Average Cold Email Conversion Rate by Industry – 2024 Report

The Focus Digital team analyzed the average cold email conversion rates across hundreds of cold email campaigns to compile the following report. The average conversion rate is 0.2153% (1 deal for every 464 emails sent) across industries, but this will vary widely based on the following factors:

• Industry: Some industries have more competition for the prospect’s inbox and other industries may use email as a means of communication to different degrees, affecting the conversion rate. 
• Number of Emails Sent: Generally, as more emails are sent, the less personalized the emails will be, lowering conversion rates.
• Online Presence: If the company is recognizable or has a substantial online presence, the conversion rate will increase due to the perceived lower likelihood of the email being spam. 
• Offer Quality: Compelling offers are more likely to receive responses from a cold email. 

Defining The Cold Email Conversion Funnel

The cold email conversion funnel is made up of the following stages:

If you are interested in a full report of cold email open rates by industry, see our report on B2B cold email open rates. 

For the purpose of this report, we will be calculating the full funnel conversion rate, as in, the number of cold emails sent to acquire one customer. We calculated this using the following formula:

Cold Email Conversion Rate = Number of Customers Acquired / Number of Cold Emails Sent

All data is included below, but if you prefer, you can find what you need with this widget instead:

Average Cold Email Conversion Rate by Industry

The following table gives the average cold email conversion rate by industry. 

Industries that rely on email for communication more often typically have a higher cold email conversion rate. However, if the medium is also used heavily for sales, conversion rates may dip because of market oversaturation. 

Average Cold Email Conversion Rate by Number of Emails Sent

In this analysis, we give the conversion rate by the number of emails sent. This is, of course, assuming the testing phase is over and a message-prospect synergy has been found. This will vary depending on the script. 

Average Cold Email Conversion Rate by Level of Online Presence

If a company has little to no online presence, many prospects will assume that the email is a scam. However, if the email comes from a recognizable or easily found brand that consistently produces social media and website content, the chance of response and conversion goes up dramatically. Video content from the person sending the email visible on the website or simply their picture will improve results. 

Average Cold Email Conversion Rate by Offer Quality

If a company does not have a compelling offer, then it will be difficult to sell from cold traffic. The following factors encompass a good offer to cold traffic:

• Quantifiable Result: The result of the offer should be specific and measurable (i.e. increase in closed deals by 5% from a CRM)
• Guarantee: The quantifiable metric should be guaranteed to the customer in some form or fashion (i.e. if you don’t see an increase in closed deals by 5%, we will let you use the system for free for up to 6 months)
• Case Studies: At least 3 case studies should be available of the result being achieved. 
• Time Horizon: A specific time in which the result will be achieved is crucial. 

Downloading this Report & Next Steps

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