Prospecting Emails: Strategies to Capture Attention (with AI)

Finding the right tone and message to grab attention is a constant challenge, especially when it comes to sales prospecting.

Prospecting emails can turn a simple contact into a qualified lead ready to engage.

But for these emails to be truly effective, it’s not enough to send them out in bulk.

Your messages need to stand out immediately: you have to capture attention, address the right problem, and offer a solution that seems irresistible.

In this article, you’ll discover how to structure prospecting emails to spark interest and generate responses, using a detailed prompt and proven frameworks. And how to effectively use artificial intelligence to assist you.

Creating Impactful Prospecting Emails

A Comprehensive Prompt for Generating Quality Emails

One of the key elements for successful email prospecting is crafting messages that grab attention and encourage a response.

The quality of your emails depends on the data you feed into your prompt. The more information you provide to the AI, the better the response it will generate.

💡 To deepen your enrichment strategy, I recommend checking out my article on using Clay, where I detail other powerful methods to enrich your data and further automate your process.

Here’s the link to the article: https://www.jarvi.tech/fr/blog/devient-inarretable-en-recrutement-avec-clay/

To create effective prospecting emails, the way you formulate the prompt is crucial. I use a specific prompt that guides the AI in crafting messages.

Here’s an example of a prompt:

Act as an expert in sales and growth hacking. You need to create a high-quality prospecting email to offer recruitment services and recruitment process optimization (Sourcing Academy) for this company {company name} that is hiring. Your prospecting targets specifically CEOs and HR Directors.

Here’s some information about the company to consider for personalizing the message: [Add the information gathered about the company and the job offer]

Avoid using superlative expressions like: “I was impressed” or “perfect match” or anything similar. These profiles are highly solicited, and it’s important to stand out in your approach messages. The ultimate goal of this email is to make a qualified prospect who has never heard of us want to schedule a call with us as soon as possible.

Task:

Write a compelling and effective prospecting email.

Goal:

Convince businesses to reach out and discuss recruitment services and process optimization.

Context:

Companies face challenges in efficiently and quickly recruiting qualified talent. Sourcing Academy’s services can help address these issues by optimizing recruitment processes. Sourcing Academy specializes in training and operational integration of growth, automation, sourcing, and generative AI applied to recruitment challenges.

Values and Tone:

• Solve recruiters’ problems
• Obsessed with achieving results and ROI
• Highly educational and pragmatic
• Optimistic, friendly, and supportive approach
• Mantra: always bring value to your audience
• Tone: educational, direct, operational, effective, and engaging

Persona Challenges:

• Understanding and using AI and automation in recruitment
• Optimizing the use of recruitment tools and technologies
• Reinventing and staying relevant in a changing industry
• Integrating automation, sourcing, and AI into recruitment strategies

Offers:

• 1-to-1 coaching/mentoring on recruitment, sourcing, AI, and automation challenges
• Advanced training on sourcing, scraping, and using AI, sales, and growth tools
• E-learning courses on process automation, AI usage, and advanced sourcing
• Sourcing and recruiting qualified profiles

Checklist:

• The email should be brief.
• The target audience is familiar with the vocabulary used.
• The email should provide or promise targeted and concrete value.
• The email should have ONE clear and well-defined call to action/question.
• The email should mention the position the company is looking to fill.
• The email should contain ONE question.
• The email should not be too salesy and should aim to start a conversation. A good cold email should not try to sell but rather create a dialogue. Avoid phrases like “Are you interested?”, “Have you ever considered aiming for €1M in revenue? Our 6-month program could get you there”, “Imagine”, “I am reaching out to you”, “I am writing to you” or any other superfluous or generic phrases.

Specific Constraints:

• Keep the email to a maximum of 150 words.
• Use a professional and engaging tone.
• Include a question to encourage a response.
• The email should not be overly salesy and should aim to start a conversation.
• The message should align with the findings of the Person Environment Fit framework.
• Writing should adhere to benefit-driven copywriting expertise.
• We want an informal message with a conversational tone.
• Always end the email with the unique phrase “See you soon” followed by a line break and my name “Virgile” as a signature.

Process:

1. Part 1: Context and reason for reaching out: Provide the prospect with a reasonable explanation of why we are contacting them (1 to 2 sentences).
2. Part 2: Relevant value proposition + bridge to conversation: Give a quick overview of the problem we solve and end with a clear bridge to the conversation (1 to 2 sentences).
3. Part 3: Agitation: Highlight the negative consequences of not addressing these challenges to motivate action.
4. Part 4: Projection: Allow the prospect to envision the value provided or the problem solved, with specific figures and measures (logic) and an emotional touch.
5. Part 5: Vague call to action to prompt a quick exchange: Invite the prospect to respond with a not-too-specific call to action.

Format:

The email should be structured in short and concise paragraphs, with spaces between each part to facilitate reading.

Examples of Responses Generated with the Prompt

Here are two concrete examples of emails created from the prompt. Of course, the initial results might not be perfect.

You may need to tweak the prompt to get more relevant messages or manually edit certain parts to ensure optimal personalization.

Example 1:

Hello Carine,

Your talent search at ENACO, a pioneer in distance learning, reflects your commitment to accessible and quality education. What if your recruitment processes were as innovative as your courses?

At Sourcing Academy, we enhance recruitment with AI, automation, and advanced sourcing techniques. Our solutions turn your challenges into growth opportunities.

