As you scale your agency to hit your revenue targets, youâll encounter a few key pain points.
One of the most common is finding new good-fit clients who want to engage with an agency.
However, a well-written cold email can open doors and start conversations. Itâs the most direct way to get in touch with decision-makers at companies that are a perfect fit for your services.
In this article, weâre going to show you the process behind a high-performing cold email campaign, and show you real cold email templates for agencies that you can use in your outreach.
Letâs dive in.
Steps To Creating Irresistible Agency Outreach Emails That Get Replies
1. Unique Personalization for Every Recipient
Today, personalization is a fundamental part of any effective email campaign.
If you donât personalize each email and show your recipient that you care about their business, they wonât reply.
Weâve all received an email like this:
Thereâs zero personalization and itâs all about the seller.
So, how can you avoid the trap of generic emails? Where do you find unique talking points?
The most effective way is with a unique and personalized opening line. The opening line is the first thing your prospect sees.
Each opening line should be tailored to each recipient.
For example:
Congratulate someone on winning a recent award
Tell them how much you enjoyed a podcast they were on
Mention something you have in common
The first thing your prospect sees will be that opening line, and when itâs personalized theyâll immediately trust you more, as youâve shown youâve done your research.
To find information to include in your personalized opening line, start by checking out your prospectsâ LinkedIn profiles. Most people have details about their past work experience and interesting projects theyâve worked on. Theyâll also be likely to share any relevant company news that you can mention.
You could also search Google for keywords like â[name]â + âpodcastâ. Any podcast appearance theyâve done will pop up, which you can then listen to and reference in your opening line.
Your opening line needs to be so unique that it couldnât be sent to anyone else, so donât be afraid to get specific.
As well as your opening line, make sure to call them by their preferred first name, use their company name, and ensure youâre reaching out about something highly relevant to them.
2. Focus on Conversations, Not Conversions
Your leads need to trust you before they become a customer. After all, most agency pricing isnât cheap, and you might even ask clients to commit to your services for a certain amount of time.
You canât treat email as a way to generate direct conversions. Instead, treat it as a channel to start conversations with people matching your buyer persona.
To make it easy for recipients to reply, use an open-ended call to action.
For example:
Whatâs the best way to schedule 10 minutes to talk?
Is this something that could be interesting to you?
Would you mind if I sent you a short video to explain how this may help?
Hereâs an example from Salesflare in our database of cold outreach templates:
The call-to-action is clear and easy to reply to â which is vital if you expect a positive response from a busy business owner or decision-maker.
Once your prospects reply, you can start a conversation by scheduling a call or sending them more information about your agency and services.
3. Use Examples and Social Proof in Sales Emails
Your clients expect your agency to deliver on your promises.
To boost confidence in your services and increase your chances of a reply, use social proof.
For example, if you run a cold outreach agency to help local realtors with lead generation, you can highlight how you helped a similar business:
âWe work with [company] in [city] and have helped them double their inbound real estate leads using Google Ads.â
If your prospects have a pain point around generating leads for their business, your email will resonate with them and theyâll want you to help them see the same results.
Hereâs a powerful example of social proof in RepurposeHouseâs cold outreach:
It works because:
They mention all of the content types they can create
They name drop four relevant clientsÂ
They create a personalized video that shows theyâve done their research and are experts in their niche
Itâs an excellent way to build trust from the get-go and boost your reply rate.
4. Make It All About The Recipient, Not Your Agency
Your cold email shouldnât be about you or your agency. It should be about your leads and their business.
When you first start a cold emailing strategy, itâs tempting to talk about the services you offer, your background, your pricing, and everything else you think your potential customer cares about.
The truth is, they donât care about any of that.
They care about how you can help them grow their business.
Whenever youâre writing your cold emails, read it through, line-by-line.Â
Ask yourself: is this about me, or is this about my prospects? If you notice youâre talking about yourself and your agency too often, you need to make changes.
5. Always Send a Follow-Up Email
Following up is essential if you expect your email sequence to generate meaningful results. After looking at data from over 65 million emails sent using QuickMail, we found that 55% of replies come from a follow-up email.
