Do you really know the uses of follow-up emails?
Well! The bitter truth is that most online entrepreneurs don’t know the power of follow-up emails. And you would also realize it by the end of this post.
Don’t skip the post in middle. By doing it you will surely lose something very important for your business.
Okay, let’s start.
What most people know is follow-up emails are used to remind prospects about their products/services (or deals).
But wait!
Follow-up emails can also be used to maximize the possibility of closing a deal.
How to write a follow up email?
Follow-up emails, after the meeting or first conversation, would display your seriousness. And you can win that project.
Many people have a sort of misunderstanding that a successful meeting is equal to bagging that project.
But it’s not true always and you might have already experienced it.
If you have overconfidence, your competitor can win the cherry from the toppings while you are in sleep.
What will you lose?
It’s a competitive world. You shouldn’t leave any stone unturned to show your seriousness about a project.
Are you in a sales business? Then your competition is tougher and you need to be more alert.
If you are up in your game, then don’t forget that your competitors are just some margins away.
That means it’s time to take some steps and go some steps ahead of your counterparts.
What should you do?
Once the meeting (30-60 minutes of duration) gets completed, you should wait for the next 2-3 days.
Getting no response means something needs to be done.
Follow-up emails will help you during this crisis period.
Some points should be followed while structuring follow-up emails. Without any ado, we are now jumping into those tips.
Remember,
No hard and fast rules are there for writing follow-up emails. And you can customize it according to your requirement.
Basic Components of a follow-up email
Thank you
What you have gained
Major takeaways
These three basic things should be formulated in every follow-up email. Now, it’s up to you how you will mold it into shape.
Let’s dig them deeper and you’ll better understand.
A Thank You
A small yet very powerful phrase
If you want to grab a deal whole-heartedly, then don’t miss these points.
Now, thank you can be expressed in two different ways.
How?
One is a straightforward thank you
Another is by expressing it thoughtfully
And the human psychology says the second one is more acceptable than the former.
Take this followup email Example
At first, I want to say a big thank that you spent your valuable time in this meeting
It was a very nice experience for me and all credit goes to you
Can you figure out the difference between a plain ‘thank you’ and the above two examples? I hope you have realized.
What you have gained
Now, it’s also important to include the reason for thanking.
You can add phrases like
I have learned many things from you that I will surely implement in my work
You have unknowingly shared some brainstorming ideas with me that have changed my perception
When you include such phrases, your prospect will count you as a serious worker, not a casual one.
I hope you are getting my point.
Remember,
These small efforts can prove profitable for you.
Now, let’s talk about the third component.
Major Takeaways
Your prospect is a busy person. And, it’s natural for him/her to forget about this meeting or the synopsis of that meeting.
So, you have to start compiling the synopsis of that meeting. And add them to your follow-up email.
Don’t worry; at the end of this post, I will add 20 follow-up email templates.
What you need to do is to customize the templates as per your requirements.
Don’t press ‘back’ key now.
Some interesting points are remaining to share.
Why face-to-face meeting is better
Face-to-face meetings have many advantages over the virtual one.
In case of face-to-face meetings, you can get scopes of observing some unique or praiseworthy traits of your prospect.
And you can add one of those in your email.
Just like
If he/she prefers tea over coffee and drinks more than one cup, it can be a point to-be-added in your email.
I’m not joking
It was a very good conversation indeed and I was quite surprised by seeing your passion for tea as I am also a tea freak.
It would be a nice conversation starter.
Why?
After checking boring emails all day around, your prospect would be happy to read such light-hearted words.
After all, we all are human beings and we like personalization a lot.
He/she would be really impressed with your observation power.
The Bottom Line
I will share 20 follow-up email templates but you should change the words.
Generic emails or copy-pasting signifies laziness. It can impact your impression.
Try to do more homework about your prospects.
Do you know why many people fail in convincing prospects?
The one-word answer is laziness.
Yes
Most people copy and paste generic emails just by adding the client’s name at the top
And then prospects and clients delete them within seconds.
If you want to avoid this situation, you have to first know about your prospect.
What he/she likes, what problem he/she is facing in the business, what are his/her goals etc
Adding some unique traits about a person would increase the chance of success.
I can just show you the direction but you have to make your own path. Using these templates and remembering all these points is equal to a magical follow-up email.
Caution
Theoretically, follow-up emails are great.
But, don’t send emails too frequently. First, wait for 2-3 days and then send your first follow-up.
In total, 4-5 follow-up emails can be sent. If your expectation is too big, don’t hesitate to make a phone call.
Don’t forget
If no response comes for 1 week, don’t invest more time in this prospect.
If a clear ‘No’ comes from the opposite end, stop messaging that person.
You can make another try after 6 months and who knows you might be in luck then.
If you are new in the world of pitching and following-up, take your time in reading the whole post.
Mix all the points well and your email is ready to fly.
20 Follow up Email Templates
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Hi First Name,
Glad we got to meet at event. I checked out your website afterwards and loved your take on creating high performance teams. Have you tried using recommendation? I use that framework with my team and it has been incredibly successful.
