AI prompt template
AI prompt to reply to a sales objection by email
Replies are where outbound is won or spoiled. The prompt drafts a short answer from facts you give it and accepts a no.
When to use it
- A prospect answered with a brush-off, a question or a mild objection.
- You have facts about your product and customers you may state.
- You want a draft to edit, not send blind.
The prompt
Paste it into the model you use, then replace each bracketed input.
A prospect replied to our cold email. Draft a reply of at most 70 words. Their reply: [REPLY] Facts we may state about us: [OUR_FACTS] Facts about them (sourced): [THEIR_FACTS] Rules: answer what they actually said; use only the facts above and never invent a customer, a number or a result; do not pressure or repeat the pitch; if they said no or asked to stop, thank them, confirm you will not write again and add nothing else; if the answer is not in the facts, say you do not know and offer to find out.
| Input | What to put there |
|---|---|
[REPLY] | Their reply, exactly. |
[OUR_FACTS] | Facts about your product you may state, one per line. |
[THEIR_FACTS] | Sourced facts about them. |
Why it works
- The “not in the facts” rule keeps the reply honest under pressure.
- A no is handled as a no, which protects your domain and your name.
- The length limit keeps the reply as short as the objection.
An example
Illustrative. The companies and pages below are invented.
Input
REPLY: "We already use a tool for this." OUR_FACTS: connects to the major CRMs; used by teams of two to ten reps (illustrative)
Output
Thanks, that is useful to know. I do not know how your tool compares, so I will not claim anything. If it is easy to say, which part works least well for you? If nothing, I will not write again.
Variants
Not now
They said the timing is wrong: [REPLY]. Draft a reply of at most 40 words that thanks them, asks when to try again only if they gave a hint, and otherwise says you will not write again. Add no facts.
Wrong person
They said they are not the right person: [REPLY]. Draft a reply of at most 40 words that thanks them and asks for a name only if they have not given one. Add no facts and make no pitch.
Limits
What are the limits of the reply to an objection honestly prompt?
Related
Draft a follow-up from the first email
A prompt that drafts a follow-up from the first email and a second sourced fact, keeping it short, new and free of guilt or fake threads.
Shorten an email without losing the fact
A prompt that cuts a cold email to a target length while keeping every sourced fact and the opt-out line intact, and reports what it removed.
Audit an email for unsourced claims
A prompt that checks every claim in a cold email against the sources you supply, flags what is unsupported, and flags deceptive or spam-like wording.
Cold email templates
Templates by situation and by role.
Research and writing, with a quote behind every fact
Outlevo runs these steps for each company it finds, and shows the page each fact came from.