What a framework is, and what it is not
A framework is an order for your ideas: what comes first, what comes next, where the ask goes. It helps you write faster and keeps the email short. It is not a script. The words in each email have to be about one real reader, their situation and one honest offer.
Every example below is a first email from one fictional company to another. All companies, people and figures are invented for teaching. Each email still has the basics from the anatomy of a B2B cold email: a named greeting, one question, a signature with a postal address and a line that tells the reader how to say no. Whether you may send such an email at all depends on the country; see cold email and the law.
The five frameworks at a glance
Framework | Stands for | Best when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
AIDA | Attention, Interest, Desire, Action | You have a clear trigger and a simple offer | Turning "desire" into hype |
PAS | Problem, Agitate, Solve | The reader has a problem they already know | Exaggerating the problem into fear |
BAB | Before, After, Bridge | You can describe a clear change | An "after" that promises too much |
QVA | Question, Value, Ask | You want the reader to think about their own situation | A first question that sounds like a quiz |
Referral | Who sent you, why, what, ask | Someone the reader knows suggested you | Using a name without permission |
AIDA: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action
One of the oldest models in advertising. The reader notices, gets curious, wants the result, and knows what to do next.
Step | What you write | Fill in |
|---|---|---|
Attention | One line about the reader's news or situation | I saw that [company] [recent event]. |
Interest | Why that event matters for your topic | When [event], [typical consequence] often follows. |
Desire | The outcome, with one piece of proof | We help [similar companies] [outcome]. [One true fact.] |
Action | One easy question | Would [small, useful offer] help? |
Fourth Coffee, an office coffee service, writes to the facilities manager of Trey Research, a research lab that has just moved.
Tom Becker
tom.becker@fourthcoffee.example
Coffee for your new building
Hi Ms Marin, I read on your website that Trey Research moved into its new building in October. Congratulations. The first weeks in a new building decide whether people make coffee in the kitchen or walk to the café down the road. We install and look after bean-to-cup machines for offices of 30 to 150 people, with beans, cleaning and repairs in one monthly price. A research team of a similar size in the city has used our service since spring. Would a free trial week with one machine be useful? Best regards, Tom Becker Fourth Coffee, Unit 7, Riverside Works, Bristol 0117 496 0000 If this is not relevant, just reply "no" and I will not write again.
PAS: Problem, Agitate, Solve
Name a problem the reader recognises, make its cost clear, then offer a way out. "Agitate" means making the problem concrete, not frightening the reader. If you would be embarrassed to say the sentence face to face, it is too much.
Step | What you write | Fill in |
|---|---|---|
Problem | A problem the reader probably has, linked to a fact | Every [season or event], [company] [situation], which means [problem]. |
Agitate | What the problem costs, honestly | When that happens, [concrete consequence]. |
Solve | How you remove it, in one or two sentences | We [what you do], so [benefit]. |
Ask | One easy question | Would [small offer] help? |
Contoso, an IT service, writes to the office manager of Alpine Ski House, a ski school that hires seasonal instructors every winter.
Mia Novak
mia.novak@contoso.example
Laptops for your December instructors
Hi Mr Meyer, Your careers page says Alpine Ski House hires about 40 seasonal instructors each December. Every one of them needs a laptop or tablet, a login and access to the booking system on day one. When that setup happens in the first week of the season, the office spends its busiest days resetting passwords instead of looking after guests. Contoso prepares devices before staff arrive: each one is set up, labelled with a name and ready to log in on the first morning. Would a short checklist for getting seasonal staff devices ready help? Best regards, Mia Novak Contoso Ltd, Unit 1, Station Yard, Fort William 01632 960000 If this is not relevant, just reply "no" and I will not write again.
BAB: Before, After, Bridge
Describe how things are now, how they could be, and what gets the reader from one to the other.
Step | What you write | Fill in |
|---|---|---|
Before | The current situation, without blame | Today, [how things work now]. |
After | The better situation, realistic | Imagine [the change], so [outcome]. |
Bridge | What you do to get there, with proof | That is what we do for [similar customers]: [how]. |
Ask | One easy question | Would [small offer] be useful? |
Northwind Traders, an office supplies wholesaler, writes to the procurement manager of Woodgrove Bank, which has twelve branches.
Aisha Khan
aisha.khan@northwindtraders.example
One supplies order for your 12 branches
Hi Ms Wright, Your annual report mentions a review of branch running costs. In many branch networks, each branch orders its own paper, toner and stationery, which means a dozen small orders and a dozen invoices every month. Imagine one order for all twelve branches, delivered to each of them, and one invoice for procurement. That is how we supply a chain of nine pharmacies: each branch picks from the same list, and head office approves one order a month. Would a sample of the monthly summary be useful? Best regards, Aisha Khan Northwind Traders, Unit 5, Canal Yard, Manchester 0161 496 0001 If this is not relevant, just reply "no" and I will not write again.
