How We Get 85% Open Rates on Cold Emails — And You Can Too
Let’s cut through the noise.
The average cold email open rate? Around 2%. Painful. And most people just accept that as normal.
We didn’t.
At School of Sales, we pushed. We tested. We refined. And then we hit something big: 85%+ open rates on cold emails. Repeatedly. Not once, not twice — every single time we followed this system.
Yes, even in cold outreach. Yes, even in B2B.
And no, this isn’t some LinkedIn flex with no proof. If you’re watching the Video you’ll see the real screenshots, real numbers, and real tactics.
So What Changed?
Three things.
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Intent Signals – If someone is visiting your site, engaging with your content, or showing up on competitor pages… that’s not coincidence. That’s buying intent. We use tools like Leadinfo to catch that intent in real time. Without this? You’re guessing.
- Subject Line Science – If your email isn’t opened, it doesn’t matter how good the rest is. We obsess over the psychology behind open triggers: urgency, personalisation, curiosity. No “Just checking in…” ever again.
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Timing the Flow – It’s not just what you say, it’s when you say it. The right message, to the right person, right after they’ve shown interest? That’s where the magic happens.
The Emails That Get Opened (And Replied To)
These are two of the exact cold emails I’ve used that helped hit those sky-high open and reply rates.
📩 Cold Email Example 1:
Subject: Want to Fix Sales Skills or Build a Sales Machine?
Hi {{contact.first_name}},
Sales skills and closing — those are the two challenges I hear most when people find out I founded School of Sales. And yes… but also no. After working with over 420 companies, I see two bigger problems pop up again and again: lead generation and accelerating the deal cycle.
They’re closely related, I know. But that’s exactly why I wrote two books about it: Nobody Knows You and Why Now.
Fixing those sales skills? Honestly, not that hard. What is hard to fix… is building a proactive sales machine. Something beyond just reacting. And even that reaction needs to happen in a completely different way — like this: intent-based.
At School of Sales, the whole team believes in helping first. And yes, we still believe in sales — especially in the AI era. The future? It’s Autonomous Selling.
If you want to dive deeper, you can find all the tools and slides HERE.
Need help with your sales skills or building your own sales machine?
Just hit reply.
Your name
📩 Cold Email Example 2: (this is the follow-up email after x days)
Subject: Sales in Crisis Mode? Let’s Fix That.
Hi {{contact.first_name}},
There’s a crisis going on. No one says it out loud, but it’s impossible to ignore. And during a crisis, we get flooded at School of Sales — with requests for sales training and building sales machines that actually convert.
We believe in truly helping.
If you’d like to spar about your current sales strategy, your sales team, or your sales tooling — just reply to this email and I’ll help you personally.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for hands-on sales training, check out our agenda here: https://schoolofsales.com/event/
You’ll also find a ton of free tools on the SOS site that will immediately impact your conversion.
May the Sales Be with You.
Best regards,
your name
Notice something? These aren’t long. They’re sharp, direct, and tailored. They don’t sell. They start conversations and are focussed on building thought leadership.
What Most People Still Get Wrong
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Writing emails about themselves.
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Sending emails without intent signals.
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Relying on hope instead of a system.
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Ignoring subject line testing — the first conversion point in your funnel.
If you’re doing cold email like it’s 2015, you’re invisible. In 2025, intent-based selling is non-negotiable. You want better open rates? Start by asking better questions:
❓ Why now?
❓ Why this person?
❓ Why this message?
Want To See It In Action?
Watch the full breakdown in the video above, where I walk through how we get to 85% open rates — and how you can build this into your own sales machine.
Because at School of Sales, we don’t teach tactics. We build systems that scale. Machines that perform. And emails that get read.