How to increase email sales with a pain point framework

Every rep on your team can explain what your product does. Half can explain the benefits. Maybe three can explain why it matters to the person they're talking to right now. That's the problem. Almost nobody connects the dots to show buyers why any of this actually matters to their specific situation. Features: Our platform has advanced analytics.  Benefits: You can track performance metrics in real-time. So What: And...? Why does that matter to this particular buyer? Kimberly Pencille Collins from #samsales Consulting laid out a framework during a Sales Assembly course this week that forces you to answer six questions before you're allowed to send an email: Question 1: What challenge is this buyer facing? Not generic pain points. Specific, day-to-day frustrations for this persona in this role at this company size. Question 2: Why is it happening? This is where you prove you understand their landscape. Not just what's broken, but why it's broken. This is your insight moment. Question 3: What happens if they do nothing? Cost of inaction. Make the status quo intolerable. What do they lose by staying put? Question 4: What do you actually do? Not "we make your life better" - tangible, concrete, specific. Are you consultants? Tech? Services? Tell them. Question 5: How does this solve the problem? Connect what you do directly back to the challenge you laid out in question one. Question 6: So what does this mean for them? This is where most reps stop too early. You've explained the solution, now connect it to their actual life. "Your teams will be able to create a playbook of simple plays that keep the pipeline ticking while you nurture difficult buyers." That last sentence isn't a feature. It's not a benefit. It's RELIEF from a specific anxiety that VP of Sales has about pipeline coverage. The exercise creates longer emails initially. You can edit down later. But you HAVE to answer all six questions or you're just throwing features at people who aren't thinking about your solution right now. Kimberly's point: This is your mortar. The messaging you're fed from marketing is your bricks. This framework is how you bring it together and become a consultative seller instead of a walking product brochure. Try this on your next three cold emails. Answer all six questions. See what changes.

I’ve trained hundreds of sales reps over my career. Here’s the exact framework I use to write good cold emails from start to finish: 1. Lead with the pain not the pitch The goal of a cold email is to start a conversation, not close the deal. It’s to reflect back a real pain your buyer is already feeling often before they’ve articulated it themselves. No one cares about your product. Especially not in the first touch. They care about themselves and their problems. The biggest mistake I see reps make is trying to close too early. They shove value props, case studies, feature sets, and “we help companies like…” I always come back to this: “No pain, no gain, no demo train.” You’re not here to educate. You’re here to trigger recognition. To make them nod and go: “Yeah, we’re feeling that.” 1. Write like a human The best cold emails don’t have long intros. No “hope this finds you well.” Just a clear, honest attempt to connect over something they care about. Let’s say we’re targeting agencies running 10+ client accounts. Here’s how I’d start: “Hey — I saw you’re managing multiple clients. Curious if you’ve had to deal with deliverability issues lately, especially with the new Google/Microsoft changes. Is this on your radar?” That’s it. No pitch. No product. Just a relevant question that hits a live pain. You don’t need clever. You need to be clear. 1. Structure matters (but keep it stupid simple) I’m not into formulas. You don’t need a 7-step framework to write a good email. You need to understand the buyer and speak to them like a peer. Think about it like this: Line 1: Show you’ve done your homework. Line 2: Bring up a real, relevant pain. Line 3: Ask a question that invites a reply — not “yes.” If your email looks like a blog post, you’re doing it wrong. The goal isn’t to explain. The goal is to start a conversation. 1. Use follow-ups to build narrative (not nag) Most follow-ups sound like this: “Just bumping this to the top of your inbox.” “Not sure if you saw my last message.” Useless. Instead, think of your cold email sequence as a way to diagnose pain over time. Email 1 brings up the initial problem. Email 2 digs into what happens if it doesn’t get solved. Email 3 introduces that you might have a solution, if they’re open to it. Each message earns attention and adds value. Follow-ups shouldn’t be annoying. TAKEAWAY Conversations > conversions. Relevancy always wins.

