team working together with a cold email marketing agency in an office

How to Choose a Cold Email Marketing Agency

There are many cold email marketing agencies out there, but how do you pick the right one? In this guide, Belkins CMO Margaret Lee walks you through the critical steps in finding the ideal partner to help you take your cold emailing to the next level.

Whether you want to try a new acquisition channel or your internal resources are stretched thin to generate more leads, we know how hard it is to pick the right partner for your business.

Quite a few of our clients here at Belkins have had previous experience with email outreach agencies. Unfortunately, it was a dissatisfying experience — those agencies delivered leads of poor quality, missed deadlines, or simply overpromised them.

To keep you from repeating those mistakes, we’ve prepared a complete guide to picking and vetting a cold email marketing agency.

What’s inside this guide to choose a cold email marketing agency

  1. Define your needs and goals
  2. Picture your target audience
  3. Research and shortlist potential providers
  4. Analyze pricing models
  5. Check if the agency takes care of deliverability, compliance, and data security
  6. Pay attention to how they communicate
  7. Consider additional benefits
  8. Book a consultation to clarify your questions
  9. Compare the agencies you’ve picked

1. Define your needs and goals

Before diving headfirst into agency research, take a step back. Write down your needs and try to derive goals from them.

We suggest you ask yourself these questions:

  • What do you want to achieve with email marketing? Is it about increasing sales, growing brand awareness, improving customer retention, or anything else?
  • How much can you spend on this? Knowing your budget will help you find an agency that offers the right services within your price range.
  • What email marketing tasks does your team already handle in-house? What roles and responsibilities do you need an agency to own? Distributing responsibilities from the start will avoid confusion later on.

Here’s where the SMART goal framework comes in handy, which stands for:

  1. Specific: Articulate precisely what you want to get. For example, 1,000 new leads, 15 appointments, and so on.
  2. Measurable: Think of how you’re going to track success. Choose several key metrics like reply rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, etc.
  3. Attainable: While ambitious, your goals should also be realistic. Consider your budget, email database size, and available resources.
  4. Relevant: Align your email marketing goals with your overall B2B sales and marketing strategy.
  5. Time-bound: Set a timeframe for achieving your goals.

Check a few examples of SMART goals for outbound email campaigns:

  • Increase qualified leads generated from our cold outreach by 30% in Q3–Q4.
  • Book 25 meetings with Fortune 500 healthcare companies in 3 months.

2. Picture your target audience

Once you’ve documented your goals and needs, consider creating an ideal customer profile (ICP) and buyer persona to identify whom you want to target. 

While ICP pictures your target audience on a company level, buyer personas are the decision-makers within those companies. This helps you understand the challenges and pain points of both the organization and the individuals in it, and adjust your offer accordingly.

Also, when you start your collaboration with the agency, this will enable them to:

  • Craft hyper-personalized email campaigns. Understanding your ideal customer’s pain points, interests, and industry language allows the agency to create emails that resonate deeply and drive action.
  • Launch A/B tests to maximize your campaign ROI. With buyer personas in hand, the agency can segment your email list and test different subject lines, email copy, and CTAs tailored to each persona. This data-driven approach helps them identify the messaging that resonates most effectively with each segment.

Here’s an example of Belkins’ ICP and buyer persona:

text on white and pink background describing what a buyer persona and what ICP are

3. Research and shortlist potential providers

Now that you know what you’re looking for, it’s research time! Check out four basic things you need to consider when searching for the right cold email marketing agency:

  1. Industry expertise. Understanding your specific market is crucial for crafting relevant email content.
  2. Services offered. Look for agencies that cover both strategy and execution.
  3. Client portfolio/case studies. Check out their past work. Consider requesting case studies for similar B2B clients.
  4. Testimonials. Read what their past clients have to say. Positive testimonials on independent review platforms like Clutch or G2 are a strong indicator of good service.

Questions to ask:

  • How long have they been in business?
  • Have they worked with B2B companies in your industry?
  • Does their service package align with your needs?
  • Do they have a proven track record of success in generating B2B leads through email marketing?
  • What rating do they have on independent review platforms like Clutch or G2?

Also, when it comes to case studies, check them against two core criteria:

  • Problem statement and solution to it.
  • Quantifiable results — the overall number of appointments booked, an increased conversion rate, average deal size, etc.

Here’s an example of a good case study:

image of young red-haired girl illustrating a guide to choose the right cold email marketing agency

This case study highlights the issues, solutions, and tangible results.

Related: See how ZeroBounce makes sure your cold emails don’t bounce — read our customer success stories.

4. Analyze pricing models

To choose the most suitable type of collaboration, review the existing pricing models and choose one that aligns with your budget and needs.

The most common ones are:

  • Retainer. Usually, you sign a contract for three, six, twelve, or more months and pay the same fee for a set range of services.
  • Pay-per-performance. Here, you pay for what you get — the number of campaigns sent, the number of leads or appointments generated, etc. Fees depend on campaign performance metrics.
  • Project-based. This model means you pay a fixed amount per project — for example, $2,500 per email campaign development, setup, and launch.

Each of the models has its advantages and disadvantages, though:

ModelProsCons
RetainerAccess to a range of servicesPredictable expensesEasier budgetingWorks better for long-term projectsPossible payment for unused servicesCan be expensive for small businesses
Pay-per-performanceHigh flexibilityCost aligns with resultsLower risks if campaigns failPoor predictability
Project-basedGuaranteed scope of workClear planningTransparent pricingLow flexibilityHard to scaleProlonged planning stagePossible hidden costs
   

Beware of hidden costs. Ask for a detailed breakdown of what is included in the price.