A series of follow-ups will drastically improve reply rates to your B2C or B2B cold email outreach campaign and ensure your leads donât miss your message.
Include four to six follow-ups, and test a variety of call-to-actions and value propositions that are always different to what you included in your previous email.
Bring in new examples, case studies, and results to prove to potential clients that itâs worth replying to.
For example, in the email example below, the sender used the follow-up email to include a new case study and added a free PDF resource. They also made it easy to schedule a call.
Following up is proof that you care about winning your potential clientâs business, and itâs always recommended.
6. Use Cold Email Templates That are Text-Based
Email marketing platforms like Mailchimp, Campaign Monitor, or SendInBlue are all excellent options for your next email marketing campaign. Once you create your visual HTML email template, you can send it to your email list and see excellent engagement levels. But, theyâre not cut out for cold emailing.
You need a tool that can send plain text emails, like QuickMail.
When your prospects receive your email, itâll look like youâve sent it to them personally and they will immediately trust you more.
On the other hand, if they receive a responsive email template full of images, buttons, and links, they wonât see it as an effort to start a conversation with them and will either ignore or delete it.
7. Keep Your Cold Email Subject Line Simple
Your subject line is there to act as a simple contract between you and your recipient.
Itâs a promise of whatâs inside the rest of the email.
For example:
Helping {{company.name}} with SEO
Improve {{company.name}}âs time to hire new candidates
Question about your advertising costs
As soon as your prospect sees your email subject line, theyâll already have an idea of what you can help with. If they still go to open your email, itâs because they are clearly wondering about the details.
The key is that you canât use your subject line to trick people into opening your email or making false promises. Instead, use it to frame the future of your relationship and build trust.
8 Best Cold Email Templates for Agencies
In this section, weâll look at real email templates you can use to send cold email campaigns to help your agency generate new leads and build relationships with decision-makers.
Make sure to edit each template to fit your unique agency and add personalization to stand out in the inbox.
Letâs look at the templates:
1. Template for Scheduling a Call
Why It Works
Having an introductory call with your prospects is a perfect way to understand their needs and see if youâre a good fit for their needs.
This template works because:
Thereâs a unique opening line that shows youâve done your research
Youâve highlighted a potential pain point (no case studies)
You show how you can solve it, with social proof
Thereâs a clear call-to-action
Hereâs the email:
The Template
Subject:Â Quick question about {{company.name}}âs website
Hi {{prospect.first_name}},
I just listened to you on [podcast] - so much value there, thanks for sharing!
Saw that youâve already got great reviews on Capterra, but I noticed you havenât got any case studies featured on your website yet.
Our agency helps software companies create compelling case studies, and weâve worked with companies like [example client #1] and [example client #2].
If creating case studies is something youâre thinking about, would you have time for a 20-minute call this week?
Best,
{{inbox.name}}
2. Sales Email Template to Add Value and Start a Conversation
Why It Works
Cold-pitching prospects with a hard sell isnât the best way to build a relationship. If your agency typically has a long sales cycle, consider taking this conversation-first approach. Youâll provide value upfront and itâll be hard for your prospect to ignore the effort youâve put in.
This template works because:
Thereâs a specific complement
Youâve provided huge value upfront by recording a video for the prospect
Hereâs the email:
The Template
Subject:Â Short video for {{company.name}}
Hi {{prospect.first_name}},
Love all the content youâre creating to help people in [industry] â found your video tutorial on [specific topic] in particular to be excellent.
As youâve been creating lots of content recently, I wanted to give you a quick overview of some of the best distribution tactics weâve found at [your company].
I recorded a 5-minute video for how this could look for {{company.name}}. Hereâs the link: URL
Let me know if you have any questions about those tactics.
Best,
{{inbox.name}}
3. Keeping Your Cold Sales Email Template Simple
Why it works
If you know the person youâre emailing has a packed schedule, donât waste time on unnecessary details in your opening email.
This template works because:
Itâs clear why youâre reaching out
You get straight to the point, but itâs still obvious youâve done your research
The CTA is easy to reply to
The Template
Subject:Â Hiring sales reps at {{company.name}}?
