Using AI to Craft Effective Sales Emails

Generic sales emails are dead. 

In today’s day and age, you just can’t get away with sending the same old template to every lead under the sun – and sales pros all over have the results to prove it. 

Personalized sales emails have a 29% higher open rate than non-personalized emails. They also have an average click-through rate of 41%. Simply put, the more effort you put into your emails, the better results you’ll see. 

We’re well aware you might be reading this and thinking something along the lines of “Yeah, yeah, that’s all very well – but what about the time and effort all that takes?”. 

If that’s you, we get it! Sales pros are always pushed for time – we’ve got to prospect, work on our outreach strategies, keep our CRMs up to date, prep for calls, and not to mention, you know, do the actual selling part too. How on earth are we meant to fit finessing every last email into the mix?

Well, we’re here to answer that very question. AI is your best friend when it comes to quickly crafting quality emails that don’t skimp on the personalization part. Here’s what we’re going to explain:

• The Role of AI in Sales Communication
• How AI Enhances Sales Email Writing
• Best Practices for Using AI in Sales Emails
• Challenges and Limitations

Still cynical? Prepare to have your mind changed. Yep, we’re that confident. 

The Role of AI in Sales Communication

Using AI in sales, first really took off in the early 2010s, with tools focused on basic data crunching – things like sorting leads by priority, tracking customer interactions, and analyzing past sales data to spot patterns. 

These early systems saved sales teams hours of manual work – and since then, AI has only got better. These days, you can use AI as a full-blown sales strategist that uses things like predictive analytics, sentiment analysis, and hyper-personalized email crafting to help sales teams connect with prospects on a new level. 

In 2024, 43% of sales teams had adopted some form of AI tool. 50% of sales pros agree that AI enables them to scale in ways that otherwise wouldn’t be possible. 76% think most people will be using AI by 2030.

Today, sales pros who take advantage of using AI for email writing enjoy: 

• Personalization at scale, no matter how diverse the audience 
• Time efficiency, which frees up resources for other tasks 
• Higher engagement and improved responses

Want some of that? Of course you do – let’s dig into it. 

How AI Enhances Sales Email Writing

Let’s take a look at all the different ways AI can help you with writing killer sales emails: 

Personalization at Scale 

Using customer data insights, AI can write super personalized emails. We’re not just talking including recipient names (those should be included as standard). Instead, we’re talking including preferences, interests, and problems prospects face in their day to day.

This level of personalization can be tough for a sales rep to do at scale. For AI, it’s as easy as pie. Even the biggest list can be segmented and personalized with ease. 

Crafting Killer Subject Lines 

Personalized subject lines increase open rates by 22% – and, you guessed it, AI can help you get there. Use its analytical capabilities on first- or third-party intent data, historical internal data, previous email success rates, and so on and so forth, to identify effective subject line strategies that you know will get you results.

Attention-grabbing subject lines usually have some sort of detail about the recipient or their business. For example, if your recipient has recently visited your pricing page more than once, you could set your AI email tool up to craft a subject line around the ROI of your product. Clever. 

Optimizing Email Content 

Not everyone can be talented at absolutely everything (booo). Maybe you can’t cook, but you’re an excellent gymnast. Maybe you don’t know how to relax in front of the TV, but you run marathons really fast. Maybe writing isn’t your thing, but you can talk to anyone about anything under the sun. 

If that last one sounds vaguely familiar, then AI is about to become your best friend. Its natural language tools will help keep your writing clear and concise and maintain a tone that strikes the balance between professional and approachable. 

A/B Testing and Performance Analysis 

If you’re running experiments around your approach to email (which you really should be, btw), AI can really speed up the process. 

As well as brainstorming and setting up experiments, AI is great at analyzing results. Give it your open rates and click-through rates, and it’ll be able to come up with a detailed analysis and ways you can refine your approach next time.

Best Practices for Using AI in Sales Emails

Ok, so now you know how AI can help you – but how do you make sure it’s going to get you the best results? 

Following best practices, is how 😉

Selecting the Right AI Tools 

When choosing the right tool(s) for you and your business, you’ll have several factors to consider: 

• Personalization Capabilities: make sure your tool can create emails tailored to your prospects’ roles, industries, and behaviors.
• Ease of Use and Integration: if your tool doesn’t integrate with your CRM or sales stack – or is just point-blank too complicated to use – it’s only going to slow you down.
• Email Performance Insights: you need to know how your emails are doing, right? Look for a tool that tracks open rates, clicks, and responses, and generates recommendations to improve them. 
• AI Quality: you’re always going to need to add the human touch to AI content – but does it write drafts that sound relatively human and natural? If it doesn’t prospects aren’t going to nibble. 

Aligning Tools with Sales Team Goals and Processes 

Make sure the team is involved from the start of the process: that means asking for their input during the selection and setup process, asking them about their biggest problems, and involving them in setting up workflows. 

Doing so will help with buy-in and make sure the tool fits naturally into day-to-day tasks. 

