Templates · Email
B2B cold email templates: 8 examples you can copy
Eight complete cold emails, with subject line, body, signature and opt-out line. Pick the one that matches the person you are writing to, replace the bracketed variables, and keep it short.
Updated 2026-10-22
In short
A good B2B cold email runs 50 to 120 words: a specific observation about the company or the person, the problem that situation often creates, what you bring, then one simple question. It targets one role, ends with an opt-out line and, on first contact, a short privacy notice explaining who you are and where the address came from.
The eight templates at a glance
| Template | When to use it | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| 1. First touch on a situation | You spotted a specific fact about the company | |
| 2. Founder or CEO of a small business | The CEO still owns the topic personally | |
| 3. CFO | Your offer touches costs, close, cash or reporting | |
| 4. HR director | Visible hiring or an HR topic | |
| 5. Sales director | Your offer touches pipeline or selling time | |
| 6. Referral | A colleague of the prospect pointed you to them | |
| 7. Content offer | You have genuinely useful content to share | |
| 8. After an event | You attended the same event or their talk |
Anatomy of a cold email that gets replies
A short, neutral subject line
Three to six words, no capitals or exclamation marks: the company name and the topic are enough. A subject line that looks like an ad gets treated like one.
An opening line about them
An observable, verifiable fact: a hire, a new site, a new role. This line decides whether the rest gets read.
The problem, not the product
What this situation often causes at comparable companies. The prospect should recognise themselves in it.
Your offer in one sentence
Who you work with, the outcome, and what you spare the client. No feature list.
One question
Easy to answer, including with a no. Not “30 minutes on Tuesday at 2 pm” in a first email.
Signature and opt-out
Name, title, company and postal address, plus a line to stop receiving messages. In the first email, the privacy notice.
Template 1 — First touch on an observed situation
When to use it: the first email of a sequence, when you have spotted a specific fact about the company: a new site, a product launch, open roles, a reorganisation.
Subject: [Company] and [topic]
Hi [First name],
[Specific observation: the opening of your [city] site, the launch of [product], the roles you are hiring for in [team]].
At [type of company] your size, that moment often comes with [concrete problem: longer lead times, costs creeping up, a stretched team].
We help companies like [comparable client or type of client] [concrete outcome] without [usual constraint].
Is this on your radar right now?
[First name Last name], [Title], [Your company], [Postal address]
[Short privacy notice: two lines, see the model in the GDPR guide]
If you’d rather not hear from me again, just reply “stop”.
Why it works: the first line proves the message was written for this company, and the question only asks for a yes or a no. It is the base template every other one builds on.
Template 2 — Founder or CEO of a small business
When to use it: at companies of a few dozen people, where the CEO decides alone and still personally owns the topic you cover (sales, purchasing, hiring, IT).
Subject: [topic] at [Company]
Hi [First name],
At a [headcount]-person company like [Company], the CEO often still carries [topic] on top of everything else.
We take [what you do] off the plate of founders in [industry], with [format: a single point of contact, a 30-minute check-in each month], so they get time back for [priority].
If that is something you would like to hand off this year, I can show you in 15 minutes how it works at [comparable client or type of client]. Worth a look?
[First name Last name], [Title], [Your company], [Postal address]
[Short privacy notice: two lines, see the model in the GDPR guide]
If you’d rather not hear from me again, just reply “stop”.
Why it works: a small-business CEO thinks in time and priorities, not features. The email names a load they recognise and offers a short, no-commitment conversation.
Template 3 — CFO
When to use it: your offer touches costs, the month-end close, cash, reporting tools or compliance. CFOs read fast and distrust promises: stay factual.
Subject: month-end close and [topic]
Hi [First name],
As CFO of [Company], you probably deal with [situation: several entities to consolidate, expenses still handled by hand, an accounting system that doesn’t talk to [tool]].
At [type of company] of a similar size, that is often where [resource: days at every close, visibility on cash] gets lost.
We help finance teams [outcome] without replacing [existing tool or process].
Would it be worth a conversation, or is this already handled on your side?
[First name Last name], [Title], [Your company], [Postal address]
[Short privacy notice: two lines, see the model in the GDPR guide]
If you’d rather not hear from me again, just reply “stop”.
Why it works: it speaks the language of the role (close, consolidation, cash) and offers an explicit way out: “already handled” is a useful answer that saves you three pointless follow-ups.
Template 4 — HR director or head of talent
When to use it: the company is visibly hiring, or your offer touches onboarding, training, payroll, employer brand or manager workload.
Subject: your [role] hiring
Hi [First name],
I noticed [Company] has opened several [role] positions over the past few weeks.
Hiring at that pace often raises the question of [problem: onboarding new joiners, managers’ bandwidth, hitting start dates].
We work with HR teams in [industry] on [what you do], through [format].
How are you handling that today?
[First name Last name], [Title], [Your company], [Postal address]
[Short privacy notice: two lines, see the model in the GDPR guide]
If you’d rather not hear from me again, just reply “stop”.
Why it works: the hiring is public and the person knows it better than you do. An open question about how they work invites a reply without feeling sold to.
Template 5 — Sales director or VP of Sales
When to use it: your offer touches pipeline, prospecting, sales tools or the time reps actually spend selling.
