Cold email for staffing agencies: how to get replies from hiring managers
Most cold emails from staffing agencies say the same thing: we have great candidates, can we talk? Managers delete them. The ones that get answered are short, specific, and arrive when the manager has a problem.
Why most of them are ignored
- They are about the agency, not about the manager’s open roles.
- They are long. A manager on a warehouse floor reads the first two lines on a phone.
- There is no reason to answer now.
- They ask for too much: a meeting, a call and a look at a brochure.
What a good one contains
- A subject line that names the role and the town.
- One line showing you know what they posted and when.
- One line on why you are relevant to that exact need.
- One small ask, such as a 15-minute call this week.
- A real person’s name.
Subject: Forklift operators for Secaucus
Hi Dana,
I saw Kestrel posted 4 forklift operator openings in Secaucus on Tuesday. We place certified forklift operators across North Jersey.
Worth a 15-minute call this week to see if we can help?
Sam
Following up
Send one or two follow-ups a few days apart. Each should add something new, such as second-shift coverage or how fast you replace a no-show. Don’t resend the first email with “bumping this up”. After the last one, stop. A manager who didn’t answer three short emails is not going to answer a fourth.
Protect your main email domain
Email providers judge the domain an email comes from. If cold outreach from your main domain draws spam complaints, the emails you send to clients and candidates from that same domain can start landing in spam too.
The usual protection is to send outreach from separate domains that resemble yours, with their own inboxes, warmed up gradually before any volume goes out. It takes a few weeks to do properly and it is the step most agencies skip.
What the CAN-SPAM Act requires
The CAN-SPAM Act applies to commercial email in the United States, including business-to-business email. In plain terms:
- The “from” name and address must be accurate.
- The subject line must not mislead.
- The email must include a valid physical mailing address.
- There must be a clear way to opt out.
- Opt-outs must be honored promptly: the law allows up to 10 business days.
This is a summary, not legal advice. Texting is covered by different and stricter rules, which is one reason not to text people who haven’t asked you to.
How ReqRunner runs it
We write the emails with you and you approve every one in writing. They go out in your name from separate domains and inboxes we set up and warm up, each with your mailing address and an opt-out we honor. Interested replies are answered the same business day.