Here's the truth about cold emails: When all they do is blend into the sea of "innovative solutions" and "industry-leading products" in your prospect's inbox, they're destined for the trash folder faster than you can say "follow up."
So, how do you craft a cold email that stands out, speaks directly to your prospect's immediate needs, and compels them to respond?
Use copywriting frameworks. They've been proven time and again to transform ordinary messages into compelling conversations.
The 4Us Framework—Urgent, Unique, Useful, Ultra-Specific—is one of the most powerful approaches in a salesperson's toolkit. Think of the 4Us as building blocks that transform your cold email from a generic pitch into a perfectly timed solution your prospect can't ignore.
But here's the catch: Crafting these messages takes precision and skill.
Most sales reps aren't copywriting experts. Creating emails that hit all four U's while maintaining brevity and avoiding sales-speak is challenging, even for experienced writers.
This is where AI steps in.
Tools like ChatGPT can help sales reps craft perfectly structured emails that leverage the psychological triggers of the 4Us Framework.
In this blog, we'll explore the 4Us Framework, provide a ready-to-use ChatGPT prompt for creating cold emails, and share an example email generated using the framework.
What Makes the 4Us Work?
The brilliance of the 4Us lies in its comprehensive approach to prospect psychology. Rather than focusing on a single angle, it addresses four critical factors that influence decision-making.
The 4Us Framework, developed by Tom Leung, creates a powerful narrative that speaks to both emotional and rational buying triggers, making it particularly effective for breaking through inbox noise.
1. Urgent: The Time-Sensitive Catalyst
The urgent component creates a compelling reason to act now rather than later. This isn't about fake scarcity—it's about highlighting genuine time-sensitive opportunities or addressing issues that become more costly with delay. The key is demonstrating why waiting could negatively impact the prospect's business.
2. Unique: The Competitive Differentiator
The unique element showcases what makes your solution different from everything else the prospect has seen. This section answers the critical question: "Why should I choose you over alternatives?" By highlighting your competitive advantage, you give prospects a clear reason to engage with your message.
3. Useful: The Tangible Value
The useful component demonstrates practical benefits and real-world applications. This section translates features into outcomes, showing exactly how your solution solves specific problems. The focus is on utility—how your offering makes the prospect's work easier, faster, or more profitable.
4. Ultra-Specific: The Precision Factor
The ultra-specific element eliminates vagueness and generalities. By using precise language, concrete examples, and specific numbers, you demonstrate credibility and show prospects you understand their unique situation. This precision builds trust and shows you've done your homework.
💡 ChatGPT Prompt: 4Us FRAMEWORK
Write a 4Us (Urgent, Unique, Useful, Ultra-Specific) style cold email to {{Fullname}} from {{Company}}. These are inputs about my company which I'm trying to sell:
Ideal Customer: {ICP}
What does my product do? {Description}
The value we provide for the user: {Value Proposition}
What pain points do we solve? {Painpoints}
Competitor Advantage: {Competitor Advantage}
How we have helped people: {Case Study}
This is the input about the prospect: {Prospect_Research}Write the subject in the following format: Keep it simple, stating the main topic of the email. Avoid being overly creative or fancy. Limit it to 3-4 words max.Write the email in the following format:Urgent: Start by identifying a pressing challenge or pain point the prospect is currently facing, based on {Prospect_Research}, that could significantly impact their business or industry if not addressed soon.Unique: Explain the unique benefit or solution our product provides, drawing from {Description} and {Competitor Advantage}, and highlight how it addresses {Painpoints} in a way competitors don't.Useful: Describe the tangible value our product has delivered for other businesses facing similar challenges. Reference a success story or relevant case study from {Case Study} to demonstrate the product's effectiveness.Ultra-Specific: End with a simple call to action. Either - "Worth a chat?" or "Worth exploring?"Guidelines:
Keep the email under 80 words.
Use a friendly, direct tone.
Make sure to bring forth all the mentioned elements of formatting.
Avoid vague terms like "streamline," "optimize," "maximize," etc.
Be as specific as possible without making assumptions about the prospect.Sample Output:
Conclusion
The 4Us framework and prompt provided are your blueprint for writing high-converting cold emails.
But the real challenge is scaling this for hundreds of prospects. Even with AI, executing this effectively at scale is a struggle.
That's why we built SDRx—an AI outbound agent that handles everything from in-depth prospect research to perfectly timed follow-ups, creating qualified pipeline without the manual grind.
By analyzing prospect behavior and leveraging 25 copywriting frameworks, SDRx generates highly personalized emails at scale, ensuring every outreach is relevant and impactful.
Want to use AI to create personalized, human-like emails for every prospect?
Book a demo of SDRx today.
