Launched another collab article with Kyle Poyar on building a personal CRM. Check it out on Growth Unhinged here. Every salesperson or founder could probably get value out of this–and it only takes 20 min to set up. Now, onto today’s newsletter…
You can write a solid email—clear problem, credible proof, relevant trigger—and still get silence.
Because your CTA quietly asks for a commitment, not a response.
And in a cold inbox, commitment feels like risk.
The CTA mistake
Most CTAs accidentally imply one of these:
“Schedule time with a stranger.”
“Admit you have a problem.”
“Do homework (read a deck, watch a demo, fill a form).”
“Forward this internally and create political friction.”
So even interested prospects default to: ignore.
Not because they hate you.
Because the ask is too heavy for the amount of trust you’ve earned.
The rule
Your CTA has to match the trust level.
Cold email trust level is: near zero.
So your CTA should be: near zero effort.
If your CTA requires calendar coordination, internal buy-in, or a “yes, we have a problem” confession—expect lower replies.
What a reply-friendly CTA actually does
A good CTA makes replying feel:
Easy (no thinking required)
Safe (no admission of failure)
Non-binding (“we’re just clarifying”)
Binary (yes/no or A/B)
If the reader can reply in 5 seconds, you’re in the right zone.
The 4 CTA types that work best
1) The yes/no relevance check
This is the simplest “permission to continue.”
“Worth exploring, or not a priority right now?”
“Is this even on your radar this quarter?”
“Am I barking up the wrong tree?”
2) The A/B fork (forces an easy answer)
You give them two options so they don’t have to invent a response.
“Is the bigger issue volume or quality right now?”
“Are you more focused on new pipeline or re-activating old leads?”
“Does this sit with Sales Ops or Growth on your side?”
3) The micro-offer (value first, no meeting)
You offer a small artifact, not a call.
“Want me to send the 6-line checklist?”
“Should I share a quick example?”
“I can send a 30-sec before/after—useful?”
4) The “timing only” CTA
You’re not asking if—you’re asking when.
“If this is relevant, is it more a Jan thing or later in Q1?”
“Are you heads-down this week, or should I follow up next week?”
This is disarming because it presumes the value and only asks about timing.
CTAs that usually kill replies (even with good emails)
These aren’t “bad” in general. They’re bad for cold email.
“Do you have 15 minutes this week?”
“Can I show you a quick demo?”
“Are you the right person to talk to?” (signals you didn’t do basic homework)
“Let me know your thoughts.” (too open-ended)
“Here’s my calendar link.” (instant pressure)
“Happy to send a deck.” (depressingly effective at ending the conversation)
A simple upgrade path (keep your CTA, make it lighter)
If you want the meeting ask, earn it in steps.
Instead of:
“Open to a quick call this week?”
Try:
“Worth a quick yes/no—should I send a 2-sentence example of what this would look like for you?”
Then, after they engage:
“If that’s useful, want to do 10 minutes to see if it fits?”
The meeting becomes the second ask, not the first.
How do I do this if what I really want is meetings?
Glad you asked. You just do it. You can include calendar CTAs later in a campaign, but start with the above. Then keep an eye on your email, and reply quickly to any positive responses.
Is it a pain? Yes.
It’s also the core part of being in sales–replying to prospect emails!
What we do at Skyp
Skyp is built around reply-first CTAs. You set a single goal prompt that defines the persona, the offer, and the low-friction CTA style—and Skyp drafts unique emails with a common structure, so your ask stays consistent while the wording stays fresh. The result is less “book a call” energy, more conversations that naturally turn into meetings.
