How to Ask for Business in an Email: 10 Business Email Templates

If there’s one thing that’s essential to sales it’s writing clear, concise and effective emails when asking customers for business.

According to Campaign Monitor we send and receive 121 business emails every day, that number goes up for people with more responsibility at an organization. The funny part is that the majority of these emails suck.

For example take a look at the following email Pete Caputa CEO of Databox received not too long ago:

Subject: Peter, before the weekend

Hi Peter,

I’ll be reaching out to you on the phone in the next couple of days/next week but I wanted to follow up with an email as well before the weekend.

We haven’t had the pleasure of meeting but I’m reaching out to introduce myself and see if we can schedule a 15-minute conversation sometime next week.

I work for a company called BoogerPickers — we help businesses better manage their digital booger picking technologies, and when I came across your website and assessed the tools you’re using, I realized this is a great opportunity for us to help you.

To be brief — we are a booger indexing solution that:

Eliminates the chaotic burden of hand picking boogers from your nose

Enables access to smaller, difficult to reach boogers in order to increase successful booger extraction

Optimizes the ROI from your existing booger pickers (reducing time and maximizing ROI)

Companies similar to yours in the industry rely on us to be the foundation for their entire booger picking stack and I think HubSpot Inc. could definitely see the value in BoogerPickers as well.

I’d love the opportunity to share this in a bit more detail and hear your feedback.

Are you available for 15 minutes sometime next week?

Can’t imagine a quick chat about increasing booger picking and optimizing your booger pile would be a waste.

Cheers,
Clueless Chad

PS — Check out this recent TechCrunch article about BoogerPickers’ recent round of funding and future plans!

What do you think is wrong with this email? Let’s break down the review:

Start by reading this email out loud and imagine yourself saying something like this to a person in real life.

Can you list a few issues with this email now?

A.) I don’t know this person, who are they?

B.) Why would I give them 15 minutes of my time? What would I get in return?

C.) The value proposition is totally unclear and not personalized

We can continue illustrating these, instead here is how these types of emails sound like when you actually walk up to people and say them out loud, take a look:

I hope this video is painting a clear picture for you now about what NOT to do in a cold email.

In short remember:

Don’t write long emails, keep them to 200 words max
Research the recipient, find out what their struggle it, try to genuinely help, not sell them
Personalize emails and show real value to the recipient
Use one sentence to describe what you do and how it helps others

In this article, I’m not only going to show you how to ask for business in an email but I’ll actually share 10 templates you can use right now to get the ball rolling. Ready? Let’s roll!

Cold Outreach for Business

Cold email outreach is when you contact someone via email who doesn’t know or hasn’t had any previous connection with you (or your business) in the past.

It’s essentially a “cold” interaction. Most of the business email templates below are cold outreach emails, perfect for first-time encounters.

Cold outreach has been a goto tactic for sales, marketing, and PR. It’s the same as walking in a room to introduce yourself in a room filled with new people. The difference is that you’re pitching via email.

Two popular misconceptions most people have when it comes to cold outreach emails is:

Cold Outreach Misconception #1

Cold outreach is considered spam by email service providers. Not true.

The CAN-SPAM Act states that you can send emails for business purposes to people that you do not know. It’s only spamming if you’re violating any email privacy laws, preventing people from opting out of your email list, or you’re flooding their outlook or Gmail app with email pitches with disregard for their inbox privacy.

Cold Outreach Misconception #2

Cold outreach doesn’t work for every industry, you need to be in a specific industry to use cold email outreach. Not true.

At JustReachOut we have over 4,000 clients, who are entrepreneurs just like you doing cold email outreach to get covered in the press each and every day, average open rate on all emails is 51% and the average response rate is 15%. Our customers are doing outreach with anything from broken link email templates to answering questions from journalists. As long as your goal is to connect with something someone finds valuable then a cold outreach email will work for you.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s dive into the various types of business email templates you can use to ask for business in an email.

1. Lead Magnet Promotion Email

A lead magnet promotion email is a good start when asking for business if you want to get people interested in what you have to offer. This can be a one-off email or it can be an email sequence.

A lead magnet is an incentive that you offset to potential buyers in exchange for purchases or contact information. This is usually a discount, free PDF checklist, eBook, or downloadable content.

When asking for business in your email the first thing your reader is going to ask is “what’s in it for me?”. It goes across the board for any form of outreach. People mainly care about what they can benefit from when companies reach out to them.

