Do you know what differentiates a successful salesperson from a not-so-successful one? – follow-ups.
70% of sales reps just send a single email and do not follow up. However, if they do follow up, they will improve their chance of getting an answer by 25%.
Which category do you belong to? The one who follows up or the one who doesn’t?
If the latter, then you are surely missing out on opportunities here.
Effective sales follow-up can help you close more deals and thus increase your revenues. A sales follow-up is not just a message you send after an initial conversation. It can be a solid strategy to rekindle the relationship with a lost lead or a lead who was initially interested but could not keep up.
Regardless, if you know how to write follow up emails, you can tap into missed opportunities and close more deals in the pipeline.
In this article, we will focus on helping you do just that. But before we dive in, let’s understand why sales follow-ups are important.
Importance of Sales Follow-up
The sales process is quite complex, especially if you’re in a B2B space.
Sending an initial email and assuming it will be enough to close the deal is a surefire way to fail.
The first email rarely gets the job done because the B2B sales cycle is longer and involves several decision-makers. Your first email is just a conversation starter; you need to keep the dialogue going to get a response.
Thus, effective follow-up is important because:
- It can help you nurture relationships
Sales is all about developing relationships. Remember, people buy from people and not from brands.
This means you have to develop a relationship between you and the prospect so they are able to trust you and, eventually, your brand. Following up in sales helps you build that trust.
- It can help you move prospects through the sales funnel
Not all prospects are ready to buy.
Most of the time, the prospect is just collecting information. Your email strategy should help them move from the consideration stage to the purchase stage, and follow-ups help you do that.
For example, suppose you email a prospect about a new feature addition and ask them to upgrade. In that case, it’s natural for the prospect to take some time to understand the feature and analyze its usefulness. If you don’t follow up after the initial email, the prospect will probably forget about it altogether, even if they were initially interested.
So, follow-ups can help you move your prospects from one stage to the next in your sales funnel.
- It can help you retain customers
Customer retention can be a game-changer for your business.
However, you must prioritize effective follow-ups after sales to retain customers.
You must find out if customers are satisfied with your product or if they are facing any issues.
Being invested in your customers’ success eventually translates into your own success.
Now that you know why follow-up is important, let’s move on to the most important part of the article – how to write follow-up emails.
How To Write Follow-up Emails?
Writing a follow-up email involves a few crucial steps.
Let’s discuss them one by one:
1. Define a Goal
Writing a follow-up email differs from writing the initial email, as does its objective.
Before you follow up with the prospect, laying down the objective behind the follow-up is important.
The objective will vary depending on the scenario. Generally, there are only a few reasons why you would want to follow up with a prospect or a customer. These are:
- Requesting more information
- Sending a meeting request
- Sending a thank-you email
- Following up to reconnect
For instance, if you discussed your product with a prospect but forgot to collect crucial details—such as the company’s budget or competitor information—you can send a follow-up email asking for the specific information you need.
You might also follow up after sending a meeting request if the prospect didn’t show up or send a thank-you email after a meeting or deal closure to strengthen the relationship.
Casual follow-ups can re-engage lost leads with something simple like, “We’re running an offer that might interest you.“
Whatever the goal (conversion, sales, relationship building), you must set it up clearly.
2. Start with a context
When you follow up with a prospect, you’re not speaking to them for the first time. You’ve either emailed them, talked to them over the phone, or met them at a networking event.
When writing a follow-up, it’s important to start with this context. This helps the prospect recall their previous interactions with you or your brand.
For example, here are a few opening lines for follow-up emails that include context:
- “I wanted to follow up on the email I sent last week regarding our new feature addition. I hope you had a chance to review the information.”
- “Following up on our phone conversation earlier this week about your current project needs. I wanted to provide additional details on how our solution can help.”
- “I noticed we missed our scheduled meeting yesterday. I’d like to reschedule at your convenience to discuss how we can assist with your goals.”
- “Thank you for attending our product demo last Friday. I’m following up to see if you have any questions or need more information on the features we covered.”
3. State the purpose
Remember the goal we discussed in the first step? Now, it is important to briefly state this purpose in your email as well.
For example, if your goal is to convert the prospect, then your email should have CTAs related to conversions, like – “Learn More,” “Book a Demo,” “Book a Meeting,” “Download Now,” etc.
If your purpose is to sell, then your email should have CTAs related to sales, such as “Buy Now,” “Upgrade Today,” “Grab The Offer,” etc.
For less salesy emails, you can add simple CTAs like – “If you have any doubts or want to talk about it more, simply give me a call.”
