If you’re trying to get real sales conversations started in a B2B world, your cold emails have to pull their weight. There’s no shortage of “growth hacks” and templates floating around, but most of them don’t actually work for real people, with real inboxes, selling real products. This guide is for sales reps, founders, or marketers who want honest, practical steps for writing B2B sales emails in Instantly that get replies—not just opens.
Let’s get right to it.
Step 1: Know What High-Performing Really Means
Let’s set the record straight: a high-performing B2B email isn’t just one that looks good or gets opened. It’s one that gets replies from the right people. Everything else—open rates, click rates, “personalization at scale”—is secondary.
Here’s what matters most:
- Relevance: The email actually makes sense for the person getting it.
- Clarity: The reader instantly understands why you’re reaching out.
- Brevity: Short, punchy emails get read. Long ones get deleted.
- Personal touch: Not fake personalization (“I saw you went to X College!”), but a real reason you’re reaching out to them.
Forget everything else for now. No amount of fancy formatting or AI-generated icebreakers will save an email that isn’t relevant or clear.
Step 2: Get Ready in Instantly—But Don’t Overcomplicate It
Before you even write your email, set up Instantly so it works for you, not the other way around. Here’s what to do:
- Keep your lists tight. Don’t just dump in a giant list of random LinkedIn contacts. Segment by role, industry, or company size. “Spray and pray” doesn’t work.
- Warm up your sending account. Instantly has built-in warmup features. Use them, especially if your domain is new. If your emails land in spam, nothing else matters.
- Double-check your sending limits. Don’t blast hundreds of emails a day from a fresh account. Start slow (think 20-50/day) and ramp up.
- Integrate with your CRM (if needed). If you want replies to flow back into Salesforce, HubSpot, etc., connect them up now. Saves headaches later.
Pro tip: Don’t get lost in the weeds with Instantly’s advanced features until you’re getting replies with simple campaigns. Tools don’t close deals—your emails do.
Step 3: Write the First Version of Your Template
Don’t worry about making it perfect. Get a draft out so you have something to work with. Here’s a skeleton that actually works:
Subject: Quick question about [topic relevant to their business]
Hi [First Name],
Saw that [something specific about their company/role]. I’m reaching out because [one clear sentence about why you’re emailing them and what’s in it for them].
Would it make sense to chat for 10 minutes about [the thing you help with]? If not, no worries.
Thanks, [Your Name]
What to focus on:
- Subject: Be direct. No clickbait. “Quick question about your sales process” beats “Exciting opportunity inside!”
- First line: Show you’ve done even the most basic homework—don’t pretend you know them well if you don’t.
- Pitch: One sentence about what you actually do, framed in their terms.
- Ask: A simple yes/no question works best. Don’t ask for a meeting right away if that feels too much—ask if it’s relevant first.
Stuff to Ignore
- Overly clever subject lines. They backfire.
- Long intros about yourself or your company. No one cares (yet).
- Big blocks of text. If your email looks like a LinkedIn post, it’s too long.
- Emojis and exclamation points. You’re not selling yoga pants.
Step 4: Personalize—But Only Where It Counts
Personalization is overrated if you’re just swapping out {First Name} and {Company}. But a line or two that shows you aren’t a robot goes a long way.
Ways to personalize that are actually worth your time:
- Reference a recent company announcement, funding round, or blog post.
- Mention a mutual connection (if it’s real).
- Point out a problem you know they have based on their role or industry.
- For smaller campaigns, a custom sentence or two goes a long way.
How to do this in Instantly:
- Use custom fields (like {{company}}, {{industry}}, {{pain_point}}) for basics.
- For higher-value targets, use Instantly’s “Custom Snippets” and upload a CSV with unique sentences for each person.
- Don’t waste hours hand-writing icebreakers for every contact unless you’re going after very high-value accounts.
Pro tip: If you can’t find anything interesting about the recipient, ask yourself if they really belong on your list.
Step 5: Set Up Your Sequence (Don’t Just Blast Once and Pray)
One-and-done emails rarely work. In Instantly, set up a simple 2-3 step sequence:
- Initial email (as above)
- Polite bump (2-4 days later):
“Just wanted to make sure this didn’t slip through. Should I send more info?” - Final follow-up (5-7 days after):
“If now’s not the right time, let me know and I’ll stop bothering you. Otherwise, happy to send more details.”
Tips:
- Don’t get pushy or guilt-trip people. That’s how you get spam complaints.
- Keep follow-ups even shorter than the first email.
- Instantly lets you automatically stop sequences if someone replies—use it.
Step 6: Test, Track, and Ruthlessly Cut What Isn’t Working
Here’s the reality: your first template probably won’t be a home run. That’s normal. Use Instantly’s basic analytics (opens, replies, bounces) to decide what to try next.
- If you’re getting opens but no replies, the problem’s in your message.
- If you’re not getting opens, look at your subject lines and deliverability.
- If your reply rate is under 2%, rewrite or try a new angle.
- Don’t obsess over open rates—Apple Mail and privacy tools have made them unreliable.
Pro tip: Don’t A/B test 10 things at once. Change one thing, see what happens, then move on.
Step 7: Avoid These Common Mistakes
Most “bad” cold emails make the same mistakes. Watch out for these:
- Writing for your boss, not your prospect. Cut the jargon and just say what you mean.
- Making it all about you. Prospects care about their problems, not your story.
- Sending huge walls of text. If it takes more than 15 seconds to skim, it’s too long.
- Ignoring deliverability. If you’re ending up in spam, fix your technical setup before writing more emails.
- Not removing bounced or uninterested contacts. Clean your lists regularly in Instantly—don’t burn your domain.
Keep It Simple—and Keep Tweaking
Don’t overthink it. The best B2B cold emails are short, specific, and honest. Use Instantly’s features to save time, but remember: no automation can fix a bad message. Start with a basic template, personalize where it counts, and keep refining based on real replies—not what some “guru” says.
Every campaign is a work in progress. If you’re getting even a few genuine replies, you’re ahead of most. Keep it simple, pay attention to what’s actually working, and don’t be afraid to test new things. That’s how real sales conversations get started.