SaaS Cold Email: How to Generate Leads for Your SaaS Business

You’ve built a great product. Now, you need customers. 

But how do you land your first 100 paying customers? 

You’ve (probably) tested or explored SEO, paid ads, and even other channels like social media. 

But one channel that (always) works is cold outreach. 

Believe me, cold email works (today, and it will forever!).. but only if you do it the right way. Otherwise, it’s just another email lost in the inbox. 

How? I’ve used it to bring in leads and turn them into paying customers (converting them into MRR customers).

In this blog, I’ll show you how to do the same (without writing subject lines that are so boring that even Gmail suggests “Unsubscribe” before opening). 

Let’s get into it. 

Before we understand the process of cold emailing, let me clear up a few doubts. 

Does Cold Emailing Work for SaaS Today?

Short answer: YES!

Why? Keep reading to find out. 

You may have seen this question while researching cold emailing on Google, Reddit, Quora, or other websites. 

Isn’t cold emailing just scamming people with sales pitches?

Probably, you can say yes. (Not in all cases) Let me explain. 

You’re not spamming if you send cold emails to highly targeted lists of people who want to buy your product or who face challenges that can be resolved with it. 

(Yes, randomly sending emails here and there, which lands nowhere, then it’s not like that)

Don’t believe me? 

Here is a statistic that shows that sending cold emails to highly targeted lists improves response rates. 

One of the cold email statistics states that sending cold emails to targeted email lists can improve response rates by up to 30%. 

(That’s an amazing ROI, I would say, and no other marketing channel would be providing the same amount of the figure) 

Of course, everything depends on your cold email strategy. (You can read in detail to prepare your cold email strategy for your SaaS product)

If you have a well-organized and prepared cold email strategy, you will probably be able to get responses from your cold email campaigns. 

Well, you can even check out our blog post on what’s next in cold emailing. Get all the important information that you need to know about cold emailing, whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or experienced. 

Let’s now learn about the process of sending cold emails to generate leads for your SaaS business. 

How to Get Started With Cold Emailing for Your SaaS Business

Well… if you’re reading this heading, you probably want to know what steps to follow for cold emailing. 

Step 1: Build Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and Target Audience

At first, I thought my audience was “any business that could use my product.” But that was a mistake. The truth is, not everyone is your customer.

Understand About Your Target Audience

So, I started with the ICP framework:

• Industry: Which businesses benefit most from my product?
• Company Size: Am I targeting startups, SMBs, or enterprises?
• Decision-Makers: Who actually signs the deal? (Sales leaders, CEOs, Marketing heads?)
• Pain Points: What problems does my SaaS solve for them?

Here is an example of an ICP.

Be as specific as possible to get better responses from your outreach campaigns. You can read our detailed blog post that explains how to create ICP in a step-by-step process. 

Analyze Real Customer Data

As I already had some users, I checked into them and understood who they were and how they used the product. Next, I asked myself. 

• Who were my most engaged users?
• Who had the highest retention rate?
• Which customers were willing to pay the most?

To get a clear idea, I used Google Analytics, CRM data, and direct conversations to identify patterns. 

For example, after checking the data, I got the idea that my best customers were B2B companies with employees between 50 and 100. (No solo entrepreneurs or startups with a scale of 1 to 10). 

Another way is studying your competitors. 

Study Your Competitors’ Audiences

To grow my business, (obviously) I need more leads. 

One of the useful ways is to check out who my competitors are, what they are doing, and how they are doing. (Basically, understanding competitors’ strategies) 

So, I started:

• Looking at their LinkedIn followers to see job titles and industries.
• Reading their case studies and testimonials to spot trends.
• Analyzing their customer reviews on G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot to find common pain points.

Following these steps helped me to learn about competitors. So I get a clear view of where to focus and what to focus on. 

Your competitors have already done some of the hard work, so you can learn from them.

Your assumptions about your audience may be wrong. (Trust me, real data is way more reliable than gut feelings)

Step 2. Prepare Your Prospect List Using Reliable Data Sources

Now that you are ready with your ICP and target audience list. 

Your next step is to prepare a list of your prospects using reliable data sources, as the heading has given you an idea. 

What are the possible ways to find the right prospects? Or where to find reliable prospect data? 

Here’s the list. (I’m personally using all these ways to build my prospects list. And all these ways work 100%) 

1. B2B Lead Databases 

There are multiple B2B lead databases available that help you to find the bulk leads in just 3 to 4 clicks. (Probably not all, but definitely Saleshandy can do it for you) 

Saleshandy B2B Lead Finder

Why am I asking you to use Saleshandy B2B Lead Finder? I’ve three solid reasons. 