That’s where your value proposition comes into play. This should be in your opening sentence.

With a lead magnet, you can position your value proposition smartly from the first interaction with your prospect.

You can use this business email template for outreach or add it to your email automation process when website visitors opt-in on your pop-ups or online forms.

The key feature for your lead magnet is that it should be geared towards a hyper-specific audience.

A good lead magnet email will drive people to your website while a generic one will be ignored. If it seems irrelevant to the person you’re reaching out they’ll most likely turn down your offer.

With a higher specific audience, you have a higher chance of getting instant interest from your new prospect, in turn increasing your chances of getting a reply from that potential customer.

Remember it’s all about what’s in it for them so it has to focus on solutions, pain points, or an alternative to what they may be using at the moment.

Depending on your industry here are some lead magnet ideas you can have for your business email template:

Free coupon or shipping to try your products
Educational content that positions your product/company as credible
Educational material related to what needs they will solve with your product
Offer a free trial or freemium account to test your product
Case study or free report so they can learn first hand how you’ve helped similar customers like them

Lead Magnet Promotion Business Email Template

Subject: Just for You, [Offer or Discount]

Hi Peter,

I’m [your name] the [position in the company] and we [what your company does in 1-2 sentences].

We decided that instead of writing a long email about how great our product is, we’d show and not tell.

We’re offering you [share the offer in 2-3 sentences].

With this offer, you’ll get [list the benefits in 2-5 bullet points].

Give it a try and let us know if it’s helpful to solve [state the issue your tool resolves]

If you have any questions about the offer or how to get started feel free to reach out to be via this email. I’ll be sure to give a quick response.

Cheers,
[Your name]

PS — Check out what our happy customers say about using [your product name].

2. Product Launch Email

If your business is launching a new product this is the perfect time to reach out to prospective customers who might be using a competitor or would benefit the most from your new product.

With product announcement emails, they can help to boost your launch’s momentum online to drive more sales.

Product launch emails are a balancing act, you want to build excitement but you also have to get straight to the point. Your email should cover the following:

Who you are and what is the upcoming product?
Why does the reader need it and how does this update benefit them?
How or where can they buy it aka your CTA?

If you’re sending an email out to an existing list of contacts you’ve engaged with in the past or those who have opted for your email list (willingly) then you should follow this three-step sequence to build interest and keep your leads warm before and after the product is launched:

Send Out a Pre-Announcement Email: Two weeks before give a sneak peek to your subscribers on what’s to come once your business is in a good place to back your statement up, try to avoid a launch date unless you know you can follow through on the date. Lastly don’t give too much but enough to peak interest and anticipation.
Make Your Official Announcement: Use this email to officially announce your new product launch. In this email, you should add engaging facts, features, and solutions your product will provide readers. Be sure to add an action or any kudos from experts you’ve gotten a response from with the email template listed below.
Follow-Up Email: This is the most important part of an email campaign (in my humble opinion). Most of the responses will come from follow ups. It’s important to send the follow up to both your email list and outreach list as a gentle reminder. Give them a quick reminder of the good news and let them know you’re excited to hear from them along with a great online review to entice them. There is a recent study cited by HiverHQ in their article on follow ups saying the following:

80% of sales leads require at least 5 follow-ups after the initial sales meeting. But nearly 44% of salespeople give up after just 1 follow up, or forget to follow-up altogether.

For outreach to other businesses here are five types of product launch emails you can choose from depending on what your announcement is all about:

Product Release Business Email Template

Subject: You’re Invited to the launch of [name of new product]

Hi Peter,

We are excited to announce that we’ll be launching our new [name of the product being launched].

What makes the [product name] different is [ intro to the product and why people may want to buy it].

If you’re tired of [issues that customers consistently face, this can be in 3-5 bullet points].

[Name of product] was made to [list how this product provides solutions to the issues above].

You can get your [product name] directly from our website or click here to get started!

[Only add offer if needed] for the first 100 people who [action required] our [name of product].

[Add CTA button]

Cheers,
[Your name]

Upcoming Features Announcement Business Email Template

Subject: Announcing our new [name of new product]

Hi Peter,

We’re extremely excited to let you know about the latest updates to [name of product].

We’ve got several requests to [reason for feature update from users], and it’s finally here!

Now [name of product] allows you to [intro on the upcoming feature(s)].

[Provide a good example with visuals if possible here].

There’s no way we can cover all of these amazing feature details in this email, so to get all of the info sign in to [website ] account or check out our full announcement post here!

