Updated on February 20, 2024
Email opening lines, one-liners of personalization, email starters, ice-breakers… the fact that we have created so many different names for the same piece of email sentence means we like to talk about it. A lot. And they are kind of a big deal in cold email outreach campaigns. Does these look familiar?
or
You have probably used some variation of the sentence yourself (unconsciously) for your email intros, I’m guilty of that myself – after all, for the past 2 years we’ve been all trying to show some empathy in the covid-stricken world. But the thing is – this phrase is overused, boring, and we’ve all seen it so many times that it doesn’t spark interest at all.
I once received an email with the very ominous opening line, “I hope this finds you in a well.”
— Mark Sanderlin (@marksanderlin) February 15, 2022
What is an email opening line?
An email opening line is the beginning sentence of an email right after the greeting – “Hey {{first_name}}”. Email openers are essential for setting the tone of the email and catching your recipient’s attention. When you’re working on your email opening sentences, the most important thing to consider is who’s your recipient and what you want to achieve with your message? With other types of email, you should also consider your relationship with the reader, but in cold email outreach, that relationship starts here.
Why email opening lines are a big deal in B2B sales?
The first impression will navigate the entire relationship you’ll have with your prospect. After you have passed through the first door (the subject line), your email opening line will determine whether your prospect will spend a few minutes reading your email and clicking on your link – or not. And usually, we get a response back when we do a little bit more than – “hope this email finds you well“.
Your communication with the prospect starts here. Using creative ideas to get someone’s attention will get you much further instead of using generic hooks.
Let’s warm-up.
15 creative email opening lines (with a pinch of humor)
1. Surviving Monday?
2. Are you in the loop?
3. Here’s what you need to know ASAP…
4. One small step for you, one giant leap for your career.
5. Got 5 minutes? I have something you need to see…
Compliments of Viktoriya Maya, CEO @ Customer First Academy
6. Just what you needed: another email! 🙂
7. I hope you already had your morning coffee, because…
8. Hello from the other side
9. Boss gonna love this!
10. Only X more days until Friday!
11. Will you accept this flower? 🌼
12. Is [pain-point] no big deal for you or the end of the world?
13. You can do it! You can overcome [pain-point], this is how.
14. I promise this is the last email you’ll receive from me. This week.
15. Before we head into the weekend.
10 more email opening lines that can easily fit in any cold email
16. Could you guide me through […]
17. Would you like to improve your […]
18. Are you planning to increase your […]
19. You are obviously an expert in [field]
20. I saw your comment on [forum]
21. I like how [company name] offers [services] to help brands achieve…
22. Do you currently do any […]
23. I’m hoping to get your advice on…
24. A thing you might be missing.
25. Ready to take the next step in […]?
Need help with your campaign?
Schedule a consultation with our Team and let us set up your first personalized campaign free of charge.
5 sales email opening lines that got plenty of replies [templates]
Email Opening Line #1. “We both can agree that…”
Natalia Parcinska, Business Development Associate @ Spacelift is trying to get as many positive responses in the email as she can by making the prospect board on the Yes-Train.
She opens the cold email with:
Subject line
We both can agree that {defines the thing that is hurting your prospect's business}
For example:
We can both agree that {company_name}’s website speed is crucial for getting conversions.
We can both agree that sales automation can enhance the {company_name}’s teams’ productivity.
We can both agree that Google hates duplicate content, which is hurting {website} rank on search engines.
The mail starts the conversation with a ‘Yes’ and outlines the prospect’s problem in the same line. From there, pitching the product as a ‘solution’ is not difficult.
Spacelift have used this opening line in many campaigns and got a fantastic response rate.
Email Opening Line #2. I came across {{company_site}} and…
This is the Sales Manager @ Breeze, Faizan Fahim, favorite opening line.
Subject line
I came across {{company_site}} and noticed it {{doing something that hurts the business that my product solves}}.
For example:
I came across {{company_site}} and found it takes around 9. seconds to open a page.
I came across {{company_site}} and could not find any chatboxes.
I came across {{company_site}} and found it does not have caching enabled.
Faizan believes the line shows that he personally visited their website, and wants to help them. Scalable personalization capture better response.
They have an 8% response rate using this opening line template.
Email Opening Line #3. Place them in your successful customers’ shoes
Use case studies and testimonials of your existing customers that thanks to your solution (or expertise) have successfully overcome similar pain-point your prospect is currently facing. e.g. They remind you of a client you’ve already helped achieve their business goals, and you’d be happy to do the same for them.
Subject line
Here at [company], we’ve helped many other businesses deal with this problem by {{short explanation of your service/solution}}.
According to Beau Pent, Sales Manager @ GoCo – it implies that you have already vetted this person’s suitability as a customer and you know something about them (potential pain-point), so you’re opening with a statement that speaks to that understanding.
An example of such an email intro would be:
Subject line
I had a chance to look through your website and saw you're in the business of {{selling X}}. I've worked with a number of clients in this space and had success with {{something relevant to what they do}}.
The idea is that right off the bat, it shows them that while we may have never met before, I’m not randomly throwing out offers to everyone I come across.”
Email Opening Line #4. Get straight to the point.
Roger Huang really dislikes the insincere & overly friendly tone that a lot of marketers and salespeople take in their cold emails. As a Growth Director @ Springboard he tends to open his cold emails with a statement that shows his understanding of their business and then get right to the point.