It offers 10+ filters, including industry, company name, organization size, country, role or department, and years of experience. 

Basically, Saleshandy B2B Lead Finder offers you complete control over its Lead Finder tool to get the right prospects’ information based on your ICP. (That too within just a few clicks)

To simplify this process, the platform also offers a bulk search option, which allows you to find leads that match your prospect’s list in bulk. 

Apply filters, get the list of prospects that match your requirements, and download the leads at your fingertips. 

One more thing! Saleshandy is an all-in-one AI-assisted cold email outreach platform to get your work done, from finding leads to sending cold emails at scale. 

Of course, there are multiple different B2B business databases like Apollo.io, Zoominfo, UpLead, and Cognism. 

2. LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Who doesn’t know about LinkedIn Sales Navigator? A useful tool to get verified leads from LinkedIn. (I mean, leads that actually work and are ethically searched)

A bit costly tool, officially offered by LinkedIn, to find contact information like official email addresses and phone numbers to reach your prospects. 

Unlike B2B Lead Finders, LinkedIn Sales Navigator doesn’t allow bulk exporting of leads into a CSV file. I mean, which can be a hassle for sales leaders, B2B managers, or founders who want to get data in a single go. 

Beyond that, LinkedIn Sales Navigator only offers data that is shared by the users on the platform. 

3. Check Out Company Websites and Directories

Another way that works for me is going to company websites and searching directories. 

When I need to find the right people to reach out to, a reliable way is probably to start with company websites and directories. 

Here’s what I do.

I visit company websites and check the “About Us,” “Team,” or “Leadership” pages. 

Following this approach helps me to get information about what I’m looking for. 

4. Visit and Engage in Industry Events and Webinars

Apart from all these, one of the most powerful yet underestimated ways is to attend industry events and webinars. 

From my experience, industry events and webinars are great for meeting potential leads and building real connections.

I attend relevant industry events, trade shows, or webinars where my ideal customers are likely to be.

I look for attendee lists or directly engage with speakers and participants during the event.

After the event, I send personalized follow-ups referencing our discussion, ensuring my outreach feels natural and not random.

Step 3: Set Up Email Deliverability and Avoid Spam Filters

Once I’ve built my prospect list, the next big challenge is ensuring that my emails actually land in inboxes. 

If my emails get flagged as spam, all my efforts go to waste. To avoid this, I follow a structured process to warm up my emails, build a strong sender reputation, and ensure high deliverability.

1. Set Up a Dedicated Sending Domain

I never send cold emails from my primary domain. 

What I do actually is: 

• Register a separate domain (e.g., if my main domain is saleshandy.com, I get saleshandy.io or get.saleshandy.com).
• Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to verify my domain and improve my email credibility.

Before starting outreach, use a domain that is at least 2-3 months old, as new domains have lower trust.

2. Warm Up My Email Address

A cold inbox with no prior activity is more likely to trigger spam filters. Here’s how I warm it up:

Before scaling up, I send a few emails daily to real contacts (friends, colleagues, test accounts).

I use Saleshandy’s email warm-up tool to gradually build my sender reputation.

I engage with received emails, replying to them, marking them as important, and showing mailbox providers I’m not a spammer.

3. Maintain a Healthy Sending Limit

Sending too many emails too quickly can lead to email blocks. Basically, I start with 20-30 emails/day and gradually increase over a few weeks.

Keep my sending volume within industry best practices (under 50 cold emails per day per inbox).

That will help me to space out my emails using smart sending schedules to avoid sudden spikes. 

4. Create Emails That Don’t Trigger Spam Filters

Even if my setup is perfect, bad email content can still get me flagged. So, I make sure to:

• Avoid spam-triggering words (e.g., “free,” “guarantee,” “100%,” “buy now”).
• Keep my email text conversational, short, and natural instead of sounding robotic or overly promotional.

What I do is personalize my emails to showcase I’m reaching out one-to-tone. Basically, not blasting with emails at a single time. 

5. Monitor Deliverability and Improve Performance

Finally, I track my email performance to catch issues early. 

What I usually do is. 

• Check open rates, reply rates, and bounce rates using Saleshandy’s email analytics.
• Remove inactive and unresponsive contacts to keep my email list clean.

Beyond that, I rotate between multiple inboxes to make sure each email account’s reputation remains proper. 

Step 4. Segment Your Prospects and Create Personalized Templates

So, at this stage, if you are done with your verified prospects list and a solid email setup, then you need to start outreach that feels relevant and personal. 

Don’t ever send generic emails, but personalized emails that increase response rates. 

