Event Recap: Owler’s First-Ever Cold Email Battle Royal
Missed the first-ever Cold Email Battle Royal or just want to rewatch this exciting event? Find highlights and key takeaways from Owler’s event featuring some of the most talented sales and marketing professionals in their fields!
About The Cold Email Battle Royal
Attendees learned from the best in their fields as Battle Royal contestants put their skills to the test by selling an imaginary SaaS product. During each round, contestants crafted a cold email targeting a predetermined ICP/account. Each contestant was given five minutes to prospect the account, target the ICP, and create & send a cold email.
Host Morgan J. Ingram was joined by judges Nick Bennet and Brian Spellman who shared expert commentary and analysis of each contestant’s approach, understanding their rationale and assigning points based on the speed of execution, personalization, and creativity involved.
Want to access the Emails, prospecting tips from the players, and the tools they used? Then check out the Cold Email Battle Royal Prospecting Toolkit here!
The Players
🍣 Team Salmon vs Team Money 💸
Team Salmon – yep, the teams got pretty creative with names – went head-to-head with Team Money in three rounds of prospecting to determine the victor.
Round 1 | Tyler Washington v. Nathan Steele
Round 2 | Sarah Brazier v. Ashleigh Early
Round 3 | William Padilla v. Tom Slocum
The Champion
🥇 William Padilla emerged as cold email champion! Here’s why:
Personalization and Use of Twitter: Will Padilla demonstrated a personalized approach by using Twitter to gather relevant information about the recipient, Kabir, the Marketing Manager at Airmeet. By researching Kabir's Twitter profile, Will identified that Kabir's interests included marketing simplicity. This personal touch showed that Will had taken the time to understand Kabir's preferences and engaged with him on a level beyond just a generic cold email.
Short and Concise Format: Will's email was short and to the point, avoiding unnecessary fluff and getting straight to the value proposition. A concise email format is essential in cold outreach to grab the recipient's attention quickly and avoid overwhelming them with excessive information.
Valuable Value Proposition: In his email, Will addressed Kabir's potential pain points or challenges as a Marketing Manager and offered a solution that could help him achieve better marketing results. By promising to improve email deliverability and open rates to maximize outreach efforts, Will presented a valuable and relevant proposition tailored to Kabir's role.
Clear Call-to-Action: Will's email included a clear call-to-action, asking Kabir if he would be open to a quick chat. By keeping the ask simple and non-committal, Will made it easy for Kabir to respond and express interest without feeling pressured.
Overall, Will Padilla's successful email combined personalization, a concise format, and a valuable value proposition to capture Kabir's attention and generate a positive response. The use of Twitter research allowed Will to establish a connection with the recipient, while the short and focused email format made the message easy to digest and act upon.
Like the way Nathan Steele prospected? Sign up to Owler for Free and download the Owler Chrome Extension to get business insights, news, and contact data* as you search across the web.
*Contact data is only available with an Owler Max license. Have a team of 5+? Signup for a free trial of Owler Max here.
The FeeDBACk
The Owler team enjoyed hosting the event and also loved engaging with participants who shared valuable feedback and showed interest in seeing more events like this from Owler!
“Loved IT!! Please do this again!”
“Solid event but I want to compete next time 🥊”
Cold Email Battle Royal Takeaways
Based on the feedback from judges Nick Bennet and Brian Spellman, here is what works and what doesn't in cold emails.
What Doesn't Work
Generic and spammy messages
Overcomplicated language
Pushy sales pitches
Lack of research
What Works
Personalization
Relevant, valuable content
Use of personal touches
Engaging subject lines
The judges emphasized the importance of personalization, relevance, and providing value to the recipient. Building a genuine connection and focusing on the recipient's needs can lead to more successful cold email campaigns.
Want to start incorporating the cold email methods experts use? Download the emails + sales tips from the Cold Email Battle Royal players!
