_name}} – Most manufacturing CEOs I work with still rely heavily on their sales team for growth, and it’s getting harder to find and manage good sales talent.
The result is unpredictable revenue and slow growth while digital-first competitors pull ahead.
We helped one manufacturer replace 40% of their outbound sales dependency by building a simple inbound lead engine through SEO and PPC.
Would you be open to seeing how that works?
Audience: Head of People at a fast growing startup
Solution: Employer brand content strategy
Hi {{first_name}}, many People teams I speak with are trying to attract better talent, but struggling to stand out in a crowded market.
Without a strong employer brand, hiring takes longer and costs more and it’s harder to build momentum.
We worked with a freshly funded Series A startup to launch a weekly video series that cut time-to-hire by 35% and doubled referral applicants.
Is this something you’ve looked at before?
Audience: CMO at a professional services firm
Solution: LinkedIn content strategy and positioning
Hi {{first_name}}, most CMOs I speak with want their firm’s expertise to be more visible, but struggle to get busy partners to create consistent content.
The result is missed visibility and weak differentiation, especially when competitors are active online.
We helped a consulting firm build a content engine around one partner…resulting in 20+ inbound leads in 3 months, all from LinkedIn.
Think this might be relevant?
Audience: Head of Finance at a manufacturing group
Solution: Cash flow forecasting automation
Hi {{first_name}} – Finance leaders I speak with often rely on manual spreadsheets to manage cash flow across business units and it becomes a headache during periods of volatility.
It usually means delayed decisions, mismatched projections, and fire drills at quarter-end.
We helped a manufacturing group automate their forecasting with live dashboards pulling from multiple sources, cutting reconciliation time by 70%.
Would better visibility help your team right now?
Audience: Head of Compliance at a fintech company
Solution: Automated audit trail logging for customer interactions
Hi {{first_name}}, many compliance teams I talk to are under pressure to maintain clean audit trails, but still rely on fragmented tools and manual tracking.
That creates gaps in documentation and slows down regulatory reporting.
We helped a fintech client implement automated logging across chat, email, and CRM, reducing audit prep time by over 50%.
Is this something you’re currently working on?
Audience: IT Manager at a mid-sized professional services firm
Solution: Endpoint security and patch automation
Hi {{first_name}}, IT teams I work with often struggle to keep every device patched and secure without interrupting users or relying on manual updates.
Unpatched systems become a liability, especially with more people working remotely.
We recently helped a services firm automate 95% of their patching process, improving security posture and reducing support tickets by a third.
Would this be useful for your setup?