When you’re writing sales emails, you’ve probably noticed that it becomes an art and a finely honed craft. You have to achieve that sense of balance between being persistent and effective, but not annoying or invasive.
A big part of closing a deal via sales emails is following up, yet it’s something that can make even seasoned professionals feel uncomfortable. That’s a natural response because you tend to feel like if someone hasn’t responded, then maybe that’s because they don’t want to.
While it’s easy to feel that way, that’s not necessarily the feeling that we should let guide us in the sales process. It can take several contact attempts to get a response from someone, and there’s going to be very few situations where someone is going to say yes right away. Overall, the more emails you send in a sequence, the higher the likelihood you’ll get a response and a favorable one at that. That doesn’t mean bombarding the person, however.
The following are some tips and things to keep in mind to do follow-up emails the right way and strike that sense of balance.
Make It Easier On Yourself
Before getting into the specifics the emails themselves and the process, trying using a tool like Gmass which sets up automatic follow-up emails. The emails are sent sequentially until you get a reply. This can make it easy to send out personalized emails but do so in a way that’s efficient and doesn’t require a lot of unnecessary work on your part.
If you’re using an automated tool like Gmass, you can also send mail merge campaigns with the automated follow-up feature, and you can track your opens and clicks from within your Gmail account.
If you’re organized, it’s going to empower you when you’re following up with prospects.
As a bonus, when you’re using a tool that allows you to track things like your open and click rates, then you can start to refine your approach even more and send things during days and times that seem to be most effective.
Timing
You may struggle with knowing the right time to send a follow-up email. A good rule of thumb is to give it around two days once you’ve made initial contact. Then, this gives the person a chance to think about it, and you’re being persistent, but you’re not overwhelming.
Many sales experts also say that once you send the first follow-up after two or so days, extend the time between emails each time you send one. For example, maybe you wait four days after the initial follow-up to send another.
Have Clear Objectives Before You Write An Email
You should have a very clear and well-defined objective for each follow-up email that you write. Maybe you have the same objective for each of your subsequent follow-ups and that’s fine, but make sure you know what you want to achieve.
For example, maybe your goal is defined as setting an in-person meeting or closing a sale. Whatever it is, if you don’t define it beforehand, you’re going into the writing process blind.
Move Forward By Adding Value
If you don’t want to be annoying, but you do want to be effective, your goal when writing follow-up emails should always be adding value to the person who you’re writing to.
Whatever you can do to pique their interest in a value-creating way is important. If you’re bringing value, then you don’t have to worry about coming off as too annoying.
It can also be a good idea to ask someone their preferred way of communicating if you get the chance. For example, if you have an initial call and then you’re going to follow-up by email, when you’re on the call ask them this important question. Maybe they don’t prefer email. However it seems like most decision-makers do at this point.
Provide Context
Don’t assume that the person you’re contacting is going to know who you are or even what you’re referring to, particularly if they’re a big decision-maker and talk to countless people each day. Always provide context to refresh the memory of the person you’re writing to.
For example, maybe you met at an industry event. Don’t just include that event name, but be specific about your interaction while you were there.
If you’re cold-emailing and you haven’t met the person, but you have a commonality such as a shared contact, make sure you’ve included that in your follow-ups as part of a way to provide context.
