When an assistant answers your cold email, they are not in your way. They are the person deciding whether your message reaches their boss, and a good reply makes that decision easy for them. Reply within a couple of hours, address them by name, and give them exactly what they asked for: a summary they can forward, a set of times, or a graceful exit. Below are three replies to copy, one for each thing an assistant is likely to say, and a list of the moves that get you filtered.

Why a stranger is answering your email

In many companies, the assistant manages the executive's inbox and calendar. Your email may have been forwarded to them, or they may have read it first. They answer in one of three ways: "Send me details and I'll pass them on," "Let's find a time," or "Not a fit right now." Each needs a different reply, and all three show if you are someone the executive should hear from.

Joel runs Ironbridge Fire & Safety, which inspects extinguishers, alarms and exit lighting for businesses with several locations. He emailed Anita Voss, the COO of a seven-clinic dental group. Anita's assistant, Priscilla, answered. The three replies below are what Joel sends in each case.

Treat the assistant as the decision on access

An assistant has no stake in your pitch. They care about two things: not wasting the executive's time, and not looking bad for forwarding something irrelevant. So write for that. Be brief (under 100 words), answer what they asked, and leave the routing to them. A phrase like "you'll know better than I do what's useful for Anita" gives them the control they already have, and it costs you nothing.

If they say "send me details"

Don't attach a brochure. Write a short paragraph the assistant can forward without editing. Forwarded mail loses its context, so include who you are, why this company, what you do and what you're asking, all in one block.

Subject: Re: Fire safety inspections for the Greenlane clinics

Hi Priscilla,

Thanks for getting back to me. Here's a short version you can forward to Anita as it is:

"Ironbridge Fire & Safety inspects fire extinguishers, alarms and exit lighting for multi-site practices. Greenlane has seven clinics, which usually means seven inspection dates to track. We schedule all seven in one week and send a single report. I'd like 15 minutes to show Anita how that works."

If a different person on the team handles facilities, please point me to them and I'll write there instead.

Joel Mbeki
Ironbridge Fire & Safety | (555) 010-0177

The forwardable paragraph is 48 words. It names the company, the number of clinics, the benefit and the ask. If you don't hear back in four business days, follow up with Priscilla, not Anita: "Priscilla, did Anita have a chance to see the note? I can work around her calendar." More on the general case is in how to respond when a prospect says send me more info.

If they offer to schedule

Make it easy to say yes. Give three specific windows, the length, and the format, and ask who should send the invite.

Hi Priscilla,

Thank you. A 15-minute phone call is plenty. These work on my side (Eastern time):

Tuesday, 10:00 to 10:30 a.m.
Wednesday, 2:00 to 2:30 p.m.
Thursday, 9:00 to 9:30 a.m.

Whichever suits Anita, I'm happy for you to send the invite, or I can send it if you tell me the best email. I'll keep to the 15 minutes.

Joel

Offering three times (not "let me know when you're free") saves a round of emails, and promising to keep to the length matters more to an executive's assistant than anything else in the message. When the meeting's booked, send a one-line confirmation to both Priscilla and Anita the day before.

If they say no

This is the reply most people get wrong, either by pushing or by disappearing. Keep it to a few lines, thank them, and leave one useful door open.

Hi Priscilla,

Understood, and thank you for telling me directly. If it's helpful: is there someone else at Greenlane who looks after facilities or safety? If not, I'll leave it here and won't write again.

Joel

Variation: if she says "we already have a vendor," ask "When does your current contract come up for renewal? I'll write again a month before." That is a specific, low-pressure question with a date attached, and it turns a no into a calendar entry. Record the answer. You want to hear about it when the contract comes up, not before.

Moves that get you filtered

  • Emailing the executive again, or on LinkedIn, after the assistant has answered. That's going around them, and they'll tell their boss.
  • Asking to be "put through" or for the executive's direct number.
  • Sending the same email again, as if they didn't read it.
  • Writing "partnership opportunity" in place of an actual sentence about what you do.
  • Copying the executive on a reply to the assistant without asking.
  • A reply that runs past 100 words.

Staying on good terms

Write down the assistant's name next to the executive's in your list. Thank them by name in every message. After the meeting, send Priscilla a line of her own: "Thanks for setting up the call with Anita; it went well." Assistants often remain in the role for years and many are asked "who was that?" months after you've forgotten. If you're looking for the right person from the beginning, how to cold email the owner instead of the gatekeeper covers that, and how to get past the gatekeeper when cold calling does the same for the phone. A call that reaches the assistant first is also covered in how to start a cold sales call. Once a meeting is booked, how to write a B2B sales email is useful for the follow-up, and reply came back, now what covers the rest.

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