Before you start sending cold emails to your prospects, it’s a hassle if you haven’t segmented your prospects list and created personalized templates. (No worries if you don’t know how to do it because that’s what I will teach you next) 

First of all, you need to segment your prospect lists to better target your prospects. 

(Remember) Not all prospects are the same. So, I personally divide all my verified prospects into smaller groups based on different criteria. 

You can bifurcate your prospects list based on industry, company size, job role, and pain points.

Once you’re ready with the segmentation of your leads, write personalized email templates next. 

Start with a strong and impactful subject line that’s short and personalized (if possible). 

The opening line of your email should be personal; it should reference something about the prospect, like a post on LinkedIn or a company update. 

Next, you should discuss or write about their pain points and introduce your product as a solution. 

Here, I would advise you to keep your email concise, to the point, and sweet by ending it with an action CTA. 

You can read this dedicated guide on how to write cold emails that generate responses. 

Step 5. Write Follow-Ups and a Strong Break-Up Email

Follow-ups. Underrated mostly by all the marketers, sales professionals, and even founders. 

If you do it in the right way, you actually deal with and land clients with just a proper follow-up email. 

Literally, I would say that each follow-up adds value if you make it personalized by keeping the conversation open. (You don’t need to send follow-ups for the sake of doing it)

Here are the tricks that I follow while writing and sending follow-up emails. 

You can address a common pain point by saying that many [industry] teams I talk to struggle with [problem]. Are you facing the same challenge? 

Share relevant content that can be a case study, a short video, or a success story that proves how your SaaS product can help. 

You can ask an easy question like

• “What do you think about X, Y, or Z situations or products to resolve A, B, or C challenges?”
• “Would it make sense to explore this further?” or “Is this something you’re open to discussing?”

And don’t bombard follow-up emails. (I mean, ever!)

Because it will leave a bad impression on the recipient. (And, I know nobody wants that)

Personally, I would suggest sending follow-up emails every 3 to 5 days. 

Even after sending up to 5 follow-up sequences, you don’t get a response. (Probably, you might know the answers)

However, you couldn’t define the answers. The final thing you should do is send a break email. 

Tips to send the final break-up email and keep the door open while step backing.

Step 6. Use Cold Email Software to Automate & Scale Outreach

Manually sending emails doesn’t work anymore. Why? (Yes, I hear you, it’s a useful approach)

But wait! I’ve reasons.

• It’s boring
• It’s time-consuming (eating up your precious time)
• It’s hard to send cold emails at scale manually

That’s where cold email software solutions solve all of these problems. (So you don’t have to have the headache of doing all the things manually)

You can use Saleshandy, an AI-assisted cold email outreach software, to automate your cold emailing to acquire new users for your SaaS product. 

1. Connect Your Email Account

Link your Gmail, Outlook, or SMTP account to send emails from your domain.

2. Warm Up Your Email (Recommended)

Use Saleshandy’s warm-up feature to build a sender reputation and avoid spam filters.

3. Upload Your Prospect List

Import a CSV file with verified leads. Saleshandy’s B2B Lead Finder helps you get high-quality contacts.

4. Create an Email Sequence

Write a personalized cold email, add automated follow-ups, and schedule sends to increase responses.

5. Personalize at Scale

Use merge tags (e.g., {{FirstName}}, {{Company}}) to tailor emails while keeping them automated.

6. Track and Optimize

Monitor open, reply, and bounce rates in real time. Adjust your approach based on performance insights.

So, this is the overall process for sending cold emails that work for SaaS businesses. 

What’s next? Let me teach you how to scale cold email outreach for your SaaS business. 

How to Easily Scale Your SaaS Cold Email Outreach

In this section, I’ll briefly explain the different sections that help you understand the steps to scale your outreach for your SaaS. 

Here are the steps to follow. (If you know any of these steps, you can directly jump another and learn)

1. Expand Your Sending Infrastructure
2. Automate Cold Email Sequences Without Losing Personalization
3. Increase Sending Volume Without Hurting Deliverability
4. Use AI and Smart Data to Prioritize the Right Leads
5. A/B Test and Optimize for High-Performance Scaling
6. Improve Efficiency with Inbox Rotation & Reply Management

The first point is to have a proper email infrastructure. 

1. Expand Your Sending Infrastructure

To scale your cold emailing, you can’t just rely on one email account or domain. 

You should take a proper step that allows you to send more cold emails without getting marked as SPAM. 

