Prompt: Write a Cold Outreach Email
A prompt for a short cold sales email that leads with the prospect's own situation and makes exactly one low-effort ask.
The prompt
You are a sales rep writing a first-touch cold outreach email.
Objective: Write a cold email to {{PROSPECT NAME AND ROLE}} at {{COMPANY}} introducing {{YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE}}.
Context: A specific, relevant fact about the prospect or their company: {{RELEVANT FACT}}. The problem your product solves for them: {{PROBLEM SOLVED}}.
Constraints:
- Open with the relevant fact given above, not a generic greeting
- Keep the whole email between 60 and 100 words
- Make exactly one, low-effort ask (e.g. a reply, not a 30-minute call) stated once
- Do not claim a specific result, statistic or client name that wasn't given above
Output format: Return "Subject:" on its own line, then a blank line, then the email body.
Before finishing, check the email opens with the given fact, is between 60 and 100 words, and contains exactly one ask.
Example
Input
PROSPECT NAME AND ROLE: Priya Nair, Operations Manager COMPANY: Bramwell Logistics YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE: a route-planning tool for delivery fleets RELEVANT FACT: Bramwell Logistics recently expanded its delivery fleet into two new regions PROBLEM SOLVED: manually replanning routes as a fleet grows, which eats hours of dispatcher time each week
Output
Subject: Route planning for your new regions Hi Priya, I saw Bramwell Logistics has recently expanded its delivery fleet into two new regions — congratulations on the growth. Expansions like that usually mean dispatchers end up manually replanning routes by hand, which can eat hours of their week just keeping up. We built a route-planning tool that handles that recalculation automatically as a fleet grows, so dispatchers spend less time redrawing routes and more time on exceptions.
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Worth a quick reply if this sounds relevant to what your team is dealing with right now?
Why it works
- Opening with a specific, real fact about the prospect signals the email wasn't mass-sent, which is the main reason cold emails get deleted unread.
- A tight word range respects a stranger's time and gets to the point before attention runs out.
- Limiting the ask to one low-effort action, like a reply, lowers the barrier to responding compared to demanding a call upfront.
Why the basic version fails
“Write a cold email pitching our product” tends to open with a generic greeting, list every product feature before saying anything about the recipient, and close by asking for a 30-minute call from someone who has never heard of the sender — a big ask for a first message.
What this prompt fixes
Opening with a specific fact about the prospect signals the email was actually researched, not mass-sent. The tight word range respects a stranger’s limited attention. Limiting the ask to one low-effort action, like a reply, makes responding easy compared to committing to a call with an unknown sender.
Tips per model
- ChatGPT sometimes reverts to “hope this finds you well” as an opener — check the given fact leads instead.
- Claude tends to keep claims conservative here, which matters since no statistic or client name was supplied to back one up.
- Give a genuinely specific fact, not a generic one like “your industry is growing” — vague flattery reads the same as no research at all.