Most cold emails get <1% reply rates. Mine get 10%. Here's why yours are failing: I run a 34-person agency and have tested every cold email "hack" out there. Most don't work. Here's how I actually write cold emails that get replies... and the 3 rules that changed EVERYTHING ↓ ✅ Emails that start with real triggers I get emails like "Saw you're expanding your team based on your recent LinkedIn post about hiring." That's a real trigger. They saw something specific I did. Compare that to "I noticed you work in sales", - which could apply to 10 million people. Pro Tip: Use Clay to track job changes, funding announcements, or social posts. ✅ Emails that name pain + solution immediately "Hiring 10 new SDRs usually means 6-month ramp time is killing your quota attainment." They connected my trigger to a specific pain I'm probably feeling. Then: "We helped [Similar Company] cut ramp time to 6 weeks using our onboarding system." Solution + proof in one sentence. ✅ Emails that give 100% value upfront "They increased quota attainment 73% in Q1 by implementing our 3-week sprint methodology." Full value. Real numbers. Specific outcome. Stop holding back value, thinking it will book you a meeting. ❌ Generic template emails "Hope you're doing well" emails get deleted instantly. If I can tell you, copy-pasted the same message to 100 people, I'm out. ❌ Emails asking for time on the first message "Do you have 15 minutes for a quick call?" No context. No value. Just asking for my time, will get ignored every time. ❌ Emails without specific proof "We help companies scale their sales teams." Cool story. So do 10,000 other agencies. → Where's the proof? → Which companies? → What results? Here's my actual template: "Hi [Name], Saw you're [specific trigger]. Usually, that means [pain point]. We helped [Company] go from [before] to [after] using [method]. They saw [specific result] in [timeframe]. Mind if I share the 3-step process we used? Best, Alex" Everyone OVERTHINKS cold email. They think they need perfect subject lines or AI personalization tools. But if you nail trigger + pain + value, nothing else matters. The pain has to connect to their trigger logically. And the value has to be specific. → Real companies → Real numbers → Real results One more thing: Free work beats everything. "Mind if I build you a custom lead list for your new SDR team and send it over?" That gets replies every time, because you're solving their problem before they even ask. Bottom line: Stop trying to be clever. Start being helpful. When your email actually helps someone, they want to talk to you. 🎥 Want to see me how I write these emails? I break down my entire cold email process (with real examples) in last week's YouTube video. Link in the comments 👇

I told a founder to make 3 changes to their GTM. 6 weeks later: +120% conversion rate +40% revenue lift No new product. No extra ads. No headcount increase. Just brutal focus on execution where it actually matters. Here’s exactly what we changed 👇 ➤ 1. Stop selling the platform. Start selling the pain. Original landing page: “We help HR teams streamline employee feedback with AI automation.” Nobody wakes up thinking: “God I need an AI feedback platform today.” So we flipped it: New above-the-fold: “Too much attrition? Here’s why 47% of employees leave silently—and how top HR teams fix it in 30 days.” → Specific pain → Time-anchored promise → Role-targeted hook We made the problem felt before they scrolled. Result: 3x more time on page. 65% jump in demo interest. ➤ 2. Kill the weak CTA. Add a “low-commitment ask.” Original funnel: → “Book a demo” (only CTA) Most visitors weren’t ready to talk yet. So we gave them a ladder: → “Take the 2-minute Attrition Risk Quiz” → Instant feedback → Then offer the call People hate being sold. But they love being evaluated. This quiz positioned the founder as a diagnostic expert—not a desperate closer. Result: Conversion went from 4.1% to 9.3%. ➤ 3. Rewrite cold outbound to weaponize proof. Original email: → “We’d love to show you how our platform helps HR leaders improve culture…” Too vague. Too weak. New cold email: “Hey {first name}, One of our customers had 3 exit interviews last quarter. After using our micro-feedback loop, attrition dropped 60%—and team sentiment jumped. Want me to send you a 60-second teardown?” No pitch. No demo ask. Just curiosity + proof + a specific next step. Result: Open rates steady, replies doubled. Founders overthink product. But often, GTM tweaks have faster ROI. You don’t need a new feature. You need clearer pain, stronger hooks, and better CTA psychology. Want brutal clarity on your startup? Skip years of wasted effort and stop making expensive mistakes. Get direct advice on your deck, fundraising, GTM, or founder challenges. Book a no-BS 1:1 call with me here: https://lnkd.in/gWV8DT56 💬 Drop your most burning question in the comments. ♻ Repost to help a founder stop chasing growth with broken GTM. 🔔 Follow Anshuman Sinha for more Startup insights. #Startups #Entrepreneurship #Marketing #LeanStartups #VentureCapital