Subject: [period] pipeline at [Company]
Hi [First name],
You lead a team of [number] reps at [Company], covering [market or territory].
In teams that size, the time spent on [task: finding contacts, updating the CRM, prepping meetings] usually comes out of selling time.
We help sales leaders like [comparable client or type of client] [outcome] without adding another tool the team has to learn.
Is that a priority for you this half?
[First name Last name], [Title], [Your company], [Postal address]
[Short privacy notice: two lines, see the model in the GDPR guide]
If you’d rather not hear from me again, just reply “stop”.
Why it works: sales leaders get pitched constantly; they answer the emails that talk about their team and their target, not your product. The question is about their current priority.
Template 6 — Referral
When to use it: only when someone at the company actually pointed you to this person, for example by replying “not me, talk to [First name]”. Never fake it: the person you name can check in a minute.
Subject: [Colleague’s first name] suggested I reach out
Hi [First name],
[Colleague’s full name] mentioned you are the right person for [topic] at [Company].
I had reached out about [problem in one line]: we help [type of company] [outcome].
Would you be open to a 20-minute call to see whether it is relevant? Happy to work around your calendar.
[First name Last name], [Title], [Your company], [Postal address]
[Short privacy notice: two lines, see the model in the GDPR guide]
If you’d rather not hear from me again, just reply “stop”.
Why it works: an internal referral is the best reason to write there is, and it is verifiable. Thank the colleague too: it is polite, and they will know you followed up.
Template 7 — Content offer
When to use it: you have content that is genuinely useful to the role: a guide, a checklist, a study, a template. Not a brochure in disguise.
Subject: [content title]
Hi [First name],
We put together [type of content: a guide, a checklist, a study] on [topic], based on [source: our projects with [type of company], public data].
It covers [concrete element: the checks to run before…, a template for…, the most common mistakes in…].
Given your role as [title] at [Company], I thought it might be useful. Want me to send it over?
[First name Last name], [Title], [Your company], [Postal address]
[Short privacy notice: two lines, see the model in the GDPR guide]
If you’d rather not hear from me again, just reply “stop”.
Why it works: you give before you ask, and you only send the link after a yes. A first email with no link or attachment also lands in the inbox more easily (see the deliverability guide).
Template 8 — After a trade show or event
When to use it: you attended the same event as the prospect, heard their talk or visited their booth. Only if it is true.
Subject: [event name]
Hi [First name],
We were both at [event] [day]: [I caught your talk on [topic] / I stopped by your booth but missed you].
[Specific point you took away] made me think of [related problem], which we often see at [type of company].
We work on exactly that with [comparable client or type of client]. Would you be up for a 20-minute chat in the next few weeks?
[First name Last name], [Title], [Your company], [Postal address]
[Short privacy notice: two lines, see the model in the GDPR guide]
If you’d rather not hear from me again, just reply “stop”.
Why it works: a recent shared context makes the email feel familiar. Quoting a specific point from the talk shows you listened, rather than bought an attendee list.
Personalising without spending all day on it
Not all variables are equal. [First name], [Company] and [title] come straight from your list. The observation in the opening line is what makes the difference: it means opening the prospect’s website, profile or a recent news item. If you can’t fill it in for a prospect, use a role-based template instead, which works without it.
Before launching, fill in the template for five real prospects and read them out loud. A legal entity name (“ACME HOLDINGS LTD”), a sprawling job title or a sentence that no longer reads well with the variable jumps out immediately. For the rest of the sequence, see the follow-up templates and the multichannel sequence guide.
Mistakes to avoid
- Opening with yourself: “We are a leading provider of…” wastes the one line you know will be read.
- Filler phrases: “I hope this email finds you well”, “I wanted to reach out”. They add length and say nothing.
- Several asks at once: a meeting, a deck and a call in the same email. One question.
- Numbers you can’t source: they trigger suspicion, and spam filters.
- The same text for every role: a CFO and a sales director do not have the same problem.
- Links, images and attachments on first contact: they make the email look like a mass campaign.
- Empty or broken variables: “Hi [First name]” sent as is undermines the whole campaign.
- Leaving out the opt-out line: it is required, and it stops people from hitting “Report spam”.
What The Sales Engine does
On the platform, the opening line of the first email is written by AI for each prospect, from their record and their buying signal when they have one, then dropped into your template. You approve every prospect before anything is sent, an automatic review flags missing variables, and the sequence runs email and LinkedIn together, stopping at the first reply. Every email carries an unsubscribe link.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a cold email be?
Between 50 and 120 words, which is four or five short sentences. The prospect should be able to read it on a phone without scrolling. Keep the detail for the conversation.
Should I personalise the subject line?
A short subject line with the company name or the topic is enough. Avoid clickbait, capitals and fake “Re:” on a first email: they cost you trust before the email is even opened.
Can I include a booking link?
A single link is fine, but on first contact a simple question often gets a more natural reply. Save the link for a follow-up or for your answer to an interested prospect.
How many follow-ups after the first email?
Two to four in total, across all channels, each with something new. The templates are on the sales follow-up email page.
Read next
A first email written for each prospect
Show us your target: we will show you the first emails the platform would write, before anything is sent.