Hi {{prospect.first_name}},
Saw that youâre hiring a sales rep at {{company.name}}.
I know youâre busy but wanted to see if youâd be interested in our SDR-as-a-Service offering. You only pay when we generate results.
Something you might be interested in?
Best,
{{inbox.name}}
4. Pitching to Solve an Existing Pain Point
Why It Works
A common and effective tactic for agencies of all kinds is to notice a problem, agitate it, and offer to solve it for your prospect.
For example, if you run a software development agency and you notice a clientâs website isnât formatted for mobile, you could reach out highlighting that issue. Be careful not to make your cold emails sound rude or critical, but helpful. Itâs a powerful way to start a conversation.
This template works because:
Itâs agitating a specific pain point in their business
You offer a solution to their problem
The call to action is clear and simple
The Template
Subject:Â Small fix to make your website work on mobile
Hi {{prospect.first_name}},
Noticed that {{company.name}}âs reservation system doesnât work on mobile. The form fields are covering the 'Submit' button.
I run a web development agency - happy to look at the issue if youâd like.
We also help restaurants in [city] like [example client] redesign their websites. [Example client] saw a 150% increase in table reservations after the changes we made.
Do you have time for a 10-minute call this week to see if thereâs potential for us to help {{company.name}}?
Best,
{{inbox.name}}
5. Friendly Follow-Up Template
Why It Works
As mentioned above, following up is vital to improving your response rate.
But, donât just bump the email to the top of your prospectsâ inboxes.Â
Use it to provide extra value with a new case study and a new call to action. Hereâs what that may look like in practice:
The Template
Subject: [Same as original email]
Hi {{prospect.first_name}},
Reaching out to see if increasing conversions on your Shopify store is a priority at the moment. We helped [company] increase their checkout conversion rate by 45% with a few minor fixes we made for them.
Want to see how we did it?
Best,
{{inbox.name}}
6. Cold Email Template To Get Staffing Agency Candidates
Why It Works
A staffing agency can offer huge value to a company if the candidates you bring them are well-qualified for the roles being hired for.Â
However, if a prospect hasnât worked with a staffing agency before they may not know the key benefits and time they could save by working with you.
In your email, youâll quickly build trust, show the benefits, and break down potential sales objections to working with a staffing agency.
The Template
Subject: Filling your {{prospect.custom.Open_Vacancy}} roleÂ
Hi {{prospect.first_name}},
Great work on the recent growth, excited to see what {{company.name}} achieves this year.
As youâre hiring for several {{prospect.custom.Open_Vacancy}}, I wanted to see if youâre interested in our staffing services. We bring an average of 5 qualified candidates to each role, and itâs risk-free as we only charge if we place a candidate with you.
Do you have 15 minutes for me to walk you through the process this week?
Best,
{{inbox.name}}
7. Effective Cold Email Template for an Advertising Agency
Why It Works
The advertising agency space is highly competitive and your template needs to show why your agency is unique.
As well as that, most prospects arenât actively looking for an agency at the time you reach out. You need to quickly add social proof and emphasize the big results you can generate for their company.Â
This template works well because:
It shows social proof early on
Itâs personalized which highlights that your agency cares about personal relationships and youâre not just there to sign up as many clients as possible
The CTA is low commitment and is a way to add extra social proof
Letâs look at the template.
The Template
Subject: Growing {{company.name}] with Google Ads
Hi {{prospect.first_name}}. Loved your recent podcast episode with [notable host], really actionable tips in there.
I run [Agency Name], and we help SaaS companies like {{company.name}} run campaigns that convert. Our most recent Google Ads campaign with [similar company] generated a 5.2x return on ad spend for them.
Want me to send you the case study with details on how we set up the campaign?
Best,
{{inbox.name}}
8. Cold Email Campaign Template for Digital Marketing Agency Services
Why It Works
Digital marketing services is another competitive industry. As well as that, prospects can be skeptical because they receive a high volume of pitches from similar businesses.
