The Importance of Sales Follow-up Emails
There’s a good chance you’re giving up on sales follow-up emails too soon. Where a prospective client may not respond to your initial email, they may do so after the second, third, or fourth follow-up email. These important emails keep you and your product top-of-mind.
This process can be a fine line to walk: Salespeople don’t want to be pushy and clients don’t want to be pushed. Plus, research from Hubspot shows that reps already spend a fifth of their day writing emails. Nailing follow-up emails on top of other sales emails seems monumental—but it doesn’t have to be.
With Salesloft, reps can maintain consistent follow-up and stay pleasantly persistent. Let’s start by crafting a well-timed, well-written sales follow-up email.
When To Send a Follow-up Email
The best time to send a follow-up email depends on your prospective clients’ habits and location. Research shows that 10 a.m. on any weekday is the best time to send an email in general, but you’ll need to be precise to boost response rates.
Sales engagement technology can help your follow-up email arrive at the best possible time. For example, if your prospects are in a different timezone, timezone detection will ensure you don’t send a follow-up at 2 a.m. – a sure sign you aren’t on top of things! You also may not want to send a follow-up when you know a prospect is out of the office, so choose a sales engagement platform with out-of-office detection. This handy technology automatically recognizes a buyer’s out-of-office inbox settings, marks the buyers who are out, and reschedules tasks and emails.
Types of Follow-up Emails
- After sending a proposal: Send a follow-up email after a day or two to thank prospects for their time and restate pain points. Incorporate a call-to-action (CTA) about how to move forward.
- Reviewing with decision-makers: Multiple stakeholders need additional time to deliberate. Wait four to five days after your pitch, then send a follow-up email to inquire about the state of the proposal and how to move forward.
- Unanswered follow-up: Not every prospect will get back to you after the first email. Reach out after a few business days with additional information or free offerings. Ask whether they’d still like to proceed with the proposal and if so, when.
- Last ditch attempt: If you’re about to close their file, send one last follow-up email to tie up loose ends. Let your prospects know this will be the last time you reach out – maybe this sense of urgency will motivate them to action!
It’s important to note that email isn’t effective for every potential client, so you should incorporate multi-channel messaging into your follow-up plan.
For example, many reps see success by sending an email in the morning and a LinkedIn message in the afternoon. If your prospects prefer one channel over the other, then they’re less likely to miss your message.
You can stay pleasantly persistent, streamline follow-up sequences, and scale up communication — all without overwhelming your prospects (plus, doubling or tripling outbound touches can result in 3.1x prospect engagement!).
Top-9 Follow-up Email Samples With Subject Lines
Professionals receive a whopping 126 emails per day on average. To increase your open rates, you’ll need an excellent subject line to grab your prospects’ attention, followed by a well-crafted email body to secure a response.
Below, we’ve put together nine follow-up email samples to help you get started (you can also grade your email subject lines with our free Subject Line Grader!).
After the First Meeting (or Sending Proposal)
Subject Line: Your Company’s Name + Buyer’s Company Name
Hey [Name],
Thank you for your time the other day. If you’d like to move forward with [proposal], I’d be happy to discuss our next steps.
Best,
[Signature]
The email example above is a great execution of pleasant persistence and sales email best practices. It achieves three things:
- It’s a simple reminder that keeps your company top of mind.
- It pushes the conversation forward.
- It snags a 68% reply rate boost by including your company name in the subject line.
Salesloft’s data science team has found that one-word subject lines can also boost reply rates by as high as 87%. One-word subject lines can be as simple as “Hey” or your prospect’s company name. To avoid looking spammy, don’t use the prospect’s first name in the subject line.
Subject Line: Enclosed is the info you requested.
Hey [Name],
Thank you so much for yesterday’s chat! It was great meeting you and your team.
Per your previous email, I’ve attached the requested info about [product/service]. Please let me know when you’ve reviewed the packet so we can discuss our next steps.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at [phone number].
Best,
[Signature]
According to Woodpecker, your first follow-up email will have a 40% higher reply rate than your initial email. That said, this statistic doesn’t mean much if you’re not encouraging an organic conversation.
Following the first meeting, forward additional information about your proposal in an attachment. Include a CTA to prompt a deeper conversation about pain points, questions, or additional topics.
Following a Trigger Event
Subject Line: Did you want to learn more?
Hi [Name],
Have you had a chance to review the packet I sent you? If so, I’d be happy to touch base again about our proposal.