QVA: Question, Value, Ask
Open with a question that makes the reader think about their own situation, show the value in one or two sentences, then ask. QVA has two questions, but only the last one asks for action. Make the first one easy to think about, not a test.
Step | What you write | Fill in |
|---|---|---|
Question | A question about their situation, linked to a fact | When [situation], how do you [task] today? |
Value | What you change, with proof | [Product] [what it does], so [benefit]. [One true fact.] |
Ask | One easy question | Would [small offer] be worth it? |
Litware, which makes a shift-planning app, writes to the care manager of Lamna Healthcare's new Bristol office.
Ben Harris
ben.harris@litware.example
Covering sick days at your Bristol office
Hi Ms Mensah, When a care worker at your new Bristol office calls in sick at 6 am, how do you find cover today? Litware sends the open shift to every care worker's phone at once, and the first one to accept gets it, so nobody has to phone round. Two home care providers in the South West use it for all their shift changes. Would a 15-minute look at how it works be worth it? Best regards, Ben Harris Litware, Unit 3, Harbour Studios, Bristol 0117 496 0001 If this is not relevant, just reply "no" and I will not write again.
The referral email
Someone the reader knows suggested you get in touch. This is the warmest kind of first email, and the easiest to abuse. Use a name only if that person really suggested it and agreed to be named; copying them in (Cc) makes it transparent.
Step | What you write | Fill in |
|---|---|---|
Who sent you | The name, and how they know the reader | [Name] at [company] suggested I get in touch. |
Why | What the referrer mentioned about the reader | [Name] mentioned that you [situation]. |
What | What you do, in one sentence, with the link to the referrer | We [what you do] for [referrer's company]. |
Ask | One easy question | Would [small offer] be useful? |
Easy out | Permission to say no | If the timing is wrong, no problem at all. |
Margie's Travel writes to the HR manager of Adventure Works, after a client, Sam Patel of Wingtip Toys, suggested it.
Priya Shah
priya.shah@margiestravel.example
Sam Patel suggested I get in touch
Hi Ms Rossi, Sam Patel at Wingtip Toys suggested I contact you, and he is copied in. He mentioned that Adventure Works is building a sales team that will travel a lot from next year. We have booked Wingtip Toys' business travel for three years: one booking form for staff, one invoice a month for finance. Would a short overview of how that works for Sam's team be useful? If the timing is wrong, no problem at all, and I will not follow up. Best regards, Priya Shah Margie's Travel, Unit 2, Canal Yard, Manchester 0161 496 0000
Which one when?
Your situation | Try |
|---|---|
You have a fresh, public trigger (a move, a new office) and a simple offer | AIDA |
The reader certainly knows the problem (sick days, peak season, slow approvals) | PAS |
You can show a clear before and after (twelve invoices become one) | BAB |
You want the reader to stop and think about their own process | QVA |
Someone the reader knows suggested you, and agreed to be named | Referral |
The frameworks overlap, and that is fine. If two fit, pick the one that lets you write the shortest honest email.
How to adapt a template
Start with the reader, not the framework. Collect two or three facts about the company first: the trigger, the role of your contact, what they use today.
Pick the framework that suits those facts, using the table above.
Fill in each step with one or two sentences. If a step needs more, your offer is not clear yet; see the value proposition worksheet.
Delete the labels. The reader should never see "Problem:" or "Desire:".
Check the basics: one question, 50 to 125 words as a rough guide, a postal address, a way to say no.
Read it aloud. If it sounds like a template, change the words that could go to any company.
Mistakes to avoid
Filling the slots with clichés. "Are you struggling with productivity?" fits every company on earth.
Agitating too hard. PAS is not permission to frighten. "Your data could be lost forever" is pressure, not help.
Promising an "after" you cannot deliver. A BAB email with "double your sales" is an invented outcome.
A quiz question in QVA. "Did you know that 80 percent of...?" with a statistic you cannot source is both a weak question and a false fact.
A fake or unapproved referral. Naming someone who did not suggest you, or who did not agree to be named, is dishonest and easy to check.
Two asks. Each framework ends in one action, not three.
Sending the same filled-in template to a whole list. The structure can repeat; the facts have to change for every reader.
Before you send
Practise with live feedback in the cold email writing trainer, or repair a template gone wrong in fix a bad cold email.