In this video, sales coach Ryan Dohrn outlines his "Rule of 3 and 3" for effective cold‑email outreach: use a three‑word subject line and keep the body to three sentences. He stresses stripping away unnecessary pleasantries (e.g., generic "I hope you’re doing well") and focusing on proving relevance by referencing specific research on the prospect’s company. Drawing on his marketing background, Dohrn contrasts marketing‑style copy—full of hyperbole and fluff—with sales‑focused messaging that must demonstrate value and credibility. He advises salespeople to personalize each outreach, show they’ve done homework, and make a clear, concise call to action, even offering his own speaking services and contact email. The overall message is that concise, highly relevant, research‑backed emails outperform longer, generic marketing‑style messages.
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Hey friends, Ryan Dohrn here, your global sales coach. And this week we're really talking in detail about what are the email strategies that are working. Now I get a lot of questions about this. I talk about it a lot. You've heard about Uncle Ryan's— that'd be me, Uncle Ryan— Uncle Ryan's rule of 3 and 3. 3 words in the subject line, 3 sentences in the email. But I mean, it's really hard to live by that rule because, you know, we have so much to say. And our grandmother always taught us, or your mother, that you only have one chance to make a first impression. Or, you know, or whatever. So here's what I would encourage you to consider when you're writing emails to clients. What can you eliminate that really truly is not needed? Like, for example, if you send me an email and it's like, hi Ryan, I hope you're doing well. It's like, you don't know me, so why do you care if I'm doing well? Maybe that's something you could potentially get rid of. I like in my emails, I like to prove that I'm relevant. So, it would be, hi, Julie. Before emailing you, I was researching your company ABC and I saw this. I think I can help you with that. I like to prove that I'm really relevant. I would suggest this to you. I observe a lot of emails written by salespeople that look like the marketing department wrote those emails. Now, as a marketer myself, I've been doing it a long time. Don't forget now, I won an Emmy in marketing. I recognize what good marketing is. Moving into the sales world though, it's a little bit different. It's not as much hyperbole. It's not as much exaggeration. It's not as much fluff. Okay? And I love marketing, by the way. In the sales business, a lot of it is just really proving that you're relevant, proving that you're well-researched, and proving to somebody that you're worth their time. So when it comes to email strategies, follow that rule of 3 and 3 and make sure you're exceedingly relevant in everything that you do. Hey, if I can be of help to you, helpful to your team, speak at your national sales conference, I'm a, I'm a pretty funny guy. Invite me in. Reach out over at ryan@ryandohrn.com.
