Cold Email Templates for Odoo CRM: Best Practices, Examples & Placeholders

A good email template is the difference between a 2% and 12% reply rate. But "good" means something different for cold email than for newsletters or marketing emails. Cold emails are personal, short, and ask a question. They look like a human wrote them — because a human did, just with smart personalization.

This article shows how to write templates for Odoo CRM Outreach Campaigns that actually generate replies.

The Fundamental Rules of Good Cold Emails

Keep it short

3–5 sentences. No scrolling needed. The recipient decides in 3 seconds whether to keep reading. Anything over 100 words is too long for a first touch.

One question, one call-to-action

Not "Check out our website and book a demo and download our whitepaper." Instead: "Would you have 15 minutes for a quick call next week?"

Personal relevance

Why are you writing to this specific person? The recipient immediately notices whether an email is generic. One sentence showing you know the company or the role doubles the reply rate.

No HTML design

Plain text or minimally formatted. Cold emails with banners, buttons, and colors land in spam or get ignored as marketing. The best cold emails look like normal emails.

Subject line: Short, relevant, no clickbait

• Good: "Quick question about {{ company_name }}"
• Good: "{{ first_name }}, quick idea"
• Bad: "EXCLUSIVE OFFER TODAY ONLY!!!"
• Bad: "The #1 Solution for Your Business"

Placeholder Reference for Odoo Outreach Campaigns

The module supports 20+ placeholders that are automatically filled from lead, contact, and sender data:

Contact Placeholders

Company & Address Placeholders

Sender & Context Placeholders

Important: If a placeholder can't be resolved (e.g., no company name on the lead), it renders as an empty string. The sales rep sees the email before sending and can fill in gaps manually.

Template Examples: 3-Step Sequence

Step 1: Introduction (Day 0)

Subject: Quick question about {{ company_name }}

Hi {{ first_name }},

I came across {{ company_name }} and noticed that you [specific reference, e.g., "recently relaunched your product"].

We help companies like {{ company_name }} with [your service] — specifically around [specific value].

Would you have 15 minutes for a quick call next week?

{{ signature }}

Why it works:

• Personal reference in the first sentence
• Clear what you're offering
• One single question as CTA
• Under 60 words

Step 2: Follow-up with value (Day 3)

Subject: Re: Quick question about {{ company_name }}

Hi {{ first_name }},

quick follow-up on my email from {{ current_day }}.

We just completed a project for [similar company/industry] — [concrete result, e.g., "30% more qualified leads in 3 months"].

If that's relevant for {{ company_name }}, happy to share the details.

{{ signature }}

Why it works:

• References the first email (not "cold" but "follow-up")
• Concrete social proof with a result
• No pressure, just an offer

Step 3: Soft close (Day 7)

Subject: Re: Quick question about {{ company_name }}

Hi {{ first_name }},

I don't want to crowd your inbox. Last message on this topic:

If [your service] isn't relevant for {{ company_name }} right now — no worries. If that changes, you can always reach me at {{ sender_email }}.

Best,
{{ sender_name }}

Why it works:

• Respectful, no pressure
• Gives the recipient an easy out
• Leaves the door open
• Surprisingly high reply rate — many people respond to exactly this email

Common Template Mistakes

Too long

The first email should be 60–80 words maximum. Anything above that lowers the reply rate. Details belong in the follow-up or in the conversation.

Too generic

"We offer innovative solutions for your business" says nothing. Be specific: what exactly, for whom exactly, what result.

Too many links

Every link in a cold email increases spam probability. First step: zero links. Second step: one at most. Only share links once interest is established.

Fake personalization

{{ company_name }} alone isn't personalization. The recipient immediately sees that only the company name was inserted. Real personal relevance references something you researched about the person or company.

Too formal

Cold emails aren't business letters. "Dear Ms. Schmidt, I would like to hereby inform you..." won't get read. "Hi Anna," works almost always better in a B2B context.

Template Optimization: What to Track

Since the Odoo module tracks reply status, you can evaluate the following metrics:

Optimization cycle:

1. Start campaign with 100 leads
2. After the sequence: evaluate reply rate
3. Revise templates with poor rates
4. New campaign with adjusted template
5. Repeat

Conclusion

Good cold email templates are short, personal, specific, and ask a clear question. The placeholders in the Odoo Outreach module automate personalization — but the personal reference in the first sentence has to come from you.

Start with the 3-step sequence above, adapt it to your offering, and optimize based on reply rates. Consistency beats perfection.

Want to use email sequences directly in Odoo? The CRM Outreach Campaigns module brings templates with 20+ placeholders, multi-step campaigns, and reply tracking into your Odoo Community CRM.

Related articles:

• How to Set Up Cold Email Outreach in Odoo 18 Without Enterprise
• Cold Email & Outreach Directly in Odoo CRM
• Agency Outreach with Odoo CRM