Cold email templates

A cold email template for asking for a meeting.

A cold email asking for a meeting works when the reason comes first and the ask is small and exact. Say who you are, why this person and why now, then offer two real times with the day, the date and the zone. End with an easy way to say no.

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The meeting request template

When to use itYou know this is the right person and the reason is strong, so you ask for a meeting at two real times.

Why it works

Two real times, written the way a calendar shows them: the day, the date, the time and the zone. Saying yes takes one word.
The ask is small and exact: 20 minutes at a named time, not "some time to connect".
The reason comes before the ask, so the meeting has a purpose the reader can see.
It still offers a way to say no. A meeting request without one reads like pressure.

What not to do

"Next Thursday at 10.30am-ish?" A loose time makes the reader do the work.
Asking for a meeting and a referral and a reply to a question, all in one email.
Attaching a deck. Plain emails carry no attachments, and a first email should not need one.

Grade the example

Template: Asking for a meeting

Subject: 20 minutes on {{topic}}

Hi {{firstName}},

I'm {{yourName}} at {{yourCompany}}. I'm writing because {{reason}}. {{yourCompany}} {{offer}}. Would {{time1}} or {{time2}} work for 20 minutes? If not, reply "no" and I won't write again.

Best, {{yourName}}

See it filled inExample

Asking for a meeting, filled inExample

To: Maya, Nordfeld
Subject: 20 minutes on fuel cards

Hi Maya,

I'm Alex at Harrow Line. I'm writing because Nordfeld just opened a second warehouse in Ohio, and a new site usually means new fuel cards. Harrow Line puts every vehicle on one card with its own spend limit. Would Thursday, Oct 22, 10:30 Eastern or Friday, Oct 23, 14:00 Eastern work for 20 minutes? If not, reply "no" and I won't write again.

Best, Alex

The companies and the people are invented.

When should you ask for a meeting in the first email?

When you are fairly sure this is the person who decides, and the reason to write is strong and specific. If you are not sure who owns the topic, ask for a name first with the right-person template. If the reason is weak, no template saves the email.

How do you suggest a time in a cold email?

Write times the way a calendar shows them: the day, the date, the time and the zone.

Write this	Not this
Thursday, Oct 22, 10:30 Eastern	Next Thursday at 10.30am-ish?
Friday, Oct 23, 14:00 Eastern	Sometime later this week
One booking link, if you use one	A booking link, a deck and three case studies

Two times give the reader a choice without a back-and-forth. A booking link counts as a link: plain emails carry few links, no attachments and no tracking pixels.

What should a meeting request not do?

Ask for "a quick call" with no reason and no time.
Make several asks at once: a meeting, a referral and a question.
Open with "I hope this email finds you well".
Promise results you cannot show, or use words like "guaranteed" and "risk-free".
Invent urgency the reader does not have.

What happens when they say yes?

Send the calendar invite at once, for the time they picked, with one line on what the 20 minutes will cover. When Dylan books for you, the meeting goes into your calendar, and you pay only when someone inside your meeting definition joins the call. What counts as a held meeting.

If an AI agent sends any of these, change the first line so it says so and names the company: "I'm Dylan, an AI agent working with Harrow Line." Every first email Dylan sends opens that way. Why Dylan says he is an AI.

Want Dylan to write the emails for you?

Tell Dylan your website and who you want to meet. Your plan shows the first email he would send, and nothing is sent without your approval.

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