If you're a founder reading this email:
Forward it to your CMO right now.
It’s one of our favourite emails for when your sales team is running low on leads. At Letter Leverage, we call it a hard CTA email aka direct response or sales email.
Here's why we love it:
We've run it over 9 times in the last 12 months for one client
It's generated between 120-150 booked calls every single time
It's been so successful, we've used it for clients in other niches too
Anyway, here's the Hard CTA email:
We are not allowed to use our own clients’ information due to NDA.
So we decided to write a Hard CTA email for Dan Martell as an example:
Now, you probably have 3 questions:
1/ “Great that this worked for your clients, but will it work for me?”
For context -
They run a high-ticket coaching programme for people who want to start and scale an AI business.
The programme is $6,000.
Every booked call is a direct $6,000 opportunity.
120 calls booked = $720,000 in potential revenue from one email.
So, if you're selling expensive products or services (anything above $1,000) - this is for you.
2/ “How often can we send hard CTA emails"?
We follow a framework called “Earn the ask”
The idea is simple:
Most founders treat their email list like a vending machine.
Insert email, receive leads.
But that's not how trust works. Every email you send is either a deposit or a withdrawal.
Send three deposits before you make one ask.
When you've earned it, the ask doesn't feel like selling. It feels like an invitation.
For this client, we run 12 editions a month:
4 value emails
2 personal stories
4 YouTube teasers
2 hard CTA
We don't follow the above cadence rigidly for every client.
The right cadence depends on list size, niche, and how much trust has already been built. (also their budget)
But the principle never changes - you can only withdraw trust that you've already deposited.
3/ "Just out of curiosity Nils, why does this email work so well?"
Seven psychological triggers are built into it. Here's how each one works:
1. Clarity
Readers don't re-read emails.
They scan, decide, and move on, so you need to make 3 things immediately obvious:
What's being offered
Who it's for
What to do next
2. Scarcity
“We’re opening 10 new spots”
A specific number creates constraints. The reader stops asking “do I want this?” and starts asking “will I even get this?
3. Proof of demand
"When we announced this last time, all spots disappeared within minutes."
It's proof that other people already made the decision - fast. Nothing sells a fence-sitter faster than knowing the fence is about to disappear.
4. Permission to leave
"If you're already successful... delete this email."
The wrong people leave.
The right people lean in.
And everyone who stays trusts the email more because you just proved you're not desperate enough to sell to the wrong person.
5. FOMO
"(If the link doesn't work, we've maxed out — sorry)."
Makes the reader imagine clicking and finding nothing.
That half-second of imagined loss is enough to make them act.
6. Exclusivity
"Please don't apply if you don't fit one of these criteria."
We want what we can't have.
Tell people they don't qualify and the ones who do will fight to prove it.
7. Social proof
Everyone knows why this works.
People want to see proof before they commit to anything. When you can show them results from people who were exactly where they are now, the decision gets a lot easier.
Anyway -
You now have everything you need to understand why this email works.
Writing it for your business is the easy part. Plug in your details in the below prompt and you'll have a hard CTA email ready to send in 30 minutes.
/Nils
P.S. If you're a B2B founder doing anywhere between $5M and $20M and want help implementing this email for your business - hit reply. We'll select 1 founder to work with directly.