Here’s what you need to do: 

• Set up multiple domains: If my main domain is saleshandy.com, I create variations like get.saleshandy.com, try.saleshandy.com, or more. 
• Use multiple email accounts. Instead of sending 500 emails from a single inbox, I distribute them across 5 to 10 inboxes. 
• Apart from that, you can rotate between email accounts. Saleshandy allows me to rotate sending across inboxes automatically. 

Worried about buying, managing, and connecting domains and email accounts? 

Now, Saleshandy eliminates the hassle of purchasing domains and email accounts and managing and connecting email accounts from its all-in-one platform. 

Yes, we are now offering email infrastructure that allows you to buy domains and start sending cold emails from the same platform. 

2. Automate Cold Email Sequences Without Losing Personalization

Scaling cold emailing manually is a real headache. (I know, right? It’s repetitive work that tires you out)

What’s the best way to balance automation and personalization? 

Personalization makes the difference. (You actually get replies, and follow-ups with personalization work well!) 

Your probable question is, how? 

That’s simple: Within Saleshandy, we provide you with different tags to make each email personalized for your prospect. 

It offers variable tags and custom tags that help to make each email unique by automatically rotating different words or phrases as required. 

Add custom intro lines based on the prospect’s LinkedIn profile, blog posts, or company news. 

Use Saleshandy’s email sequences to schedule follow-ups automatically, ensuring I stay on top of leads without manual work.

Why? Because sending 1,000 generic emails will get ignored, but 1,000 well-personalized emails will get real replies. 

Beyond that, the use of personalization tools helps to make your cold emails work in your favor. 

If your emails are too good to ignore, you can even get signups or deals. (I’ll share templates with you that you can use for your cold emails.) 

3. Increase Sending Volume Without Hurting Deliverability

You definitely know that cold email sending volume is important. 

Yeah, unlike email marketing, you can’t send thousands of emails to all your prospects at once. 

That’ll damage your domain reputation. 

Here’s the right way of cold emailing that improves your deliverability. 

• Start slow: Begin with 20-50 emails per day per inbox.
• Increase gradually: Scale by 10-20% per week to avoid spam filters.
• Use email warm-up tools: Saleshandy’s automated email warm-up builds domain reputation before ramping up sending.

Following these rules helps you to land your emails in inboxes, not spam. 

To learn more about cold email numbers, you can read our blog post on how many cold emails to send per day. 

4. Use AI and Smart Data to Prioritize the Right Leads

Not every prospect is worth emailing instead of blasting emails to a massive list. 

Saleshandy helps me send personalized emails through its AI Variant feature. This feature allows me to write different versions of emails according to segments of my email list. 

In addition, I only target prospects who recently engaged with my content, visited my site, or used a competitor.

Segment my email list to tailor outreach by industry, pain points, or business size.

By focusing on the right leads, I get better conversion rates with fewer emails, which makes it easy for me to scale my cold emails. 

5. A/B Test & Optimize for High-Performance Scaling

Scaling cold emails doesn’t mean you just send emails. It’s about sending cold emails better. 

So, here’s what I follow (and I recommend you as well to follow): 

• Subject lines – Testing curiosity-driven vs. direct approaches.
• Email copy – Short vs. long, storytelling vs. data-driven.
• Call-to-actions (CTAs) – Soft asks (“Worth a quick chat?”) vs. direct pitches (“Let’s book a demo”).

By tracking open rates, reply rates, and conversion rates, I double down on what works and cut what doesn’t.

8 Things You Should Know Before Sending SaaS Cold Emails

1. Make Sure to Follow Compliance and Laws While Sending Cold Emails

Before sending a single cold email, I ensure my outreach follows legal frameworks like GDPR, CAN-SPAM, and CASL. These laws exist to protect recipients, and violating them can result in blacklisted domains, poor email deliverability, and even legal penalties.

To stay compliant, I:

• Get proper consent for outreach in GDPR-restricted regions.
• Always include an opt-out link so recipients can unsubscribe easily.
• Avoid buying random lead lists, which often contain outdated or invalid contacts.

So, you have a properly targeted list of emails that results in better reply rates and engagement. 

2. Verify Every Email Before Sending

Sending emails to invalid addresses can skyrocket bounce rates, harming my sender’s reputation and causing my emails to land in spam. 

That’s where you have to use (it’s a must) email verification tool to clean your email list before every campaign. 

Key steps I follow:

• Upload my email list to a trusted email verification tool (like Saleshandy’s built-in verification or third-party services).
• Remove addresses that are invalid, role-based (e.g., support@company.com), or inactive.
• For better response rates, prioritize business emails (domain-based email addresses) over generic ones (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, etc.).

A clean email list ensures my emails land in the inbox and keeps my domain reputation intact.

