Client told me my intro email was 'too robotic' and it made me rethink my whole approach

So I had this client last month, some guy from a small marketing firm in Denver. He straight up said my first email to him sounded like a template from a 2015 sales course. I was kinda mad at first because I thought it was professional. But after sitting on it for a few days, I realized he was right. I changed my intro emails to be more personal, like referencing something specific from their website or last post. Now I feel like I'm getting more replies, but sometimes I worry I'm oversharing or being too casual. What's your take on this? Do you lean more professional or personal in your first messages, and has anyone given you feedback that actually shifted how you work?

3 comments

3 Comments

waderamirez5d agoMost Upvoted

Ah man I feel this so hard. Yeah, I had a client once say my pitch sounded like it was written by a bot and it stung at first but they were totally right. Now I start every first email with something like "saw your post about X and it made me think of Y" or I mention a specific project on their site that caught my eye. It's a balancing act though, I've definitely sent a few that felt too personal and had to pull back. My rule now is one specific reference and then keep the rest clean and friendly, like you're talking to a coworker not a stranger.

david_walker975d ago

Holy crap, @waderamirez said "sounds like a bot" to their face?! That's brutal, I don't think I could handle that one. Your rule about one reference then keeping it clean honestly sounds like the sweet spot though.

ward.diana5d ago

Yeah I read somewhere that people just want to feel like you actually looked at their stuff first.