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How to get warm leads from cold outreach
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Cold email is still one of the most effective ways to reach decision-makers - and the numbers prove it. 77% of B2B buyers say they want to be contacted by email.
Yes, want.
But here’s the catch: The average B2B cold email reply rate is just 5.8%.
That means for every 100 emails your team sends, maybe five or six people write back - and that's before you even qualify their interest. Combine that with the fact that B2B buyers are now 57-70% through their buying journey before they even speak to sales, and it's clear: cold outreach hasn’t died… it’s simply evolved.
So, if you want to win new business in 2026, you need to adapt to how buyers actually behave.
Below is a full breakdown of how to write cold emails that feel relevant, human, and worth replying to, backed by the latest data from Belkins, endorsed by our sales and BD team, and grounded in real-world outreach behaviour.
Getting personal
Personalisation has never mattered more. Buyers are overwhelmed, time-poor, and quick to delete anything that looks like a mass send.
But personalisation today isn’t about using someone’s first name or saying “I loved your recent LinkedIn post.”
It’s about relevance - demonstrating that you understand what’s happening inside the prospect’s world and why you’re contacting them now.
Here’s what meaningful personalisation looks like:
- Reference real business events, not generic details. Anyone can say, “I’d like to work with your brand, let’s talk”. But an email that says: “Noticed your social media spend has climbed quarter-on-quarter - looks like you’re gearing up for a bigger brand push” - instantly lands differently. It shows you did your research.
- Ground your email in category-level insights. This positions you as someone who understands their market. For example: “Food & drink brands increasing Q2 spend typically see an uplift in customer acquisition - is this something you’re planning to lean into this year?”
- Make it clear you understand their pressures. Whether it’s a retail brand racing to optimise Q4, an agency juggling multiple briefs, or a SaaS company facing churn issues, relevance builds trust. The key is showing that you’re paying attention, not just guessing.
Keep it short and sweet
According to the Belkins study, emails with 6-8 sentences and under 200 words get:
- 42.67% open rates
- 6.9% reply rates (higher than average)
The takeaway is, buyers don’t want essays. They want clarity.
Here’s the structure that works best:
Line 1: A relevant reason for reaching out. Something specific enough that it couldn’t have been sent to 1,000 people.
Line 2: A simple, outcome-focused value statement. Not features. Not a product breakdown. Just the result. For example: “We helped a X brand increase their YoY ROI by this amount…”
Line 3: A light, low-friction CTA. The lower the commitment, the higher the response. Try: “Want a quick chat?” - Your goal isn’t to sell. Your goal is to get a reply.
Too many follow-ups hurt reply rates
This one surprises most sales teams: One-touch sequences now outperform long threads, and adding a third email can drop reply rates by 20%.
Why? Because buyers don’t want relentless follow-ups. They want relevance.
Short, thoughtful sequences now outperform long, persistent ones. But the key is this:
If you do send a follow-up, it needs to add something.
Not:
- “Just checking in”
- “Bumping this”
- “Following up again”
These phrases kill reply rates. A valuable follow-up sounds like:
- “Noticed successful brands in your category increased spend by 27% last quarter - thought you might find that interesting”
- “We recently helped a similar team with their OOH campaign - want a quick example?”
Always give them a reason to respond - not a reminder that they didn’t.
Less is more
More outreach doesn't mean more replies. The data shows that emailing 1-2 people at a company leads to a 7.8% reply rate, but blasting 10+ contacts drops that to 3.8%.
Decision-makers can spot a bulk send from a mile away-and they tune it out instantly.
This is one of the biggest mistakes teams make: They spray. They pray. They hit every title under the sun. But high-performing outreach is built on intent signals, not volume, shown by how small, hyper-targeted campaigns consistently outperform broad blasts.
This is exactly where ALF becomes powerful.
When you can see which companies are:
- increasing spend
- switching agencies
- hiring in marketing
- launching new products
- preparing for seasonal campaigns
- shifting budget between channels
…you can target with precision rather than guessing, because cold outreach becomes dramatically more effective when it's powered by real data. With it, you can personalise at scale and contact prospects at the exact moment they’re more open to conversations.
Timing is everything
That textbook ‘Tuesday morning send’ isn’t the sweet spot anymore. In fact, Thursday evenings (8-11 PM) have the highest reply rate at 6.87%. This is due to the rise of the “always online” worker. People check email on the sofa - and they’re less rushed, less stressed, and more open to reading.
Meanwhile, Mondays continue to underperform. Buyers are too focused on internal work, catch-up tasks, and incoming demands.
So if you want to maximise reply rates, use timing as a strategic tool instead of a guess. As buyer lifestyles have shifted, your outreach needs to shift with it.
Start conversations, not sales pitches
The days of emailing someone out of the blue and asking for a “quick 30-minute call” are over. After all, no one wants to be sold to - especially not by a stranger.
Simple things - like shorter messages, softer asks, clear value (without pressure) and conversational CTAs - remove friction and make every interaction feel human, not transactional.
Conversations create meetings.
Meetings rarely come from demands.
Utilise data to give you that strategic edge
Cold outreach becomes dramatically more effective when it's powered by real data.
Tools like ALF Insight help sales teams understand:
- which brands are increasing their ad spend
- which sectors are heating up
- where decision-makers are moving
- who’s launching campaigns
- who’s likely reviewing suppliers
- where upcoming opportunities sit across the market
This allows you to personalise at scale and contact prospects at the exact moment they’re more open to conversations.
No guessing.
No assumptions.
Just timing, relevance, and precision.
A leadership perspective
Leaders play a major role in helping teams adapt to this new landscape. Rather than pushing for “more sends,” effective outreach in 2025 requires:
- Training reps on buyer research and personalised messaging
- Encouraging targeted, insight-driven campaigns rather than large blasts
- Aligning marketing and sales so content supports early-stage buying journeys
- Focusing on value-led engagement over volume-led output
Inbox competition is fierce, but with the right tools and strategy, teams can stand out for the right reasons. Empowering reps to personalise, contextualise, and time their outreach well leads to higher-quality conversations and a more predictable pipeline.
Final word: cold email isn’t dead - BAD cold email is
Buyers are overwhelmed, yes. Reply rates are low, yes. But cold email can still open doors at scale if you approach it the right way.
When teams send concise, timely, and meaningful messages backed by strong content and smart targeting, response rates climb and conversations become easier to start.
Do that, and you won’t just beat the 5.8% reply rate - you’ll outperform the teams still relying on outdated tactics.
At ALF Insight, we help sales and new business teams understand who to reach, when to reach them, and what matters most to them, ensuring that every email has the best chance of sparking a valuable conversation.