3. Control Sending Volume to Avoid Spam Flags

If I start sending hundreds of emails per day from a new domain, email providers will likely mark me as a spammer. Instead, I follow a warm-up strategy:

• Start slow with 20-50 emails per day, then gradually increase.
• Use Saleshandy’s email sequence scheduler to space out emails and mimic human-like sending patterns.
• Rotate between multiple inboxes to distribute sending load safely.

This prevents my emails from getting rate-limited or blocked by email service providers.

4. Personalization Beyond Subject Lines 

Generic, copy-paste emails get ignored. I go beyond basic personalization by making my outreach hyper-relevant to each prospect.

• Custom first lines: Instead of “Hope you’re doing well,” I reference something specific about them, like a recent LinkedIn post, company update, or challenge they might be facing.
• Customized messaging: I segment my audience by industry, role, and pain points, so my emails speak directly to their requirements.
• Dynamic fields: I use variables like {CompanyName}, {Industry}, or {CompetitorName} to make every email feel one-on-one.

The more relevant my email, the higher my reply rate.

5. Create Subject Lines That Improves Open Rates

A cold email lives or dies by its subject line. If it doesn’t grab attention, the email never gets read. My best practices:

• Keep it short (3-6 words) and relevant.
• Avoid spam triggers like “Act now” or “100% free.”
• Spark curiosity or offer value, e.g., “Quick question about {CompetitorName}” or “Saw your post on {Topic}.”

A well-crafted subject line can double open rates, which is an important step in my outreach. 

6. Structure Emails for Quick and Easy Reading

Busy decision-makers skim emails—they don’t read long paragraphs. To keep them engaged, I follow a tight email structure:

• Strong hook: I start with an engaging opening that’s personalized and relevant.
• Value-driven pitch: I clearly explain why I’m reaching out and how I can help.
• Simple CTA: I use a one-line call to action, such as “Would it be worth a quick chat?” to make responding effortless.

This approach keeps my emails concise, impactful, and easy to act on.

7. Avoid Spam Filters with Smart Formatting

To improve deliverability, I avoid spam triggers. I have three tips for you to follow. Take care of these things, especially. 

• No exaggerated claims (“Guaranteed results!”).
• No excessive links (one website link is enough).
• No unnecessary images or attachments.

Instead, I write plain-text emails that feel like they were written by a real person. 

When you write a simple, valuable, and personalized email, it builds trust in the reader and helps you to build a relationship. As a result, you get increased reply rates for your cold emails. 

8. Scale Your Cold Emailing with Multiple Email Accounts

If I want to reach thousands of leads, I don’t rely on a single email account. 

Instead of that, I recommend you use multiple domains. 

Set up multiple domains (e.g., saleshandy.io, saleshandy.co) to distribute sending volume.

Use multiple email addresses to avoid overwhelming one domain.

Rotate between different email variations to keep messages fresh.

This allows me to scale my outreach safely while maintaining high deliverability.

Send Cold Emails and Book Meetings With SaaS Businesses

Wrapping up, cold emailing works when you do it right. It’s not about sending tons of emails to random people but reaching the right ones with a clear message.

YOU have to start with a proper customer profile, use good sources to find leads and set up your email so it lands in inboxes, not spam. Keep your emails personal, test what works, and keep improving.

Cold emails still bring results. The ones who take the time to do it right will win. 

Get started with Saleshandy to automate the entire process of finding the right prospects to automate your cold emails. 

Try Saleshandy for FREE today!

SaaS Cold Emails: FAQs

1. Is B2B Cold Emailing Legal/Is SaaS Cold Emailing Legal?

Yes, as long as you follow the rules. Laws like GDPR, CAN-SPAM, and CASL require you to email businesses responsibly. That means there should be no spam, an easy way to unsubscribe, and you MUST reach out to relevant people.

2. What is the Average Open Rate for SaaS Cold Emails?

On average, 30-50% of people open SaaS cold emails. A good subject line, a trusted sender name, and a proper email warm-up can boost your chances. If your emails aren’t getting opened, it’s time to tweak your approach.

3. What is the Average Reply Rate for Cold Emails in SaaS?

Typically, 5-15% of recipients reply, but that depends on how well you personalize your emails and whether you follow up. People are busy, so sending 3-5 follow-ups (without being annoying) can make a huge difference.

4. What’s the Difference Between SaaS Cold Emailing and SaaS Cold Email Marketing?

Cold emailing is one-on-one outreach to potential customers who haven’t heard from you before, aiming to start a conversation. Cold email marketing is more like newsletters or automated sequences sent to a list of people who already showed interest.