[Add CTA button]

Cheers,
[Your name]

Acquirement Update Business Email Template

Subject: We’re Please to Announce the [name of your company] x [name of company acquired]

Hi Peter,

[Name of your company] is proud to announce our partnering with [name of company] to give you the best in [solution your requirement provides customers].

In the last few months, we have been tirelessly working to improve [product/service] and we believe that [name of your company] will help you enjoy your experience with us even more.

So what is [name of company name] all about?

[Explain the purpose of your companies joined partnership and features].

[Provide a (visual) example if possible here].

Now you can [provide benefit] easier and faster!

If you have any questions about our new partnership feel free to reach out to me via this email. I’ll be sure to give a quick response.

[Add CTA button]

Cheers,
[Your name]

Pre-Order Business Email Template

Subject: Introducing, [name of new product]

Hi Peter,

The count down starts now! We just finished [name of product] and we’re getting ready to launch.

But before we release [name of product] on [your website, and other platforms], we’re giving our loyal customers, like you, the chance to get exclusive and early access before anyone else.

[add an element of scarcity, or fear or missing].

[Add CTA button]

Cheers,
[Your name]

3. Influencer Outreach Email

Working with influencers for business is a normalized marketing strategy, after all, brands across every industry like Gymshark, Ahref, and Fenty have grown their business with the help of influencers.

In this day and age Influencers are no longer tied to Instagram content creators but thought leaders as well. Influencers can be found across all social media platforms regardless of B2B or B2C.

This works great for PR, helps you to tap into their customer base to gain new customers and build a relationship with the influencer for future projects.

Since influencer marketing has become a staple in business, more companies are heavily pushing for outreach to your favorite influencers, so first things first.

You’re not the only one asking to do business with them. This means your email needs to stand out amongst the rest of the inbox. Formal emails can be a hit or miss so try to speak based on their brand persona or online tone.

Next, before you reach out to an influencer be sure to have your influencer goals covered. Knowing the goal for your outreach will help you to not only provide a clear and concise email but will allow you to connect with that influencer as well.

This will be essential information you’ll need to add to your email later on, such as:

Why do you want to partner with this specific influencer and how does he/she fit your brand?
How do you want to collaborate with this influencer and what do you expect from this collaboration?
What’s the benefit you’ll provide the influencer in exchange for their service or exposure to their audience?

Influencer Outreach Business Email Template

Subject: Hi [influencer name], love your content

Hi [Insert Influencer Name],

I have been following your profile on [insert social media platform] and really loved your post(s) on [state specific topic]. [Insert a sentence about their most current post or personality].

I’m [your name] the [position in the company] and we [what your company does in 1-2 sentences].

I think your love for [niche] and [state how your brand and the influencer are complimentary].

I thought I would reach out to see if you would be open to doing a collaboration together!

Let me know if you are interested and I will send more details!

Thanks,

[Your name]

4. Pitching Your Brand for an Event or Partnership

Acquiring a business doesn’t always have to be a straightforward task, in fact, long-term partnerships in business can help you find new business.

By working alongside the top brands in your industry you can not only get exposure but tap into your partner’s audience to attract new customers.

With a joined partnership you’ll be joining efforts, resources, and marketing platforms to increase your exposure in the online space. This can come in the form of a co-promotion, brand/marketing partnership, or an event.

Partnerships can last for a project, season, or long-term depending on your goals which gives you enough flexibility to have multiple partners working with your business. The best place to start is with a meeting request.

Once you’ve identified your strategic partner or brand you can use the following templates below to ask for business:

Brand Partnership Business Email Templates

Subject: Just for You, [Offer or Discount]

Hi Peter,

I’m [your name] the [position in the company] and we [what your company does in 1-2 sentences].

I really resonated with [specific product or feature example]. It [state the reason you liked it]. Which made me notice that we cater to the same target audience.

Would you be interested in [benefits you hope to achieve]?

In the past, we’ve worked with [list of brands or similar past successes]. We’d love to see if we can partner together for [brand partnership goal].

If you’re interested I’d love to hop on a quick call on [date/time] to discuss further.

Cheers,
[Your name]

Webinar Event Business Email Templates

Subject: You’re Invited to Speak at [name of webinar]

Hi Peter,

I’m [your name] the [position in the company] and we’re hosting a webinar called [name of webinar].

[State what your webinar is about and your target audience 1-3 sentences].

This webinar will be [live/pre-recorded] and help on [date and time of webinar].

