Cold email strategy: How Sam McKenna achieves a 43% open rate with personalization

Sales expert Sam McKenna, founder of #samsales Consulting, has developed a cold email strategy that consistently achieves open rates seven times higher than the industry average. Her "Show Me You Know Me" method generates an impressive 43% open rate and 20% reply rate, compared to industry averages of 6% and 0.9% respectively.

#samsales Consulting is a revenue consulting firm that helps sales teams improve their prospecting strategies, specializing in LinkedIn Sales Navigator training and cold outreach optimization. McKenna, who previously worked in an executive role at LinkedIn, built an eight-figure business and personally achieved seven-figure annual earnings by refining her approach to personalized outreach.

Her expertise is particularly valuable given that 47% of people decide whether to open an email based solely on the subject line^[1].

The "Show Me You Know Me" method explained

Cold emailing remains one of the most challenging prospecting channels for marketers and sales professionals. According to a recent study, the average marketing email open rate across industries is about 21.5%^[2], but cold sales emails typically perform significantly worse.

McKenna's framework focuses on deep personalization that goes beyond simply inserting a prospect's name into a template. Here's a breakdown of the key components:

Write subject lines that make sense only to the recipient

The most critical part of any cold email is the subject line. McKenna recommends creating subject lines that would confuse anyone except the intended recipient.

For example, when targeting the Chief Logistics Officer at Tori Burch, McKenna used a subject line referencing a specific fraternity the executive belonged to. The result? A response within 10 hours stating: "Your email stood out in a sea of emails that I get every single day."

McKenna explains that effective subject lines often:

• Reference personal details from social media research
• Include specific connectors like alma maters, hometowns, or interests
• Use "+" signs to break up longer phrases
• Avoid generic templates like "Quick introduction" or "Available to talk?"

For example, a subject line targeting McKenna herself might be: "Switzerland + liip cheeseburger + [Your Company]" — information that would only resonate with her based on her Swiss heritage and favorite food.

This approach demonstrates you've done meaningful research rather than sending mass emails. Practitioners believe that more than half of recipients mark emails as spam based on poor subject lines alone^[3]. 

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Craft preview text that demands attention

After the subject line, the first sentence is the most crucial element as it appears in the preview text in most email clients. McKenna offers two effective approaches:

1. The introduction approach: "Hi [Name], we have yet to be properly introduced, but I'm [Your Name]..."While some sales experts advise against wasting space on introductions, McKenna argues that when paired with a highly personalized subject line, this formal introduction suggests you should already know each other, increasing curiosity.
2. The direct personalization approach: "I saw your recent post about [specific personal detail] and..." This method leverages social listening by immediately referencing something from the prospect's social media, like a post about their pet, hobby, or recent achievement.

According to McKenna, executives often post about personal interests like their pets, travel, or family moments. These topics provide excellent openings for authentic connection.

With 81% of emails now opened on mobile devices^[4], the preview text becomes even more critical for capturing attention in crowded inboxes. This aligns with the broader trend showing that nearly 60% of B2B buyers expect some level of personalized communication^[5].

Focus on solving problems, not describing features

The value proposition section is where most cold emails fail. Instead of explaining what your product or service does, McKenna advises focusing on the specific challenge you solve for the prospect.

She recommends a two-part approach:

1. State the specific problem you've observed in their industry or role
2. Preemptively address the most common objection they might have

For example, one of #samsales' value propositions might read:

"If you're anything like our clients, you see your usage rates of LinkedIn Sales Navigator hover around 5% of your licenses. We can train your teams and bring that number up.

I also know you likely have a customer success manager at LinkedIn, but rather than having them teach you what buttons to push, our team will teach you how to use this platform to sell in the same way that I did when I was an executive at LinkedIn for my teams."

The first part identifies a specific problem (low usage rates of an expensive tool), while the second part anticipates and neutralizes the most common objection ("We already have support from LinkedIn"). This problem-solving approach is particularly effective for B2B outreach. 

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Close without presumption

McKenna challenges conventional closing tactics like calendar links or specific meeting suggestions that put pressure on prospects. Instead, she recommends:

"Do you have time over the next week or two to learn more? Let me know what works for you, and I'll send a calendar invite along accordingly."

This approach:

• Respects the prospect's time
• Gives them control over scheduling
• Demonstrates you're willing to accommodate their calendar
• Avoids the presumption of immediate availability
• Maintains your control over coordinating the actual meeting

The subtle psychology here matters—executives receive dozens of meeting requests daily, and showing flexibility makes you stand out positively. McKenna notes that most cold emails use presumptuous closings like "Do you have 15 minutes tomorrow?" or include calendar booking links that put all the work on the recipient.

Implementation and results

McKenna emphasizes quality over quantity, suggesting that sales professionals start by applying this framework to just 20 emails per week. Even at this modest volume, the quality of responses typically improves dramatically.

With average open rates of 43% and reply rates of 20%, the method generates significant improvements over traditional cold email approaches. When you consider that email marketing delivers an average ROI of US$36 for every US$1 spent^[6], optimizing cold email approaches can significantly impact overall marketing performance.

Implementing the "Show Me You Know Me" method requires more upfront research time per prospect but results in substantially higher conversion rates and more meaningful initial conversations. This aligns with broader marketing trends showing that segmented, targeted approaches can increase open rates by 30% and click-through rates by 50% compared to generic messaging^[7].

For B2B marketers and sales professionals looking to improve their cold outreach performance, McKenna's framework offers a systematic approach to breaking through inbox clutter with genuine personalization that respects prospects while still driving business outcomes. In a world where 76% of consumers get frustrated when they don't see personalization^[8], this method provides a blueprint for standing out.

The framework was shared as part of Apollo's educational content series. Apollo is a sales intelligence and engagement platform that helps sales teams find and connect with prospects. More of McKenna's sales strategies and the "Show Me You Know Me" method can be found through her company, #samsales Consulting.

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