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Sales email templates

Meeting Request Email Templates

Say what they get in one sentence, name why it fits their company and ask for a call next week as a yes-or-no question, without a duration. Keep it under 80 words. The 7 templates below cover cold, referral, inbound, executive, event and customer requests.

Template 1 as a Ken Sequence Step

Ken sequence step

Query

Sequence step 1 - Meeting request email

Subject
[topic] at {company}
Body preview
{{First Line}} We help {industry} teams [outcome]. I'd like to show you how it would work at {company}. Open to a call next week?
Variables
{company}, {firstName}, {{First Line}}, {industry}, {sender_first_name}
You write
[topic], [outcome]

Template 1 below, "The cold meeting request", set up as the first step of a Campaigns sequence.

Use this template in KenAI personalization: 300 credits per 1,000 contacts

When to Use

In short Send a meeting request when you can say in one sentence what the call gives them.

  • Cold: you know the company has the problem you solve.
  • Someone referred you, and you can name them.
  • They raised their hand: a download, a demo request or a reply.
  • You're a founder or leader writing to a peer at the same level.
  • They said yes in principle and you need to lock a time.
  • You'll both be at an event, and a coffee there is easier than a call.
  • An existing customer is due a review.

Templates

In short Copy any of the 7 templates below, replace each [bracketed] part and cut any line that isn't true for you. Ken fills the {firstName}-style variables.

Variables

The templates use Ken's editor syntax. Ken fills {firstName}, {company} and {industry} from each contact and {sender_first_name} from the sending inbox. {{First Line}} is an AI variable. Ken's AI personalization writes it for each contact from the prompt of that name. To cover an empty field, add a fallback after a pipe, such as {firstName|there}. Replace every word in [brackets] with your own before you paste.

Your signature

For cold and other commercial email, put your postal address and a one-line opt-out in the signature under {sender_first_name}, such as "Reply stop and I won't email again." The FTC's CAN-SPAM guide requires both, B2B email included.

Template 1: The cold meeting request
Subject: [topic] at {company}

Hey {firstName},

{{First Line}}

We help {industry} teams [outcome]. I'd like to show you how it would work at {company}.

Open to a call next week?

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: It says what they get before it asks, and the ask is a yes-or-no question about one call.

Template 2: The referral meeting request
Subject: [referrer name] suggested we talk

Hey {firstName},

[referrer name] told me you're the one to talk to about [topic] at {company}. They thought [reason].

Want to pick a time next week?

[booking link]

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: Naming the referrer in the first line borrows their trust, and the link turns a yes into a booked slot.

Template 3: The inbound meeting request
Subject: Your [topic] request

Hey {firstName},

Thanks for [inbound action]. Most teams who ask about [topic] want to know [common question], and that's easier to show than to write.

Want to walk through it on a call this week?

[booking link]

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: It answers the reason they raised their hand and offers the call as the fastest way to the answer.

Template 4: The executive-to-executive request
Subject: [your company] and {company}

Hey {firstName},

I run [your company]. We work with [peer companies] on [topic], and I think there's a fit with what {company} is doing on [initiative].

Would you be open to a call between the two of us next week?

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: A short peer-level note from one leader to another names the fit and asks for one conversation.

Template 5: The two-times request
Subject: Time for [topic]

Hey {firstName},

To make [topic] easy to schedule, here are two times that work on my side:
- [option one]
- [option two]

Does either work? If not, send me one that does.

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: Two concrete times make yes a one-word reply, and the fallback keeps a busy calendar from ending the thread.

Template 6: The meet-at-the-event request
Subject: Coffee at [event name]

Hey {firstName},

I'll be at [event name] too. If you have a gap between sessions, I'd like to buy you a coffee and show you how [your company] handles [topic].

Want to pick a time on [day]?

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: Coffee at an event you're both attending is a smaller ask than a call, so it's an easier yes.

Template 7: The customer review request
Subject: {company} review

Hey {firstName},

It's been [time since start] since {company} started with us. I'd like to show you what's working, what isn't and the one change I'd make next.

Open to a call before [date]?

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: A specific agenda that includes what isn't working gives a busy customer a reason to say yes.

