7 Proven Sales Text Message Templates for Outreach

As voicemail and email effectiveness decline, sales teams are turning to SMS to drive faster, more meaningful engagement. Text messages now outperform traditional channels thanks to their speed, high visibility, and ease of use. With SMS open rates at 98% and response rates averaging 48.5%, having a texting strategy is critical in today’s outreach environment.

Sales reps only get around two hours a day to actually sell. In this short window, text messaging allows for direct, fast, and trackable communication with potential customers. Businesses leveraging text message marketing are improving conversion rates by engaging prospects where they’re most responsive: on their phones. Unlike long emails or unanswered calls, SMS delivers the right message at the right time, putting sales professionals back in control of their outreach.

Benefits of Sales Text Message Templates

Sales text message templates save time, keep messaging consistent, and allow for quick personalization. With CRM and SMS platform integrations, reps can automate responses, personalize placeholders, and launch outreach faster than ever. Using SMS templates for sales also:

• Standardizes brand messaging across teams: Everyone from seasoned reps to new hires can deliver a consistent, professional message that reflects your company voice.
• Improves speed-to-lead: Responding within minutes can be the difference between a booked meeting and a missed opportunity. Templates let reps move faster with ready-to-send copy.
• Reduces time spent drafting: Reps spend less time reinventing the wheel, freeing up more time to actually sell.
• Supports scalable personalization: Merge tags and CRM data allow reps to personalize messages without starting from scratch—ensuring a tailored experience at scale.
• Facilitates A/B testing: With standardized templates, teams can test different versions of copy to optimize open and response rates.
• Enables broader reach: When launching bulk SMS campaigns or sequences, templates provide the backbone of your outreach.

Templates also improve coaching and onboarding. New sales reps can ramp up quickly using proven text message templates, while managers can ensure messaging stays compliant, professional, and on-brand. Teams can continuously improve messaging with built-in analytics, identifying which templates lead to more replies, clicks, and conversions.

Combined with texting’s immediacy and high engagement rates, sales text message templates are a force multiplier for prospecting efficiency, conversion velocity, and team productivity.

7 Sales Text Message Templates That Work

Here are seven proven sales text message examples to use throughout your sales cycle:

1. Cold Calling Text Message

Use this when reaching out to a new lead who hasn’t engaged with your brand before. A good cold calling text message should be clear, brief, and establish immediate relevance. Keep in mind that your goal is not to close a deal, but to spark enough interest to schedule a quick conversation. You’re introducing yourself, offering a value-driven reason to talk, and providing a low-friction way for the lead to respond—usually a calendar link.

“Hi, Sam! My name is Chris with LeadsLLC. We’ve found that 89% of reps struggle with ignored calls and emails. If you have experienced the same, I’d love to chat with you about how text messaging can help! Click the link to schedule time to talk more – thanks!”

Why it works: It empathizes with the recipient’s pain points, offers a solution, and includes a clear CTA.

2. Inbound Lead Text Message

Use this right after a prospect downloads gated content, fills out a form, or attends a webinar. Strike while interest is high. The speed and simplicity of texting makes it an ideal way to acknowledge a lead’s engagement and advance the conversation quickly. This is also a great place to introduce personalization tokens—mention what they downloaded or interacted with.

“Lucy, thanks for downloading our benchmarking report! Are you available for 5 mins today to discuss the results? — Mindy from Acme”

Why it works: It shows responsiveness, builds on existing interest, and invites a quick follow-up.

3. Referral Text Message

Referrals build trust faster than cold outreach. Use this message when a current customer recommends a new contact. Leverage the relationship your customer already has to boost credibility and lower resistance. Mentioning a shared connection early builds familiarity and removes the ‘cold’ from cold outreach.

“Hi, Gary. Your friend Kevin is a RoomsConnect customer and mentioned you were looking to upgrade your properties. Can we talk about how we can help? Thanks, Sean (insert calendar link)”

Why it works: It instantly establishes credibility by referencing someone the lead knows.

4. Resource Sharing Text Message

Use this to provide upfront value and position yourself as a helpful expert. These types of sales texts aren’t just about booking a meeting—they’re about showing thought leadership and giving something useful without asking for anything in return. It’s a soft touch that can move your prospect closer to a conversation.

“Kelly: We surveyed 100 IT directors like you and here’s the full report on AI trends. Give it a read and let me know how you see AI fitting into your budget! [link]”

Why it works: It demonstrates relevance and positions your brand as a thought leader.

5. Sales Follow-Up Text Message

Use this to re-engage leads who haven’t responded to previous outreach. It works particularly well when paired with an earlier email or voicemail. By referencing a specific previous touchpoint and including a scheduling link, you’re providing context and making it easy for the lead to take action.

“Mary: Following up on my email yesterday. Still interested in talking about how Acme can improve your workflow gaps? Schedule time here. Thanks, Olivia [link]”

Why it works: It’s polite, persistent, and keeps the conversation going without being pushy.

6. Product Trial Text Message

If your company offers free trials, this type of text is ideal for encouraging conversion before access expires. These messages serve as reminders, but also as an opportunity to check in and answer any final questions that may be preventing the lead from converting. They’re especially effective when timed near the end of the trial.

“Hi Sarah! Your WriteBetter free trial expires 2/15. Log in to subscribe and keep your access. Text me if you have any questions! -Ashley”

Why it works: It creates urgency, includes a next step, and offers a personal point of contact.