You’ll also want to take the time to tailor the tool to your specific workflow and goals – for example, syncing it up with your CRM so it can track leads or setting up templates that match your tone of voice. 

Once the tool’s been introduced, don’t skimp on gathering feedback – are the emails generating the right responses? Are there bottlenecks? Refine the integration off the back of this feedback. 

Crafting Effective Prompts for AI 

Crafting effective prompts for AI isn’t as tricky as it first sounds. The more clear and specific you are, the better results you’ll get. 

Saying “Write me an email” is going to get you vague results. The tool will try its best, but it simply doesn’t have enough to go off. 

If, on the other hand, you try something like “Draft a follow-up email for a decision-maker in the SAAs industry, highlighting our tool’s time-saving features” and then include key details like the recipient’s role, industry, and the goal of the email, you’re far more likely to receive a high-quality draft back. Simple! 

We’ve got a couple of example prompts here for you to steal (or at least, be inspired by): 

Cold Outreach Email: “Write a cold outreach email to a marketing director at a mid-sized SaaS company. Highlight how our lead enrichment tool saves time by syncing LinkedIn data directly with their CRM. Keep the tone professional yet conversational, and include a clear CTA to book a demo.”

Follow-Up Email After a Demo: “Draft a follow-up email for a sales prospect who attended a demo of our product last week. Address their interest in improving sales team productivity, reference a key feature they asked about (automated lead prioritization), and include a CTA to schedule a deeper discussion.”

Lead Nurture Email: “Write a nurture email for a sales manager at a mid-sized B2B company who downloaded our lead enrichment tool guide last month. Focus on providing value by sharing a blog post about best practices for streamlining lead management. Keep the tone friendly and informative, and include a CTA to check out the resource or reply with any questions.”

Balancing AI with Human Input 

AI is a wonderful thing – but you can’t solely rely on it when it comes to creating emails. 

Instead, it’s vital to input a personal, human touch – skip this step, and you’ll come across as inauthentic at best, and like a robot at worst. 

You can engineer your prompts to skip overly generic or robotic language in AI outputs, but the best way to swerve it completely is to check the work and make edits yourself. 

Ethical Considerations 

It’s also key to be transparent about your AI usage. Not all prospects are going to appreciate finding out they’re talking to a robot that they thought was a human – by being upfront and honest from the start, you can avoid a surprise later down the line. 

You should also keep privacy standards and data security in mind. Make sure you check in on every tool’s stance here – the last thing you want to find out is that your internal data’s been compromised because you didn’t do your due diligence.

Challenges and Limitations

Like any new strategy or process, AI comes with its challenges and limitations. Here’s what to keep an eye out for: 

• Over-Reliance on AI: start relying on AI for every little thing, and you’ll end up forgoing the human touches that make your prospects really connect with you through email. Plus, it’s super-easy to tell when someone’s leaned too hard on their AI friend – and it doesn’t make a good impression. 
• Relevance and Accuracy: AI is only as good as the data you give it. If your AI tool is working with out-of-date or incorrect information, it’s going to churn out irrelevant or inaccurate emails – again, not the impression you want to be making. 
• Navigating AI’s Limitations: AI isn’t yet known for its creativity or nuanced understanding. That’s where you come in – let it focus on the basics but make sure you remain the brain behind the operations. 

Let’s Wrap It Up!

Just admit it. We changed your mind, didn’t we? 

It really is possible to create quality, personalized emails that hit the spot, every single time – without sacrificing your life or sanity in the process. 

Choose the right AI tool, set yourself up carefully, and understand where to fully lean into its capabilities and where to use your human touch, and you’ll be on your way to sales email nirvana in no time. 

Don’t forget to send us a postcard when you get there, ok? 

FAQs About Using AI to Craft Effective Sales Emails 

How Can AI Help Personalize Sales Emails?

AI takes sales email personalization to the next level by analyzing customer data – like interests, job roles, and past interactions – to craft tailored messages. These days, personalization goes beyond simply adding a name to the greeting – AI can include details about a prospect’s challenges, industry trends, or even their recent behavior (like visiting your pricing page). This kind of personalization shows recipients you’ve done your homework and boosts engagement. The beauty of AI is that it can do this work at scale, so you can send customized emails to hundreds of prospects in no time at all. 

What Are the Best AI Tools for Crafting Sales Emails?

The best AI tools for sales emails have features like advanced personalization, CRM integration, and performance tracking. Look for tools that analyze data to create tailored templates, suggest optimized subject lines, and track metrics like open and click-through rates. Remember, the right tool should simplify your process – not make it more complicated. 

How Do You Balance AI With the Human Touch in Sales Emails?

AI is amazing at handling repetitive tasks and scaling personalization, but it can’t replace the human element of sales. Always review and edit AI-generated emails as necessary to ensure they align with your tone and feel authentic. Prospects can spot overly robotic messages, and, 9 times out of 10, it’s a turn-off. Adding a personal anecdote, referencing a specific interaction, or simply making sure the email feels genuine will make all the difference. Use AI as your assistant, not your replacement – it’s there to enhance your efforts, not start them from scratch.