When you sell to businesses, schools, NGOs or larger companies, the person you need often sits behind a reception desk and a busy phone. A short, personal email or LinkedIn message lets them read your offer when they have time, check who you are, and forward it to colleagues. Adverts for business development and sales executive roles often ask for email and digital outreach.
What makes outreach work
Busy people decide in seconds whether to read on. A good outreach message is:
- Short. Under about 120 words, readable on a phone without scrolling much.
- Personal. It mentions something specific about them: their organisation, a recent project, their location or a problem their sector faces.
- About them, not you. It starts with their situation, not your company history.
- Clear about the ask. One small next step, such as a 15 minute call, not "please buy".
A simple structure
- Subject line. Specific and plain: "Stock tracking for pharmacies in Tamale". Avoid capital letters, "URGENT" and lots of exclamation marks, which look like spam.
- Opening. Why you are writing to this person: "I saw that your clinic opened a second branch in Savelugu this year."
- Value. One or two sentences on the problem you help with and the result: "We help clinics keep one stock list across branches, so they stop running out of common drugs."