In your template, you need to instantly prove that you care about results, are trustworthy, and have expertise in their industry.Â
Whether you run a freelance business or an established digital marketing agency, you can adapt this email marketing template to your needs.
Letâs take a look.
The Template
Hi {{prospect.first_name}},
Saw that youâre experimenting with Facebook and TikTok strategies, it looks like youâre getting great results on both channels already.
Reaching out to see if youâre in need of any extra help growing your accounts. Weâre a performance marketing agency and work with brands like [similar company] and [similar company]. Helped both see incredible growth with tailored strategies.
Worth talking about how that might work for {{company.name}}?
Best,
{{inbox.name}}
Using QuickMail to Automate Sending Cold Emails
So, you have email templates to help you start writing your sales emails.
Next, itâs time to start sending them.Â
To ensure you donât waste hours of your time typing emails out individually, you can use a cold email tool like QuickMail to manage your agency outreach.
Hereâs how it can help:
1. Using Attributes to Send Personalized Emails at Scale
As youâve noticed, weâre all about personalization. Without it, your emails wonât get replies.
You can easily personalize your emails, even when sending 10, 20, or 50+ emails at once using attributes.
In your prospect list, make sure youâve included all of the details about the people youâre contacting, including the field for your custom opening line or any extra information you want to include in your email.
In your email templates, youâll add your attributes wherever you want them to appear.
For example, if your template includes:
Hi {{prospect.first_name}},
{{Opening_Line}}
It would show up in your emails as:
Hi Jennifer,
Your podcast episode on mobile kitchens really helped me pursue my dreams of providing free hot meals to people who need them!
You can insert attributes directly from the attributes panel in QuickMailâs email template editor.
When your campaign is ready to go, you can start it, knowing that every email you send is personalized and unique, without having to type them out individually.
2. Follow-Up Automatically to Get More Replies
As weâve already seen, sending follow-ups is key.
In your QuickMail campaigns, you can automate your follow-ups by adding new steps. Include a delay of as many business days as you want to wait, then add a new email step.
You can add as many follow-up emails as you need to. When someone replies, they will be automatically removed from the campaign and wonât receive any more automated emails.
Itâs a powerful way to free up your time and avoid needing to think about your follow-ups. Write them once, and theyâll send on the schedule youâve set.
3. Tracking The Success of Your Outreach
To make sure your email outreach is delivering the results youâre hoping for, keep an eye on your most important metrics, including:
Open rate
Click-through rate
Reply rate
Youâll see an overview of these in your dashboard so you know exactly how your emails are performing.
One thing worth noting is that metrics like open rate and click rate can be helpful, but a positive reply rate is the number one metric to care about when it comes to cold emails. After all, if people arenât replying positively, it doesnât matter how many people opened your email.
You can even break down email activity by inbox, which is perfect as your agency scales and you start adding multiple sales team members or assistants to your account to help with email outreach.
4. Avoid the Spam Folder with Deliverability Tools
Picture this: youâve imported 50 perfect-fit prospects, and hit send on your campaign. Then, nothing. Chances are, your emails have landed in your prospects' spam folders.
Emails that donât land in the main inbox wonât get read.
To ensure this doesnât happen to you, you can use a combination of QuickMailâs deliverability tools and an email warm-up platform.
In QuickMail, you can see key stats on your email deliverability.
This includes detailed reports on where your emails are landing to help you see if there are any problems that could hurt your campaign.
Weâd also recommend using a free email warm-up tool like Mailflow. This will send and receive emails on your behalf and generate engagement in your cold email inbox.Â
Itâs free for up to 100 inboxes and is a powerful way to improve your deliverability.
Growing Your Agency with Cold Email
Cold outreach is a highly effective channel for agencies to engage with prospective clients and leads.
Every key decision-maker you want to talk to has an email address. If you can send a friendly, compelling email that agitates their pain points and highlights why youâre the perfect partner to solve them, youâre going to see results.
The best practices weâve shown you here are key to success, and these templates are the perfect way to get started. Remember to always customize them to your unique customer type and industry, and youâre bound to get results.
When youâre ready to start sending your emails, you can use QuickMail to automate your outreach and start more conversations with your future agency clients.
