A warm introduction through a trusted mutual connection is much more valuable than a cold e-mail, but if you really want to meet someone and you don’t have a strong connection, you’ll have to reach out cold.
Keep it short. 3-5 sentences. People don't like to read. Especially when they're not sure it's something of value to them. Also, if they see it’s going to take them more than a couple minutes to read, they’ll bookmark it for later, which can result in them forgetting about or deciding to ignore it altogether. It’s tempting to want to make a complete pitch, but the reality is, deals don’t get done over e-mail. Use the first cold e-mail to sell a first meeting.
Clearly define your value proposition in 1 sentence. Describe how you can help them within in the first sentence.
Personalize every e-mail. Of course use their name and their company's name...but also explain why you're reaching out to this person specifically. Make it clear that it’s not a blanket spam e-mail to a million people. Make them feel special.
Humanize the e-mail by using your name to introduce yourself in one sentence. “I’m Mike, I...”
Close the e-mail with a clear call to action. ie "Do you have a few minutes for a call on Tuesday morning?" If the person is super high caliber and busy you probably want to start by adding value to what they’re doing before you even ask for a meeting.
Include links to you and/or your company's website where they can learn more about you and your company. Customers don't want to listen to you talking about yourself in the first e-mail. They want to hear about how you can help them. If they're interested they will click to learn more. This could be in your signature or within the text of the body if it’s contextual.
I like to use a long and personalized subject line. It stands out in an inbox, it makes it clear that it's not spam, and it entices them to open the e-mail by hinting at the value proposition. Since the body will only be 3-5 sentences, you don’t want to waste this valuable real estate.
Follow up within 3-10 days (depending on the product/service). Keep the follow up e-mails short - around 2 sentences. Try to do something more than just sending another nagging e-mail. Send them something of value like a white paper or even a blog post. Let them know what results you're delivering for other customers. Offer to have someone above you, such as the CEO, join the call (if you're a startup).
To learn more about meeting and building relationships with awesome people, check out my book Amazon.com: Business Networking: How to Build an Awesome Professional Network eBook: Mike Fishbein: Kindle Store