How to use debate principles for higher-converting cold emails

If you want your cold emails to drive action like a compelling debate case, you need an air-tight central argument. Crafting robust contentions is key to persuasive communication. In this essay, I’ll explain what makes an effective contention and why it matters so much for compelling cold outreach.

(I debated competitively throughout high school. I ranked as the #1 speaker in the country my junior year. I coached for 3 years. Won 2 national championships. Useful context, maybe!)

What is a contention and why should you care?

Most emails suck because they lack a convincing core argument.

A contention is the core argument or central premise anchored to all your sales messaging. This central thesis acts like tent poles, giving shape and elevation to the canvas of your campaign.

An effective contention includes:

• Claim: The perspective you're putting forward

• Warrants: Logic explaining why your claim is valid

• Evidence: Credible data backing up the warrants

• Impact: Why the claim matters to your prospect

Without a strong contention, emails meander without resonating. Recipients disengage within seconds, scanning over generic or irrelevant claims.

Grounded in a robust contention, however, messaging grabs attention immediately. 

Now, recipients are primed to hear your perspective after first grasping the reasoning and its significance.

For example, here's a hypothetical cold email with an excellent contention:

Hey Kylie,

I know the hustle of rapidly growing an e-commerce startup. We powered over $5M in sales for brands like Outdoor Gear Lab last year.

As you scale, inefficient customer service will cripple growth. But done right, it becomes a loyal revenue engine.

We created HelpScout to make elevated support easy, not a cost center handled in rigid tickets. Our platform drives 15-20% revenue increases for merchants by inspiring lasting customer loyalty.

I think HelpScout could do the same for your brand if you're aiming high with CX. Would you be open to a quick call to see if we're a fit? I can show you the platform plus data on how we drive growth for fast-moving commerce companies.

Lemme know!

Jen

Do you see how the logic flows here? The claim leads with a clear perspective backed up by reasoning in the warrants and credible evidence that quantifies the impact. It’s structured to compellingly explain why HelpScout matters.

Now, here’s a simple step-by-step process to create similarly bulletproof contentions for your own cold outreach efforts:

How to craft your own bulletproof contentions

Step 1 - Identify your central claim

First, distill your unique viewpoint or perspective down to a clear, singular statement. This is your central claim about the problem/solution space formatted as: ‘We believe [X central premise]’

• Example: We believe that for growing e-commerce companies like yours, exceptional customer service should actively drive revenue growth through loyalty, not passively operate as a cost center.

Spend time crystallizing this viewpoint based on your firsthand experience combined with outside signals. State it in a way that likely resonates with your prospect’s reality while providing a fresh vantage point.

Step 2 - Construct logical warrants

Next, construct logical reasoning explaining why this claim makes sense and deserves to be believed as true.

Pull in signals from firsthand experience plus outside data and examples to show your thought process for concluding this viewpoint. State it objectively rather than subjectively.

• Example of logical reasoning about the Helpscout claim: Research shows a direct correlation between customer experience (CX) and critical loyalty metrics like repeat purchase rates and lifetime value. However, traditional help desk software focuses on ticket metrics rather than human connections.

Step 3: Provide credible proof

The next priority is backing up your logical claims and reasoning with evidence. Credible evidence takes the form of data, expert opinions, case studies or other signals that leave no question about the validity of your stated viewpoint.

• For the Helpscout example, “companies using HelpScout see 15-20% Average Order Value increase over 18 months by strengthening customer loyalty.”

Step 4: Define the impact

Finally, clearly define what specific outcome will happen for the prospect after adopting the belief or taking action based on your viewpoint. Get highly detailed on the meaning rather than leaving a vague implication.

Really zoom in on defining the impact for the prospects themselves when it comes to either improvement or risk mitigation.

• Example impact clearly defined: With HelpScout, you can similarly boost revenue by inspiring lasting brand affinity through world-class support.

Naturally, some prospects will question elements of even the strongest contention.

A simple way to get ahead of objections is by playing devil's advocate:

• Brainstorm likely reasons recipients might disagree or push back

• Pre-emptively address them by shoring up warrants, adding credible proof sources, or better explaining the prospect's specific outcome

Strengthening sections where recipients typically push back will make your contention much more ironclad. HelpScout did this excellently by citing clear data on the order value increases for their customers.

The more you anticipate doubts, the more persuasively powerful your contentions become.

Here’s an example from my own experience

At my agency Aurora, we often contend that cold email outreach drives faster revenue growth for our clients with fewer sales reps than traditional recruiting.

• Our core claim is that leveraging scalable outreach helps companies accelerate growth in a capital-efficient way.

• The evidence includes client examples and third-party research on email outreach best practices.

• And the impact is that growth without mass hiring saves money, extending runways and growing the bottom line.

See how the contention provides a complete picture?

Now prospects instantly get why our solution matters and how it drives real business results.

If you make this a regular practice in your own cold outbound efforts, you’ll stand out dramatically from the typical canned sales pitch. Now get out there and start perfecting your contention game!

If you need help getting started, visit Aurora to learn more about our outbound services.