7. Breakup Text Message

Use this when a lead has gone cold and you need to close the loop or prompt a final reply. This message helps you clean up your pipeline while still offering a final chance for re-engagement. It’s respectful, professional, and gives the prospect control over the conversation.

“Hi, Jean: Haven’t heard back from you about ToolTime. Just confirming you’re no longer interested. Let me know if you want to reconnect. Thanks, Tina”

Why it works: It gives the prospect a low-pressure way to opt out or re-engage.These sales sms templates help reps stay proactive, professional, and efficient at every stage of the sales funnel. Personalize them by adding names, contextual information, or relevant links for maximum impact.

How to Use Sales SMS Templates Effectively

Using sales text message templates is most effective when combined with modern sales technology and best practices. Templates become exponentially more powerful when integrated into your workflows, allowing for fast, scalable, and personalized outreach across your entire team. Here’s how to make your sales text templates work harder:

• CRM Integration: Connect your SMS platform to your CRM (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) to automate actions based on lead behavior. You can pull contact details, personalize messages with merge fields, and ensure all interactions are logged in one place for full visibility across your team. CRM integration also makes it easy to schedule follow-ups, track outcomes, and score leads.
• Campaign Automation: Launch SMS campaigns that automatically trigger messages based on behaviors like downloading content, clicking on links, or attending webinars. These sequences help move leads through the funnel without requiring manual outreach at every step. Paired with email and phone outreach, automated SMS can drastically increase your touchpoint frequency without overwhelming your reps.
• Segmentation: Not all leads are created equal. Segmenting your audience by role, company size, industry, or deal stage ensures that each lead receives a message that resonates. A VP of Marketing at an enterprise company should receive different content than a startup founder. Proper segmentation supports better targeting, engagement, and conversions.
• A/B Testing: Templates make it easy to test variations of your messages—like different opening lines, tone, or calls to action. By analyzing reply rates and click-throughs, you can refine your outreach strategy and build a library of high-performing templates your team can use with confidence.
• Compliance & Opt-Outs: SMS marketing is powerful—but also highly regulated. Use your SMS platform to manage opt-ins and opt-outs automatically, include clear opt-out language, and stay up to date with legal requirements like TCPA and GDPR. This not only protects your business but also helps build trust with prospects.
• Performance Monitoring: Track metrics like open rates, reply rates, and time-to-response to understand which messages are performing best. Use this data to coach your team, retire underperforming templates, and continually improve outreach efforts.

Texting is more than a touchpoint—it’s a strategic engagement channel. Done right, SMS templates empower sales teams to initiate more conversations, shorten the sales cycle, and improve outcomes across every stage of the funnel.

Download More Sales Text Message Templates

Want more SMS templates for sales? Whether you’re new to text message marketing or scaling a seasoned outreach program, having a broader library of templates can streamline your workflow and elevate your engagement. Access our full collection of 101+ professionally written text message templates designed for every sales scenario, role, and industry.

These templates aren’t just for sales—they’re ideal for recruiting, marketing, and customer success too. Whether you’re trying to set a first meeting, revive a cold lead, confirm an appointment, or share a case study, there’s a template designed to help you do it faster and more effectively.

Download 101 Sales Text Message Templates

When you download, you get:

• Templates for every stage of the funnel: From lead qualification to closed-won, we’ve got your messaging covered.
• Industry-specific message templates: Tailored outreach for industries like healthcare, staffing, software, education, and more.
• Options for multiple use cases: Follow-up messages, appointment reminders, re-engagement texts, no-show outreach, promotional messages, and upsell sequences.
• Fill-in-the-blank formatting: Easily customize for different buyers and contexts while keeping brand messaging intact.
• Gated content with lead capture: Submit your email and phone to access the full template library and receive additional best practice guides.

Use these templates to:

• Equip your entire team with proven outreach language
• Accelerate ramp time for new sales reps
• Standardize your outreach without losing personalization
• Maintain messaging consistency across locations, reps, and verticals

Whether you’re sending one message or launching a full SMS campaign, having the right message templates on hand makes all the difference.

Why TextUs for Sales Text Messaging?

TextUs is the preferred SMS platform for sales teams across industries. With 517+ five-star G2 reviews, TextUs delivers unmatched features for modern sales communication:

• Real-Time Conversations: Start meaningful interactions quickly without delays.
• CRM Integration: Connect to Salesforce, HubSpot, and other CRMs to streamline workflows.
• Sales Automation: Automate follow-ups, set reminders, and create sms campaigns at scale.
• Ease of Use: A user-friendly interface empowers reps to launch and respond to texts faster.
• Enterprise-Ready Support: Get personalized onboarding, training, and customer service.

TextUs also gives teams valuable insights into performance—like open rates, response times, and conversion metrics—allowing managers to coach more effectively and optimize outreach. Our platform empowers individual reps and entire teams to operate with confidence, consistency, and speed.

Whether you’re reaching out to a potential customer with a cold calling text message or nurturing a warm lead with a product trial reminder, TextUs gives your team the tools to send effective sales text messages that convert.

Craving even more?

You can download our industry-specific text messaging templates. Each set has 10 to choose from and customize!

If you are looking for general sales and recruiting text message templates, try our 101 Text Message Templates.

For a sales communication mix, try these email templates to accompany your text messages and include longer form outreach: Sales Follow-Up Emails the Pros Use (HubSpot) and 101 Sales Email Templates You Can Use Today to Close More Deals (cirrusinsight.com).