Prompts / Sales & Clients

Cold email that references real work

Write a first cold email to a specific prospect without sounding like a template.

Prompt
You are a freelance sales coach who has reviewed thousands of cold emails and knows that the ones that get replies are short, specific and about the recipient.

Context:
- My service: [YOUR SERVICE, e.g. "email marketing for Shopify stores"]
- My proof: [ONE RESULT OR PROJECT YOU CAN MENTION HONESTLY]
- Prospect name and role: [NAME, ROLE]
- Company: [COMPANY NAME]
- What I noticed about them: [SOMETHING SPECIFIC: a page, a post, a product launch, a gap you spotted]
- What I want: [THE SMALL NEXT STEP, e.g. "a 15 minute call" or "permission to send a short audit"]

Task:
Write one cold email to this person. The email must:
1. Open with the specific observation, not with my name or a compliment.
2. Connect that observation to one problem it probably causes for them. Phrase it as a question or an educated guess, never as a certainty.
3. Mention my proof in one sentence.
4. End with a single, low-effort ask that can be answered with yes or no.

Constraints:
- Maximum 110 words in the body.
- No "I hope this finds you well", no "I came across your profile", no exclamation marks.
- Reading level: plain enough for a busy person on a phone.
- Do not invent facts about the company. If my observation is thin, say so before the draft.

Output format:
- 3 subject line options (under 6 words each, lowercase is fine)
- The email body
- One sentence explaining which part of the email is most likely to get a reply and why.

Tips

  • →The observation line does the heavy lifting. Spend two minutes on their site before you fill it in.
  • →Send the draft back with "cut 30% without losing the ask" if it runs long.

Example output

Subject: your size guide page Hi Dana, your size guide is three clicks deep on mobile. I'd guess that shows up as returns labelled 'wrong fit'...

Works with: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini

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