Or,
“If you are facing any challenge with the product, contact me directly.”
Whatever your objective, it should be communicated to the prospect so they understand the action you want them to take.
4. Craft the subject line
Once your follow-up email is ready, you can focus on crafting the subject line.
You might create the subject line as the first step, but doing it at the end can be advantageous because you have all the information you need to make it compelling.
Here’s how you can write a compelling subject line for your follow-up emails:
- Keep it concise. Aim for 6-10 words or about 40-60 characters. This will ensure that your subject line is visible on different devices, like mobile phones.
- In the subject line, clearly state your purpose in brief. For example, “Your Feedback on the Recent Meeting,” “Confirm Your Availability,” etc.
- Personalize when possible to help increase the open rates.
- Don’t use any spammy words in the subject line like “Free,” “Urgent,” “Act Now,” and excessive punctuation (!!!). This can trigger spam filters.
Below are a few examples of follow-up email subject lines:
“Checking In After Our Call Last Week”
“Next Steps for Our Collaboration”
“Did You Get a Chance to Review the Proposal?”
“Thoughts on Our Recent Discussion?”
“Can We Schedule a Follow-Up Meeting?”
“Following Up: Your Input Needed”
“Quick Question About Your Preferences”
So, remember the process we discussed above next time you write a follow-up email.
As a bonus, here are some follow-up email templates you can consider.
Bonus: 5 Follow-up Email Templates
1. After the initial email or call
Subject-Line: Re: Our Recent Conversation – Next Steps
Hi [Recipient’s Name],
I wanted to follow up on our recent [email/call] about [specific topic discussed]. It was great to learn more about [their company] and how we might be able to assist with [specific need or pain point].
As mentioned, here are the next steps we discussed:
- [Step 1]
- [Step 2]
- [Step 3]
Please let me know if there’s anything else you need from my end. I’m looking forward to moving forward and working together.
Best regards,
[Your Name]
[Your Position]
[Your Company]
2. After Event Follow-Up
Subject Line: Great Connecting at [Event Name] – Let’s Continue Our Conversation
Hi [Recipient’s Name],
It was wonderful meeting you at [event name] and learning more about [their company/role]. I found our conversation about [specific topic discussed] particularly engaging and believe there are great opportunities for us to collaborate.
I would love to continue our discussion. Are you available for a call or meeting next week? Let me know what time works best for you.
Looking forward to connecting further.
Best regards,
[Your Name]
[Your Position]
[Your Company]
3. Follow-Up After a Product Demo
Subject Line: Your Thoughts on the [Product Name] Demo?
Hi [Recipient’s Name],
I wanted to follow up on the [product name] demo we had on [date]. It was great to showcase how our solution can help [solve specific problem/achieve specific goal].
Do you have any questions or feedback? I’m here to provide any additional information you need to make an informed decision.
Looking forward to your thoughts.
Best,
[Your Name]
[Your Position]
[Your Company]
4. Reiterating Value Proposition
Subject Line: Highlighting the Benefits of [Your Product/Service]
Hi [Recipient’s Name],
I wanted to reiterate the key benefits of [your product/service] that we discussed. Our solution can help you [specific benefit 1], [specific benefit 2], and [specific benefit 3], ultimately leading to [positive outcome].
If you have any questions or need further clarification on how our product can specifically benefit your business, please let me know.
Thank you for considering [your company] as your partner.
Best regards,
[Your Name]
[Your Position]
[Your Company]
5. Proposal for Next Steps
Subject Line: Moving Forward with [Project/Service]
Hi [Recipient’s Name],
I hope you’re doing well. Following up on our recent discussions, I wanted to outline the next steps for moving forward with [project/service]. Here’s a brief overview of what we propose:
- [Step 1: Description]
- [Step 2: Description]
- [Step 3: Description]
Please let me know if this aligns with your expectations or if there are any adjustments you would like to make. I’m available to discuss this further at your convenience.
Looking forward to your feedback and the opportunity to work together.
Best,
[Your Name]
[Your Position]
[Your Company]
Remember to customize each template to fit your specific scenario or needs.
Winding-up
Persistence and strategic follow-ups can make all the difference in your sales success.
However, it is important to know where to draw the line.
The best practice is to follow up at least three times, with five being the maximum. If a prospect clearly states his disinterest in your product, you should respect his decision.
The key is to hit the right balance between no follow-ups and strategic follow-ups.
Remember the steps we discussed in this write-up, and use the sales follow-up templates to get started.
