Cold Email to Senior Buyers

How a senior buyer reads

A senior buyer reads the sender, the subject and the first line, often on a phone, and decides in a few seconds. They are not asking "is this interesting?". They are asking three quicker questions:

1. Is this about my company, or about the sender's?
2. Does this person know something, or are they guessing?
3. What do they want from me, and is it small?

An email that answers all three in the first two lines gets read to the end. One that opens with the sender's name, company and product has answered the first question badly, and the rest goes unread.

The four sentences

Use the brief you wrote in lesson 1. The email has four sentences, each with one job.

1. The reason. A fact about their company, with enough detail to show you read it. "Northfield announced a second distribution centre in March."

2. What it may mean for them. Your inference, phrased as a possibility. "I imagine that turns planning for one site into planning for two."

3. Who you are, in one line. What you do, in plain words, with no adjectives. "We make planning software for multi-site warehouse operators."

4. One question. Small, specific and easy to answer in a line. "Will one team plan both sites, or one each?"

Then your name. No sign-off paragraph, no calendar link, no attachment.

The order matters. Their company comes first and yours third. Most cold emails run 3, 3, 3, then ask for half an hour.

Ask for an answer, not for time

"Do you have 30 minutes next week?" asks a stranger for the scarcest thing they have. A question asks for ten seconds, and the reply tells you something whichever way it goes.

Good questions for a first email:

• A fork: "Is this handled centrally or by each site?"
• A check: "Have I read that right, or is it further off than the announcement suggests?"
• A pointer: "Is this yours, or does it sit with someone else?"

The pointer question is the most useful of the three. A senior buyer who will not answer anything else will often forward the email or reply with a name, and that name is your next conversation in the account.

Subject lines

Three rules:

1. Two to five words, about them. "Second distribution centre" or "Planning across two sites".
2. No tricks. No "Re:" on a first email, no "Quick question", no first name in the subject.
3. Could a colleague have written it? The best subject lines look like internal mail, because they name something the company is working on.

What to cut

Read your draft and delete:

• The first sentence, if it is about you ("My name is…", "I hope this finds you well").
• Every adjective describing your own product or company.
• Any list of features or services.
• Any claim with a number you cannot source in one click.
• The second question. One is enough.
• Anything after your name.

If what remains is under 90 words and still makes sense, send it.

Before and after

An illustrative example. The companies and people are invented.

Before

Subject: Quick question, Dana

Hi Dana, I hope you're well. My name is Sam and I'm with Quaywise, a leading provider of innovative warehouse planning solutions trusted by logistics companies. We help businesses like yours improve efficiency and reduce costs. I'd love to set up a quick 30-minute call next week to show you how we can add value. Does Tuesday or Wednesday work? I've attached our brochure.

After

Subject: Second distribution centre

Hi Dana,

Northfield announced a second distribution centre in March. I imagine that turns planning for one site into planning for two, possibly with a new team.

We make planning software for multi-site warehouse operators.

Will one team plan both sites, or one each? If this sits with someone else, a name is all I need.

Sam Carter, Quaywise

The first version could go to anyone. The second could only go to Dana, and she can answer it in a line.