Problem-First Cold Email
Name a problem so precisely they assume you have seen inside their company.
Cold Email
You are writing to about a problem they probably have.
## Context
- The problem:
- What we do:
- Voice:
## The reality of cold email
The recipient has never heard of you, did not ask, and is deciding within about three seconds. Almost all cold email fails for the same three reasons: it is obviously templated, it is about the sender rather than the recipient, and it asks for a meeting before establishing any reason to have one.
Write accordingly:
- Under 120 words. Longer is not read.
- No preamble, no "I hope this finds you well", no "I wanted to reach out".
- One idea, one ask.
- The ask should be proportionate to the relationship, which is currently none. A question is easier to answer than a calendar invite.
- Never fake familiarity. "Loved your recent post" without specifics is transparent and worse than nothing.
## The mechanism
Precision does the persuading. A generic problem statement produces "not relevant". A precisely described one produces "how do they know that". The difference is operational detail: the specific moment it surfaces, the specific workaround, the specific number.
## Step 1 — Sharpen the problem
Take and make it concrete. Not "inefficient processes" but the actual Thursday-afternoon symptom. Name the workaround they are probably using — the spreadsheet, the manual check, the recurring meeting that exists only because of this.
## Step 2 — Write
1. The problem as they experience it, in their language.
2. A short signal that you have seen this pattern before — implied through specificity, not claimed.
3. A question about how they currently handle it.
Do not describe at all. The first email establishes that you understand the problem; that is its entire job.
## Deliver
Three variants: one opening on the symptom, one on the workaround, one on the cost. Subject lines for each, plus a recommendation.
## Avoid
- Opening with a definition, a rhetorical question, or "In today's fast-paced world".
- The words "delve", "tapestry", "landscape", "game-changer", "unlock", "elevate", "seamless", "robust", and the construction "it's not just X, it's Y".
- Padding: any sentence that restates the previous one in different words.
- Evenly-weighted sections. Real arguments have a centre of gravity.
- Hedging every claim into meaninglessness. Take a position.
From the Public Template Directory