Imagine no longer wasting time on repetitive tasks and attracting top tech profiles in record time. We help you effectively integrate automation and AI for maximized efficiency and ROI.

Available to discuss your challenges and our approach this week?

Talk soon,

Virgile

Example 2:

Hello François,

As a manager at Eowin, you know how crucial it is to recruit the right talents quickly and efficiently, especially for key positions like Information Management and Governance Consultant.

At Sourcing Academy, we optimize recruitment processes by integrating automation, advanced sourcing, and AI, allowing you to reduce recruitment time and identify the best candidates.

Without these optimizations, the risk of missing out on the most qualified talents increases, leading to hidden costs and additional delays.

Imagine reducing recruitment time by 30% while maintaining high candidate quality, with tools and processes tailored to your specific needs.

Would you be available for a brief chat this week to explore how our solutions can fit into your projects?

Talk soon,

Virgile

Key Elements of the Prompt

1. Task:

   This instruction provides clear guidance to the AI: craft a message that captures the reader’s interest and prompts them to take action.

2. Goal:

   Here, we specify the ultimate objective: to create an opportunity for conversation.

3. Context:

   It’s crucial to show that you understand the specific issues of the prospects.

   This section adds depth to the message by illustrating the challenges the prospect faces.

4. Values and Tone:

   This segment adjusts the email’s tone according to your target audience.

5. Persona Challenges:

   Directly addressing their concerns increases the chances of engagement.

6. Offers:

   Strengthen the message and encourage action with specific proposals.

7. Checklist:

   A filter to avoid errors and optimize the message.

8. Specific Constraints:

   Stand out from generic emails.

   Allows you to address the prospect authentically.

9. Process:

   Create a persuasive logic that naturally leads to action.

10. Format:

    Make the email scannable and pleasant to read.

Frameworks to Structure Your Emails

Frameworks are structures that help you build coherent and impactful messages.

To further optimize your messages, here are some proven templates that you can directly integrate into your prospecting emails.

1. CPPC Framework (Capture, Problem, Proposition, Call to action)

   Used to grab attention, present a problem, propose a solution, and end with a strong call to action.

   Example:

   Hello [FirstName], I noticed that you're currently looking for a [specific position] at [Company Name]. Finding the
   right profile quickly has become a real obstacle course, hasn't it? With our automation solution, you can spend less
   time on sourcing and more on decisive interviews. No more hours wasted on manual tasks - our clients see a 50%
   reduction in recruitment time within the first three months. What if we explored together how to make your
   recruitment as agile as your projects? Talk soon, Virgile
   

2. PAS Framework (Problem, Agitate, Solution)

   Identifies a problem, agitates the consequences, and offers a direct solution.

   Example:

   Subject: Are you losing valuable talent every week? Hello [FirstName], Each day that passes without the right
   candidate is a missed opportunity. We see it every day: companies like [Company Name] struggle to attract suitable
   talent in time. We helped [Reference Company] automate their recruitment, saving 30% time on each hire and attracting
   ultra-qualified profiles. It's not just an optimization, it's a real change of pace. Does that resonate with you? We
   can discuss to see if it works for you too. Talk soon, Virgile
   

   Another example:

   Subject: Stress-free recruiting, interested? Hello [FirstName], Attracting the right profiles and recruiting them
   quickly is the crux of the matter. Ever wonder how some do it better than others? It's often a question of process.
   With [Your Solution Name], we've implemented an automation system that allowed [Reference Company] to cut their
   recruitment cycle in half. No more wasted time, no more missed approaches: just efficient recruiting. Want to try
   this approach? Let's chat for a few minutes to see how. Talk soon, Virgile
   

3. AIDA Framework (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action)

   Captures attention, sparks interest, creates desire, and leads to action.

   Example:

   Hello [FirstName], You've probably already faced difficulties in quickly recruiting qualified talent, and I think
   your company deserves better. At Sourcing Academy, we've helped companies like [Similar Company] reduce their
   recruitment time by 30% through innovative automation and sourcing strategies. What if we discussed how we could do
   the same for you? Talk soon, Virgile
   

4. 4.P Framework

   Problem, Promise, Proof, Push.

   Example:

   Hello [FirstName], 90% of our clients tell us: "I struggle to find qualified candidates for my open positions." To
   address this challenge, we've developed an automation solution that helps companies recruit effectively without
   wasting time on repetitive tasks. We've tested it with over 100 companies, and the results speak for themselves:
   they've reduced their recruitment time by 30% on average. We're launching our offer to the public today. This
   opportunity only lasts a week, so don't hesitate to contact us to discuss it. Talk soon, Virgile
   

Interesting point: including email examples and frameworks directly in the prompt so the AI can draw inspiration and better understand what type of result you’re expecting.

Conclusion:

By combining a well-structured prompt and adapted writing frameworks, you significantly improve the effectiveness of your prospecting emails.

The goal is to spark interest from decision-makers, create an immediate connection, and encourage a quick response.

Don’t forget: a good prospecting email is an invitation to start a conversation, not just a presentation of your services. ⚠️ No email campaigns without follow-up sequences!

💡 To go even further and discover how to automate your prospecting with tools like Apify and Make, explore my article on customer prospecting automation.

Article link: https://www.jarvi.tech/fr/blog/automatisation-prospection-indeed/

If you have questions or want to know more, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Virgile Ferrand Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/virgile-f/ Email: virgileferrand.formation@gmail.com