Timing

In short Ken's default: the request plus up to two follow-ups, 2-4 days apart, then stop.

Meeting request email cadence
DayStepGoal
Day 1Meeting request (template 1)Ask for the call directly
Day 4Follow-up in the same threadAdd one new reason to reply: a result or a resource
Day 9CloseOffer two times or an easy out

Gaps follow Ken's sequence guide: 2-4 days between emails, up to 5 before the last one. Ready-made follow-ups are on the sales follow-up email page.

Examples

In short 3 filled-in versions for specialty food manufacturing, architecture firm and commercial cleaning, all with fictional companies.

Marrowfield Foods is a fictional company. A rep selling production-planning software asks the plant manager at a 120-person sauce maker for a first call.

Example: Specialty food manufacturing
Subject: Marrowfield changeovers

Hey Tomas,

Your new hot sauce line went into three regional chains this spring, which usually means more changeovers on the same lines.

We help food plants plan runs so changeovers drop and the schedule holds. I'd like to show you how it would work at Marrowfield.

Open to a call next week?

Nina

Steadwell Hart Architects is a fictional company. The founder of a project-billing software company writes to the firm's managing partner after a referral from the firm's operations lead.

Example: Architecture firm
Subject: Ines suggested we talk

Hey Graham,

Ines told me you're the one to talk to about project billing at Steadwell Hart. She thought the way we track unbilled hours would fit your mid-size projects.

Want to pick a time next week? Reply with a day and I'll send an invite.

Leo

Okelund Facility Services is a fictional company. A crew-scheduling software rep offers two times to the owner of a commercial cleaning firm who agreed to a call.

Example: Commercial cleaning
Subject: Crew scheduling call

Hey Bea,

To make the crew scheduling call easy, here are two times that work on my side:
- Tuesday at 9
- Thursday at 2

Does either work? If not, send me one that does.

Felix

Mistakes to Avoid

  • Putting a duration in the ask, like "Can I get 30 minutes?". Ken's copywriting rules keep time out of the call to action; the length comes up when you book.
  • Asking before saying what they get. State the outcome in one sentence, then ask.
  • Asking a soft question like "Would it make sense to connect sometime?". Ask for a call next week instead, so the reply can be yes or no.
  • Offering a calendar link plus three other ways to book in one email. Give one way to say yes.
  • Using "Meeting request" as the subject. It tells them it's a pitch before they open it; use 1-3 plain words about their topic.

FAQ

How do you write a meeting request email?

Say what they get in one sentence, give one reason it fits their company and ask for a call next week as a yes-or-no question. Keep the body under 80 words, the ceiling in Ken's copywriting skill.

How do you politely ask for a meeting by email?

Be direct and specific: name the topic, the outcome and a time window. Polite comes from short and clear, not from hedges like "if it's not too much trouble".

Should you include a calendar link in a meeting request?

In Ken's view, use one when they've already shown interest, like an inbound request or a referral, and put it on its own line under the question. On a cold first email, ask in words and send the link once they say yes.

What subject line should a meeting request email have?

1-3 plain words about their topic, such as "Marrowfield changeovers". Skip "Meeting request" and any $, % or stacked numbers, which read as promotional.

How long should a meeting request email be?

Under 80 words in the body, per Ken's copywriting skill, with one idea and one ask. If it scrolls on a phone, it's too long.

Do This in Ken

Send This Sequence in Ken

Run these templates as a Campaigns sequence in Ken. Campaigns finds and qualifies leads, writes personalized email and LinkedIn sequences, and sends them from your outbound inboxes. AI personalization, priced below, can fill the personal lines for each contact.

  1. Create a campaign and paste template 1 as the first email step.
  2. Add the next steps from this page on the days in the timing table.
  3. Replace every [bracketed] part, and add a fallback such as {firstName|there} where a field can be empty.
  4. Add your contacts and launch.
Module
Campaigns
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Cost
AI personalization: 300 credits per 1,000 contacts
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Related

Sources

Every source, with the date we checked it
SourceChecked
FTC, CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business
Ken cold email skills (MIT), email-copywriting and campaign-strategy

Changelog

  1. Page published.