Cold email templates for B2B sales in India

What makes a cold email template work

A cold email template is a starting point, not a mail merge to fire at thousands of people. The five below are short, plain and written for Indian B2B buyers: plant heads, distributors, clinic owners, HR managers and exporters. Each one follows the same pattern:

1. A subject line of three to six words that names their business or their problem, not your company.
2. One line about them, so they can see the email was written for them.
3. One line about what you do for businesses like theirs, with a place or a kind of customer they recognise.
4. One easy question they can answer in a few words.
5. Your name, company and mobile number, and a line telling them how to stop further emails.

Keep each email under 120 words and send it as plain text from a named person, with no attachments or images in the first message.

Five cold email templates for B2B sales in India

Replace everything in square brackets. Send the follow-up as a reply in the same thread three to five working days later, and stop there unless they answer.

1. A safety equipment supplier writing to a factory

Subject: Safety shoes for your Chakan plant

Email: Dear Mr [surname], I read that [company] has added a second line at its Chakan plant. We supply safety shoes, gloves and helmets to auto-component makers in Chakan and Talegaon, delivered to the factory gate within two days. Would our rate list for your current sizes be useful? Regards, [name], [company], [mobile]. If you would rather not hear from me, reply "no" and I won't write again.

Follow-up: Mr [surname], one last note. If safety equipment is bought by someone else at the plant, could you tell me who? I'll write to them and not trouble you further.

2. A software company writing to a distributor

Subject: Retailer payments at [firm name]

Email: Namaste [name] ji, distributors in Nagpur tell us the hardest job each month is chasing retailers for payment. Our billing software shows who owes you what, sorted by days overdue, and prints a statement for each retailer in one click. Can I show you on a 15-minute phone call this week? [name], [company], [mobile].

Follow-up: [name] ji, I know month-end is busy. Shall I call on the 5th, once the rush is over?

3. A marketing agency writing to a clinic

Subject: [clinic name] on Google Maps

Email: Dr [surname], I came across [clinic name] while looking at dental clinics in Kondapur. Your patients rate you well, but the profile has no photos and no opening hours. We set up and look after Google Business Profiles for clinics in Hyderabad for a fixed monthly fee. Would a free one-page check of your profile help? [name], [agency], [mobile].

Follow-up: Dr [surname], the check comes down to three changes, each about five minutes' work. Shall I send them over?

4. A corporate gifting firm writing to HR

Subject: Diwali gifts for the [company] team

Email: Hello [name], if you are planning Diwali gifts for your team this year, we put together boxes of dry fruits, sweets and handmade products from Indian makers at three price levels, packed with your logo and delivered to each office or to employees' homes. Shall I send the catalogue and a sample box to your Gurugram office? [name], [company], [mobile].

Follow-up: Hello [name], large orders take about four weeks to pack. If you have already chosen a gift this year, tell me and I'll write again next year instead.

5. A freight forwarder writing to an exporter

Subject: Part-container shipments from Tiruppur

Email: Dear [name], I see [company] exports knitwear to Europe. We combine part-container (LCL) shipments for Tiruppur exporters through Chennai and Thoothukudi ports, with our own team handling customs clearance. If you share the volume and destination of your next shipment, I'll send a rate within a day. [name], [company], [mobile].

Follow-up: Dear [name], if you are happy with your current forwarder, no problem. Would a second rate to compare against be useful for your next shipment?

Sending without ending up in spam

• Authenticate your domain. Since 2024 Gmail and Yahoo require bulk senders to set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Our SPF, DKIM and DMARC guide explains each record in plain words.
• Keep complaints rare. The same providers expect bulk senders to offer one-click unsubscribe, act on unsubscribes promptly and keep spam complaints under 0.3%. Aim far lower than that.
• Start slowly from a new mailbox. Twenty or thirty emails a day at first, increased over a few weeks, looks like a person writing. Five hundred on the first morning looks like a spammer.
• Remove bad addresses before you send. Invalid and duplicate addresses bounce, and every bounce counts against you.
• Keep a "do not email" column and check it before every send.

Picking the right inbox

A template works only when it reaches the person who decides: the owner of a small firm, the purchase or plant head for materials, the HR head for staff gifts. A sales@ address at a large company may never reach any of them. Our guide to business email lists shows which industry lists have an email for nearly every contact, and the list builder lets you choose an industry and a city and keep only the rows with an email address.

Questions people ask

How many follow-ups should a cold email get?

One, perhaps two. After that, more emails start to feel like nagging and complaints go up. If they have not replied after two, a short phone call is a better next step; our telecalling scripts help with what to say.

Should I attach a brochure or price list?

Not in the first email. Attachments from unknown senders look risky to both people and spam filters. Offer the brochure instead, and send it when they say yes.

Is it legal to send cold email to businesses in India?

Writing to a business about its work is common practice, but a named person's work address is still personal data. Use it for a clear purpose, say who you are, honour every opt-out, and take advice on how the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 applies to your business.