Happy to chat more about it or send over some templates and examples if you’re interested.
Again, it was great meeting you at Name of Networking Event, and I hope to see you again soon.
Signature
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Hi First Name,
It was great meeting at name of event. I remember you mentioning that you’re trying to revamp project next quarter, and I thought I would share a book that I used to exceed my own target goals by [result].
It’s called Name of Book, and I just sent you the Kindle version of it. Hope you like it!
Happy to discuss the book or my own approach if you’d like.
Just let me know!
Signature
(10)
Hey First Name,
I’m going to be embarrassingly honest: I’ve really enjoyed learning more about what you do and would love the the opportunity to connect over coffee to learn more about your experience with industry or specialty. I’m currently doing role or project at Company Name, and am very interested in learning more about how you use A/B testing to enhance detail mentioned in last conversation.
I know you must be very busy, but thought I’d try my luck. Would you be able to grab a coffee for 20 minutes this Wednesday or Thursday at time? Just let me know!
Thanks,
(11)
Hi First Name,
I’m here in City Name this week, trying to make good on meetings I’ve missed being out in City or State Name.
I know you must be busy, but I’ve always admired your work in [Describe role] and appreciated all you had to say when mention last time you spoke. Since then, I’ve made some developments of my own in this arena.
If you’re around, I’m flexible to whenever worked in your schedule.
Signature
(12)
Hey First Name,
Just want to follow up in case this email got buried.
Signature
(13)
Hi Name,
Great meeting you yesterday and learning more about the Company Name story. I really admire how you brought the team from just 10 employees to more than 400 ego stroke.
I’ve been thinking about your struggle with [business challenge] more, and I think we could help you solve problem by thinking through your solution. There are a ton of companies just like yours using our new product which value.
Would you be be able to hop on a call sometime this week to discuss more? I can also introduce you to a few of our customers that were experiencing the same issues with their teams.
Cheers,
Signature
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Hi First Name,
It was great meeting at the name of conference or event.
I remember you talking about how you had a big project type project coming up. I just sent you the Kindle version of my favorite branding book name of book. I hope it is helpful.
By the way, have you ever considered our product for value of product? If so, I’d love any brutal feedback. I provided some specific questions below.
Anything I can help with?
Signature]
(15)
Hi First Name!
I’m Your Name from Company Name. I sent you an email last week about resource that could be useful for your readers. I’ve come across your website and it’s amazing how much value you offer readers looking to learn about blog content topic.
I thought you’d be interested in including our resource in your resources round up page because it’s different from the other links you’ve referenced and may provide your readers with a different way of consuming information about topic — a more visual medium.
You can take a look at the resource here insert hyperlink.
Let me know if you decide to share it! I would love your feedback as well.
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Hi Name,
Thank you so much for meeting with me today. I really enjoyed our conversation and learning more about what you do at Company Name. I truly appreciated all your advice and tips on how to break into industry.
I actually just met name of contact who runs the department team at Company Name and I think you two would really hit it off. She has an interesting perspective that I think you would find useful. Can I make an intro?
Thanks again for your time, and good luck with your upcoming feature launch! I hope to stay in touch and see you around soon.
Best,
Signature
(17)
Hey First Name,
It was fantastic meeting you last week at [event]. I enjoyed our conversation about topic discussed.
As we were discussing what I’m working on, you mentioned that you know Contact Name over at Company Name and how she’s an expert in this space. If you’re willing, an introduction to Contact Name would be greatly beneficial and she might be interested in learning more.
I understand you might have a lot going on so I attached a short blurb below to make the introduction as easy as possible. Would you be able to take a moment to introduce me?
Thanks,
— About Your Name & Your Company/Product/Project
(18)
Hey team,
Thanks for another great meeting today. Here’s a quick recap of what we talked about, what we have to focus on in the coming weeks, and steps we need to take to accomplish our goals.
Objective: Discuss monthly growth figures to determine wins, losses, and areas to improve
Conversation items:
New channels struggling to maintain retention levels
Missed target: increase upgraded users by 7%
Hiring needs: 3 additions to growth team, 7 additions to dev team
Action items:
Restructure support team to improve retention and customer satisfaction Owner
Implement A/B testing discussed on premium products Owner
Begin job board posting and internal outreach for open positions Owner
Next meeting: Thursday, 8/16 to review learnings from CRM beta
Signature
(19)
Hey all,
Incredibly excited about the progress we’ve all made. Wanted to take a moment to recognize a few key accomplishments:
– Describe key accomplishment and why it matters.
– Describe key accomplishment and why it matters.
In addition, I wanted to recognize some key players into making the above happen smoothly.
– Team Member Name: Describe key accomplishment and why it matters.
– Team Member Name: Describe key accomplishment and why it matters.
(20)
Hi [Name],
Last we chatted, you requested that I get in touch in November. I may be a month early, but I figured it’d be worth checking-in.
Have you given any additional thought to my proposal? I’d be happy to do a quick review of it on the phone and answer any pending questions.
What does your calendar look like to talk?