Tip: Before committing to a long-term contract, consider starting with a trial period or a pilot project, if the cold email marketing agency has any. This will help you evaluate the company’s commitment, quality of work, responsiveness, and the results it can deliver.

5. Check if the agency takes care of deliverability, compliance, and data security

If you don’t want your emails to get blacklisted, these three things are crucial to pay attention to.

Email tech setup and deliverability

To ensure you don’t ruin your domain reputation, check if the agency:

  • Properly configures and regularly updates your DNS (Domain Name System) settings, including SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification).
  • Sticks to sending limits and gradually increases the number of emails sent from a newly created mailbox.
  • Uses different domains for warm and cold outreach.
  • Checks content for spam words.
  • Updates templates once every two weeks.

For more tips on how to keep your emails landing in the prospect’s inboxes, check out the full guide on email deliverability and best practices to improve email deliverability.

Compliance with regulations and data protection

Here, you need to check:

  • CAN-SPAM, CCPA, and GDPR compliance: Depending on what locations you are targeting, ensure the agency adheres to these regulations.
  • Data security measures: To prevent possible data leaks, inquire about their data protection practices.
  • Double opt-in: Ensure the agency of your choice follows permission-based marketing and respects unsubscribe requests.

While all these points might look too difficult, they are vital if you want to achieve long-term success. Ensure the agency has the technical expertise to handle these aspects effectively.

6. Pay attention to how they communicate

Culture fit and effective communication are vital for a successful partnership. If the agency can’t quickly respond to your requests before you sign a deal, don’t expect them to do that when you become their client.

What’s more, the way they communicate can be either a red or green flag. One of the best signs is if emails/calls feel natural, not just a sales pitch. Also, it’s great if they:

  • Stick to the promises
  • Take a proactive approach
  • Offer you to choose the preferred communication method

You can prepare a few additional questions here:

  • What does their reporting look like?
  • How often do they keep you posted on campaign performance?
  • Who will be your point of contact?

Tip: Pick an agency that assigns a dedicated account manager to you. Thus, you can be sure you get timely updates and all the support you need.

7. Consider additional factors

While the abovementioned things are the basics, there are a few more things to mind when choosing a cold email marketing agency:

  1. Do they provide a strategy? A good partner will go beyond basic campaign execution. To help you succeed in the long run, they should approach your campaigns strategically. For example, if your audience isn’t responsive, they may recommend expanding the pool of titles or geo-targeting.
  2. Do they analyze your TAM? To develop a strategic approach to your cold outreach, an agency should dive deeply into your market size, target audience, and competitive landscape.
  3. Do they offer no-show recovery? Sometimes even qualified prospects don’t show up for appointments. Check if the agency has a plan for what to do in such cases and nurtures them until they attend the meeting.
  4. Do they have experienced copywriters on their team? Good content can hook your potential clients and drive action, while a poor one can scare them away. So check if the agency has in-house expertise in crafting engaging and persuasive email copy.

Additionally, some agencies can provide educational materials and access to a community of like-minded professionals. While not a must, such options will be a plus — they’ll help you master cold outreach on your own and expand your network.

8. Book a consultation to clarify your questions

Once you’ve shortlisted a few agencies, it’s time for the initial consultation. This is your chance to assess their fit and expertise. Here are some key questions to ask:

  • Walk me through your email marketing strategy for B2B lead generation.
  • How will our collaboration and processes look?
  • How do you segment email lists?
  • What kind of personalization do you use?
  • What email marketing platforms do you work with? (Make sure they have experience with platforms you’re comfortable with or open to using.)
  • How do you measure and report on campaign performance?

Tip: Prepare a list of questions beforehand and take notes during the consultation.

9. Compare the agencies you’ve picked

Once you’ve clarified all the questions, create a table with a checklist. Fill in the information you’ve captured from each agency and compare them against the others. You can get inspired by the scorecard for qualifying a lead gen agency.

Overall, we recommend comparing your top choices against these criteria below.

Expertise in your niche:

  • Do they have any prior experience in your industry?
  • What results did they manage to deliver for other companies?
  • Do they have positive reviews from previous clients?

Strategic thinking:

  • Do they understand your B2B audience and goals?
  • Can they forecast the results of their work?

Data-driven approach:

  • How do they monitor the effectiveness of the campaigns? 
  • Do they run A/B tests to find the best-performing message or sequence?
  • Do they regularly review and adjust the strategy and emails?

Compliance:

  • Do they stick to the core regulations?
  • Do they use permission-based marketing strategies?

Communication and flexibility:

  • Do they respond promptly?
  • Do they stick to promises and deadlines?
  • Can they adapt to your needs and feedback?

Team structure:

  • Who will be your main point of contact?
  • Will you have access to a dedicated team?

Finally, requesting and evaluating proposals will help you understand whether you’ll make a match. Ask yourself:

  1. Is their proposed strategy tailored to your goals and buyer persona?
  2. Is the proposal clear, concise, and easy to understand? Does it outline specific tactics and deliverables?
  3. Is the pricing model transparent and competitive with the market? Does it align with the scope of services offered?

By following these steps, you can choose an email marketing agency that aligns with your business objectives and drives meaningful results.

Author: Margaret Lee is the CMO at Belkins. She is a seasoned marketing professional with over 15 years of industry experience, renowned for her strategic vision and leadership acumen. Her expertise extends across various marketing facets, including B2B marketing and PR strategy and execution, aligning marketing, sales, and product functions, and pioneering techniques for appointment setting to empower sales teams. She loves building data-driven analytics systems that redefine marketing strategies.