Cold outreach remains one of the most effective ways to generate B2B leads — but generic openings are killing response rates. Woodpecker’s 2023 research shows that personalised cold emails achieve 29% higher open rates and 41% higher click-through rates than generic ones.
The challenge: writing truly personalised first lines for hundreds (or thousands) of prospects without overwhelming your sales team.
The solution: ChatGPT, when used strategically, can craft compelling, human-sounding first lines that scale.
Why Personalisation Matters More Than Ever
- The average decision-maker receives 121 emails daily (Campaign Monitor).
- 84% of customers say being treated like a person, not a number, is critical (Salesforce).
Most outreach still relies on templated, impersonal openings. Personalisation isn’t about abandoning scale — it’s about finding smart ways to achieve both.
The ChatGPT Advantage for B2B Prospecting
Unlike mail merge tools that just swap in names, ChatGPT can:
- Analyse multiple prospect data points
- Reference recent company news or personal activity
- Craft contextually relevant, natural conversation starters
The key: feed it the right data and prompts.
Setting Up Your Personalisation System
Build a strong data foundation before using ChatGPT. Gather:
- Company intelligence: funding rounds, hiring trends, product launches, news mentions.
- Individual insights: job moves, LinkedIn posts, professional achievements.
- Industry context: sector challenges, regulatory changes, trends.
- Mutual connections: shared clients, contacts, or case studies.
Crafting Effective ChatGPT Prompts
Generic prompts = generic results. Use structured prompts:
1. Context
“You’re writing the opening line for a B2B sales email to [job title] at [company] in the [industry] sector.”
2. Prospect data
“They recently raised £5M Series A funding” or “They posted about customer retention struggles last week.”
3. Tone
Specify: congratulatory, consultative, helpful, or insightful.
4. Connection
Mention your value proposition so ChatGPT can bridge their context with your solution.
Example prompt
“Write a personalised opening line for an email to the Marketing Director at TechCorp, a SaaS company that just hired 50 new employees. Tone should be helpful and consultative. We provide lead generation services to help scaling companies maintain sales momentum during rapid growth.”
Advanced Personalisation Techniques
- Industry-specific insights: GDPR for data firms, Brexit implications for logistics, etc.
- Timely relevance: tie to seasonal or industry events.
- Social proof: weave in similar client results.
- Question-based openings: thoughtful questions showing expertise.
Scaling Personalisation Efforts
- Create prompt templates for industries, personas, or scenarios.
- Batch similar prospects (e.g., HR directors at growing firms) to reuse thematic openings.
- Build a library of proven frameworks for team-wide use.
Quality Control and Human Oversight
Always review AI outputs for:
- Accuracy (are facts current and correct?)
- Tone (does it flow naturally?)
- Relevance (does it match your pitch and email body?)
Benchmark success and refine prompts based on performance data.
Measuring Success and Optimisation
Track key metrics:
- Open rates — improved with personalised subject + preview text.
- Response rates — the best measure of effective openings.
- Meeting bookings — the end goal.
- Time efficiency — how much faster is your team at producing personalised lines?
HubSpot reports that personalised outreach generates 20% more sales opportunities.
Making Personalisation Your Competitive Advantage
Hyper-personalised outreach at scale is now a must-have, not a luxury. Competitors still sending generic templates will fall behind.
Success lies in combining AI efficiency with human strategy:
- Use ChatGPT for research synthesis and draft creation.
- Keep humans for review, strategy, and relationship-building.
At SendIQ, we’ve seen B2B teams dramatically increase response rates by pairing AI-driven personalisation with multi-channel outreach (email, LinkedIn, cold calling, website visitor ID).
Start small, experiment with prompts, and refine as you go. With ChatGPT, your prospects will notice the difference — and your pipeline will show it.
