Engagement Signals: The 5 Steps From 1% Cold Emails To Warm Conversations

The 5 Steps From Sub-1% Cold Emails To Warm Conversations.
It's not about the copy.

You know what? I get that.

My emails are pretty decent. But they never worked. I would send literally dozens to prospects and never heard back.

One particular prospect. Got obsessed with landing them. Used seven-email sequences; followed up multiple times; tried the breakup email at the end. Even tried personalization with an AI engine. Nothing. Nobody replied.

And then; one day; I realized the whole thing was pointless because the account had just finished an RFP process and signed a contract with a vendor. I missed it completely. It wasn't even close.

It's the moment I changed my approach forever.

Disclaimers upfront

What I'm about to share takes time. Serious time. And it takes being passionate about your account well before sending the first pitch email. When you're selling something for a few bucks/month to a single user; this might not be relevant for you. However; if you sell enterprise software worth millions of dollars; keep reading.

Here's what helped us grow our conversion rate 10-15x.

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Step 1: Find accounts that matter to you

Surprisingly; most sales teams overlook this one.

When I ask sales teams what's their ICP; they typically give me something like "VP Sales at mid-market SaaS". That's not really an ICP. This could be thousands of companies. Thousands of people. Not very actionable.

What you want is specific companies with names. Not some list of 5,000 contacts; but 10-50 accounts that you feel have a fit.

There are many ways to find such ICPs. Sometimes; you already know them. Other times; you run an ICP search; either using your CRM or a tool like Sherloq that finds ICPs automatically. Or; alternatively; you can analyze your competitors; find accounts that engage with them; talk about their products; refer them in posts. Either way works.

The important thing is to be specific. Anything after this step doesn't work without specificity.

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Step 2: Observe their behavior. And I don't just mean posts.

This step is tricky. Because most reps do it wrong.

When I ask about observing their activity on LinkedIn; the usual answer is simple. "Did this person post something recently? If yes; use it. If not; move on." That's terrible advice.

First; how often do you post? Once every week? A month? Now; how often do you engage? Comment on other posts? Like articles? Respond to messages? Much more often than posting; right?

And that's exactly how ICPs behave. Their LinkedIn activity doesn't consist of only posting content. They engage; they comment; they like; they respond.

So your job is to pay attention to these types of signals. What do they comment on? Do they share certain articles on a recurring basis? Do they respond to certain types of messages?

This is where the manual approach fails. Watching 50 profiles every day; observing hundreds of updates; analyzing which ones are worth responding to.

That's why we built Sherloq to automatically observe and analyze accounts based on activity signals. You don't even need to use Sherloq if you don't want to. There are other solutions available. But you must find a solution to automate this step. Otherwise; you lose precious signal.

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Step 3: Engage in real discussions. Not "great post". Seriously.

Here's where almost all outreach campaigns die a slow death.

People post. Others react. They leave generic comments saying "great post"; "congrats"; "well said"; and "interesting opinion".

Is this engagement? Absolutely not. Your ICPs see through that nonsense instantly. They just ignore it.

Real engagement requires you to understand what your ICP writes about. Read the article. Understand the point. Then; add value to it. Comment with a follow-up question. Bring your own insight to the discussion. Show that you're actually paying attention.

It's not limited to commenting. If your ICP shares an article on LinkedIn; write them a DM with your insights on that. Did they post about a common challenge? Drop an email with ideas on addressing it. Are they responding to other peoples' questions on LinkedIn? Comment on those responses.

Trust me on this one; we have data for everything we discuss in this article. If your ICP was posting/liking/commenting on something; and you engage in that conversation; the odds of response increase 15x. Yes; fifteen times! More data; better results.

How does that work? Simple. Engagement is not cold outreach. When your ICP engages with the topic; your response is not cold. You show up when they're thinking about something. You engage in a conversation.

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Step 4: They're listening. Make sure you don't mess up now.

Let's say that you actually engaged. Your ICP responded. They read your comment; checked out your profile; opened your message.

This is your moment. You need to convert this opportunity. And most reps miss their shots here.

You either delay too long with the next step. Send them a templated email saying you're excited about their message or post or comment. Or; and this is the absolute worst approach; send them the Calendly link straight away.

Do yourself a favor; imagine your buyer's perspective here. They just discovered you; engaged with you. Now; you want them to book time on their schedule. Find a slot. Check whether the time slots conflict. Confirm with you.

That's not your job as a seller. That's theirs.

What should you do instead? Ask them to send you 2-3 time slots and you'll work with their availability to book one of those. Also; add your Calendly link as a backup for people who like booking on their own.

They reply with "Tuesday 2PM or Thursday afternoon." Done. Or click the link. Both cases; zero friction.

A small detail? Not in enterprise sales. Small things become big deals here.

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Step 5: They went silent? Don't freak out; stay on it.

Some people won't reply back. Not because they're pissed off. Not because they don't like you. Just busy.

Enterprise buyers live lives filled with responsibilities. They can have many things going on at once. Even your perfectly crafted message can easily slip off their radar.

That's why you shouldn't send several follow-ups immediately after receiving zero response. Don't send the "just checking in" email; I don't think anyone ever liked replying to that one.

Instead; enrich their contact information. Sherloq provides a wide variety of details; including phone numbers and alternative email addresses. Use them. Call them. Send them a short email.

They're still warm; you engaged; you left your message. It's up to you to make it happen.

And if they go completely silent even after these steps; just go back to Step 2. Keep engaging in conversations on LinkedIn. Post comments on their content. React to it. Be active.

Buying windows open whenever they choose; not when you choose. And when their window opens; you want to be the one that they already recognize.

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