We’d love to have you as a presenter or speaker as [reason you reach out to them as a speaker].

Does this sound like something you’d be interested in?

If so, let me know and I can send over more details or we can set up a quick call [place appointment link here].

Cheers,
[Your name]

5. Podcast or Video Interview Invitation

If you’re a content creator with a podcast or video series inviting top-tier guests to your show will help boost your business credibility and intern sales.

Before sending off an email you should research your guest. Regardless of how many subscribers or listeners they may have, their audience and yours should be compatible or complementary.

If not, even if you’ve made it past the email pitch and to publishing your content it won’t connect or have the effect that you’re looking for from guest invitations.

Once you’ve created a list of quality guests for outreach you’ll need to consider what value you can offer or how your host will benefit from appearing on your podcast?

This could mean showing off an audience testimonial or podcast or google reviews, or what others have said about you on a popular review site.

This part is a bit tricky especially if you’re just starting out and you don’t have the downloads or views to back your credibility. Be sure to let them know how much you value their time so you’ll create an informational interview.

Before you do outreach for guests, consider getting some well-known people to review, share or talk about your new podcast to get the ball rolling so you can highlight them in your outreach to impress your potential guest.

Podcast or Video Interview Email Templates

Subject: You’re Invited to Speak at [name of podcast]

Hi Peter,

My name is [your name] and I am the host of [your podcast’s name hyperlinked].

This podcast is about [1-2 sentences about your podcast or podcast’s mission]. I’d be honored to invite you to my upcoming episode to share your expertise on [state guest industry or expertise].

[State 2-3 lines explaining why your listeners would benefit and how they can benefit from your exposure]

I’ve had [state other guests you’ve had on your podcast if new list people your currently reach out to at the moment].

The Podcast episodes are about [time] minutes long and conducted through [Location, Zoom, Skype, Google Meet, phone call].

Would you be interested?

If so click here [appointment link] to book your available times convenient time for you.

Cheers,
[Your name]

6. Win-Back Business Email

A win-back business email is used to re-engage inactive contacts who may have made purchases with you in the past but discontinued their services or have stopped purchasing from you.

So essentially just a fancy follow-up email you use to win back a previous client who has stopped doing business with you for whatever reason.

This is great when it comes to customer service whether you’re using helpdesk software to correspond with customers such as Zendesk or one of it’s alternatives. Use this email as an opportunity to reconnect with this customer, collect feedback on how to improve, and learn where your business outreach can improve.

The win-back email is all about them and helps to get insightful customer feedback to finds out why your customer may have switched to competitors or discontinued their business with you.

It’s also important that you don’t come empty-handed when asking back for business in your professional email. Be sure to have an incentive, deal, or apology in your email as well. It would also be helpful to highlight any issues they may have reported to customer service to show them that you’re listening and open to helping.

Win-Back Business Email Templates

Subject: What can we do for you?

Hi Peter,

We noticed that you’ve been gone for a while.

We’ve been working hard at [name of company] to help [provide a solution to customer paint point] and we wanted to make sure that we checked in with you were doing.

If you have any questions for us or need any help with our service, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

We’ve been working on a few new things that we know would be helpful to you:

[List new products/services to update the reader].

If you have any questions about the offer or how to get started feel free to reach out to me via this email. I’ll be sure to give a quick response.

Cheers,
[Your name]

PS — Check out what our happy customers say about using [your product name].

After Sending Your Email

Once you’ve sent off your email the real work begins. You’re going to have to be patient as some people typically need 24 hours to five business days to reply.

Outside of your request, they have other request emails to tackle in their inbox. So in the meanwhile continue doing outreach, test your email templates, review your success, and finding other ways or methods to ask for business.

Once you’ve given them enough time to respond to your email, give them a gentle nudge, aka a follow-up email to remind them of your initial email, or ask to book a quick video or conference call for more details, you can even use a reliable VOIP app to accomplish that.

We’re human after all, dealing with work, projects, and other agendas we can forget to reply to an email just as easily as we can open it. Once you’ve done your follow-up email(s).

Ultimately the final choice is up to your potential customer to make the next move. Sometimes you can do a single outreach that can get you business and other times you might have to do hundreds of emails to get a handful of good clients.

When you’re learning how to ask for business in an email the key is to be patient, improving, and testing your subject lines and email copy.

Lastly, don’t stop. The first time around can be a bit scary but once you get a hang of it you’ll begin to get better and faster replies and business from your emails.