9-step cold email process to book meetings with Fortune 500 Execs

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Welcome To The Clever Letter!

Every Saturday, we’ll share an actionable lead generation guide that’ll help get your first (or next) 100 customers so you can take your business to the next level. This newsletter will remain Free forever. We hope you enjoy!

At Cleverly, we’ve helped 7,500+ customers book 224,700+ sales qualified leads generated with cold outreach. If you are struggling to grow your business, click here to learn more about how we can help.

Some people think cold outreach is useless.

Let them think that.

Want to know how we landed meetings with Uber, PayPal, and WeWork using cold email?

Here's our 9-step process to create a cold emailing machine that books meetings with dream clients:

1️⃣ Define your target audiences

Start by creating detailed buyer personas for your ideal clients. For example, when targeting Uber, we focused on:

• Job titles: Head of Operations, VP of Growth, Regional Manager

• Company size: 1000+ employees

• Industry: Transportation, Technology

• Pain points: Scaling operations, driver retention, customer acquisition costs

By clearly defining who you're targeting, you can tailor your message for maximum impact.

2️⃣ Build a high-quality email list

Quality trumps quantity when it comes to email lists.

Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to find people who make decisions in companies. Check if their emails are real with websites like Hunter.io or Clearbit.

Also, look at company websites yourself to find contact information.

Going to events in your industry is another good way to meet important people. These steps help you connect with the right people for your business.

A list of 100 highly relevant contacts is more valuable than 1000 random emails.

Here’s how to find the right decision makers using the Sales Navigator filters.

3️⃣ Secure dedicated domains for sending

Don't use your main company domain for cold emailing. Instead:

• Purchase similar domains (e.g., yourcompany-outreach.com)

• Set up proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records

• Use a reputable domain registrar like GoDaddy or Namecheap

This protects your main domain's reputation and gives you more flexibility in your outreach.

4️⃣ Set up proper email infrastructure

Proper setup is crucial for deliverability. Here's what we do:

• Use G Suite for business email hosting

• Set up separate inboxes for each campaign

• Configure custom email signatures with legal disclaimers

• Enable two-factor authentication for security

A well-configured email infrastructure reduces the risk of being flagged as spam.

5️⃣ Warm up your email accounts

New email accounts need to be "warmed up" before sending cold emails. Start by sending 5-10 emails a day to people you know.

Slowly send more emails over 2-4 weeks. Sign up for some newsletters and reply to some emails too. You can use a tool like Lemwarm to help do this automatically.

This helps make sure your emails get to people's inboxes and don't end up in spam.

This builds a positive sending reputation and improves deliverability.

6️⃣ Write proven email copy

Your email copy can make or break your campaign.

Our winning formula:

• Attention-grabbing subject lines (use crispy questions)

• Social proof (mention other big clients you've worked with)

• Personalized opening line referencing recent company news

• Clear value proposition (how you can help them)

• Read it over and ask “so what?”

• Don’t be vague, be specific

• Use insider language

• Be helpful & valuable

• Clear call-to-action

7️⃣ Choose the right email sending tool

We use a combination of tools for different purposes:

• Lemlist for personalization and automated follow-ups

• Mailshake for A/B testing subject lines

• Woodpecker for detailed analytics and reporting

Each tool has its strengths, so choose based on your specific needs.

8️⃣ Launch your campaign

When launching:

• Start with a small batch (50-100 emails) to test

• Send at optimal times (usually Tuesday-Thursday, 10am-2pm)

• Stagger your sends to avoid spam triggers

• Have a team ready to quickly respond to replies

Remember, the goal is to start conversations, not just blast emails.

9️⃣ Monitor key metrics closely

We track these metrics daily:

• Open rate (aim for 40%+)

• Reply rate (aim for 5-10%)

• Meeting booking rate (aim for 1-2%)

• Spam complaint rate (keep under 0.1%)

Use these metrics to continuously refine your approach.

The secret sauce?

Personalization at scale.

We've used this exact framework to book meetings with Uber, PayPal, WeWork, Postmates, eHarmony, Unilever, Timex, StubHub, LEGO, Cisco, and Marriott.

Cold emailing is both an art and a science.

It takes time to perfect, but with this framework, you'll be landing meetings with Fortune 500 companies before you know it.

See you next week!

Nick

If you found this useful check these out:

• Linkedin connection request masterclass

• 6 Linkedin sales nav hacks to win high-value leads

• 3 Cold outreach video strategies for more Linkedin sales

Whenever you are ready, there are 3 ways we can help you:

1. Cold Email Lead Generation - Get booked sales calls with your ideal clients on a pay-per-lead basis. You pay a fixed fee whenever you get a response from your ideal customer. Click here to learn more.
   

2. LinkedIn Appointment setting - Want a trained sales rep in your Linkedin inbox, speaking to prospects & booking sales calls onto your calendar? Our appointment setting service will do just that. Click here to learn more.
   

3. LinkedIn Paid Advertising - Want to get in front of prospects you never thought possible? Our irresistible LinkedIn Ad funnels will help you grow your business rapidly. Click here to learn more.