“For example, recently I sent an email to the VP of Marketing at a new startup – I opened with
Subject line
I understand you are looking for a way to bring more attention to your company's blog, would it be okay if I send over some information on how my company can help?
This isn’t inappropriately familiar or insincerely friendly but it gets me past the hurdle of them not knowing me and establishes a more professional tone. Asking them if they consent to an additional email also establishes courtesy and lets them know I don’t want to harass them. If they don’t want anything else from me, no problem.”
Email Opening Line #5. What’s your educated guess?
This is Hristijan’s latest email opening line that brought him a 12% reply rate. (p.s. Hristijan is our Growth Hacker here at Sales.Rocks.)
Subject line
From my experience working with similar companies to {{company_name}}, {{I experimented in different ways to fill up their sales pipeline including referrals, inbound and outbound sales, and combinations of each.}} My educated guess would be that you {{use some inbound strategies in order to catch some customers on the fly…}}
7 email openers from the chambers of Sales at Sales.Rocks
Email Opening Line #6. A quick question!
Kristina’s fave ice-breaker has the following formula: self-introduction – followed by a compliment (personalization) ending with an appreciation for their time with “a quick question”.
Subject line
Hi {{Nicolau}} 👋 My name is {{Kristina}} and knowing that you are the pro leading {{Logical Jupiter}} to great heights, I wanted to reach out and ask you a quick question.
Email Opening Line #7. Déformation Professionnelle
Being a modern sales professional is all about driving revenue for companies. Sometimes it comes as a “Déformation Professionnelle” (professional deformation) – the need to discuss all the ways in which you can see companies grow or transform. This is a great advantage you can use as a conversation opener if the prospect is interested to listen, of course.
Show them that you’re willing to assist them in overcoming a pain point or achieving an objective. This email opening line is also a great example of one of the sales negotiation strategies – priming.
Subject line
Hi {{Joao}}, As driving growth for companies like {{Triple Oak}} is one of my biggest passions, I was wondering if you have reached out to all the companies you planned for this year or there are some that you miss company or contact info on?
Email Opening Line #8. The one with the personalized video.
Videos are trending and not just on youtube. They’re getting the most attention on social media channels and inside emails as well! Videos have the power to easily increase the reply rate in any cold email outreach campaign, but they also require extra effort to create. Here’s a simple guide to video marketing for B2B online sales.
Subject line
Hi {{Juan}}, I have made this short video to show you how you can achieve your sales goals with {{Sales.Rocks}} this year and would love to get your feedback (you can find it by clicking below)👇
Email Opening Line #9. Small talk
What better way to start an email than with a small talk about the habits you have, two colleagues from the same industry?
Ok, Hristijan’s intent here is to point at the fact that many repetitive processes sales reps are dealing with can be avoided thanks to automation. That’s the software we have built. But make it fit for your industry and your job role.
You can break the ice by starting the convo with the habits and everyday tasks, and then, try to see how your solution fits in their everyday workflow.
Subject line
Hello {{first_name}} There are as many habits as there are houses, but today I am interested in yours!
Email Opening Line #10. Playing on cultural strings.
Compliment their website, LinkedIn business page, or other business wins (publishing a great article, creating an engaging video, or hosting an insightful webinar/podcast) by personalizing your approach to mention their culture. With this campaign, Hristijan is targeting the Czech Republic companies with an interesting spin on complimenting their website.
Subject line
Ahoj {{first_name}}, Bez práce nejsou koláče (No pain, no cake) and by the look of {{website}}, koláče (cakes) aren’t a problem for {{company_name}} 😎
Email Opening Line #11. Is competitor a problem?
Well, for startups and SMBs usually it is. Place your prospecting company in a suitable context guided by industry stats and make a guess of their share of their target market. It can always be improved. Why not offer your help with that?
Subject line
Ireland is well known as a tech hub and as one of the largest exporters of software in the world, the competition for customers must be fierce. {{first_name}}, are you having difficulties acquiring new customers, or is the competition, not a problem for {{company_name}}?
Email Opening Line #12. Not a nosey Nellie, but…
LinkedIn Prospecting is part of an all-encompassing sales strategy. And most of you are already using LinkedIn for social selling, prospecting, or attracting leads through building a personal brand and sharing valuable insights. Well, why not include it in the conversation? It’s easy to explain how you got to them. You can mention that you’re part of the same group, community or just that they show up on your feed a lot recently.
Subject line
Hello {{first_name}}, Not a nosey Nellie, but it's hard to ignore that you guys are actively progressing this year 🙌 Your LinkedIn page popped up in my searches and enticed me to check your website as well. Interested to add extra fuel to your business growth?
Get personalized email opening lines with the help of AI! 🤖
Break the ice with your prospects, meaningfully & creatively, in each email opening line with our AI one-liner generator.
Cut off time on manual research for information and come up with a personalized introduction line for each prospect on your list automatically.
Increase your click-through rates with our AI sentence generator that will help you write Ice Breakers, one-liners of personalization for your email openings, or a suitable text excerpt for your email body! Here’s how.
- Upload a list of Company Domains
- Pick the intro wording you want to be included
- Get a unique One-Liner with the company’s core activities
Extract the data you need on your prospects using the Bulk Extractor and leverage its new addition One-Liners (by domain) to start generating data-driven, unique email opening lines based on their:
👉Website description;
👉News articles;
👉Blog posts, or
👉Case studies.
Your Cold Email Outreach now even more simplified.