I’m available to discuss any remaining questions or concerns you may have.
We can schedule a quick chat at your earliest convenience.
Thanks,
[Signature]
A trigger event is any action prospects take indicating a sales opportunity. Some examples of trigger events include:
- Interacting with a sales email
- Signing up for a trial
- Subscribing to a newsletter
- Filling out a form on your website
Knowing when to send a follow-up email after a trigger event can be tricky. To help you out, reps can track and define trigger events like “email link clicked” through Salesloft’s customizable Automation Rules.
By defining trigger events in Salesloft, reps can automatically route potential customers to cadences specifically designed for follow-up.
Subject Line: More about (Company Name).
Hey [Name],
I’m touching base about our last conversation. If you’ve had the chance to review the [attachment or webpage link] I forwarded, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
What’s a good time to set up a quick call?
Best,
[Email Signature]
Trigger events may suggest prospects are ready to buy, but they’re not necessarily ready to act. Sending a friendly but straightforward follow-up email can help move the sales process along.
After Leaving a Voicemail
Subject Line: I just tried to give you a call.
Hi [First Name],
I just gave you a call, but it seems like you’re busy. When you’re free, please drop me a line at [phone number].
Thank you!
[Signature]
Pleasant persistence requires fast action on the part of the sales rep. If a prospect misses a phone call, leave a voicemail and follow up with an email as soon as possible, ideally within the next few minutes.
By touching base in two ways, you are showing your continued commitment, flexibility, and availability.
Follow-up After Following Up
Subject Line: Fun facts you didn’t know about (Company Name).
Hey [First Name],
I sent you an email about [proposal] last week. I wanted to let you know we recently released a new feature that increases [function] by X%!
If you’d like to learn more, I’m open to a short call at your earliest convenience.
Best,
[Signature]
There are plenty of ways to encourage organic conversation after the first and second follow-up emails. For example, if you forwarded an info packet last week, follow up the next week with new material prospects may have not seen yet.
The above example focuses on quick-fire facts, but news releases, blog articles, and case studies work just as well.
Subject Line: Surprise gift for you and the team.
Hey again [Name],
I sent you an info packet about [company name] a while ago. I figured I’d forward this exclusive [gift] to you and your team if you’d like something to whet your appetite.
I’d love to hear what you all think. Can we set up a meeting soon?
Best,
[Signature]
Gifts are powerful incentives. If initial emails aren’t cutting it, follow up again with a free offering your prospect and their team will enjoy.
To make gifting easier, choose a sales engagement platform that integrates with gifting platforms such as Sendoso and Reachdesk. You can tie gift card access to the content you want the recipients to view (such as a video or download). This will help you gauge your prospects’ interest.
Subject Line: Hoping to get in contact with you soon.
Hey [Name],
I’m sorry we haven’t been able to set up a meeting. Last we talked, you seem interested in [proposal].
If that’s still the case, I’m free to talk this week. I’m sure you’re so busy, so I’m open to speaking outside of regular working hours as well.
Let me know!
[Signature]
Prospective clients may not respond for any number of reasons. Short of direct confirmation that they’re no longer interested, send an additional follow-up email to reaffirm your position. Communicate your continued dedication and regret that you’ve yet to connect since the first meeting.
Last Ditch Attempt
Subject Line: Are we breaking up?
Hi [Name],
I wanted to thank you again for our earlier meeting back in [month]. However, since I haven’t heard from you since [date], I’ll be closing your account on [date].
If you’re still interested in [proposal], please let me know how you’d like to proceed as soon as possible.
Thank you for your time,
[Signature]
The last-ditch attempt will be your last email to your prospect. According to Salesloft data, “break up language” in email results in a 30% reply rate boost vs sample average. The goal here is to thank them for the opportunity and communicate that you’re going to close the account if you don’t hear from them.
This may be the final push your prospects need to respond. If they don’t, your team can move on to more receptive prospects.
Identify Your Team’s Best-Performing Email Templates With Salesloft
By developing a consistent follow-up process, your company stays top of mind. That said, your efforts will be in vain if your sales team can’t pinpoint and replicate successful follow-up attempts.
With Salesloft’s sales engagement platform, your team can create and customize follow-up templates, send one-to-one emails at scale, and identify your best-performing email templates. The best part? Any and all touches sync to your CRM so you’re never out of the loop.
To learn more, reach out today and start building a multi-channel follow-up workflow.