The Salesperson's Guide to Writing a Successful Follow Up Email

If you’re still struggling to write that perfect follow up email, there’s good news for you: the fact that you’re writing them at all means you’re already ahead of the game.

According to research by Hubspot, 48% of salespeople never send a single follow-up, and 44% give up after just one attempt. Though the majority of sales require at least five follow-up attempts after the first meeting, salespeople in general average just two attempts to reach a prospect before they give up.

Sending emails to a prospect is a great first step. But by following a few key tips and learning how to write sales follow up emails that get noticed, you’ll be light years ahead of your competition.

Be timely

Have you ever shopped for a major purchase and gotten emails related to your search weeks after you completed the transaction?

Buying decisions can happen fast, and you don’t want to miss your opportunity. Once your contact has engaged with you in any way, you should follow up within 24 hours — preferably much less.

If you’re sending an outreach email to someone who hasn’t interacted with you yet, don't space out your messages more than a couple of days apart. You can’t build a strong brand image in their minds if they forget who you are between messages.

Provide useful information

Obviously you’re following up because you’d like to close a sale, but that’s not a good reason from your prospect’s point of view. Your message has to be clear, concise, and deliver obvious value to the recipient. What kind of message can you send that will be useful to them?

Here are some great reasons to send a follow-up email that’s useful to your potential client:

1. Summarize your conversation: The words “for your records” might get your email read and saved — and if you can include a well-written, concise summary of their needs, they will feel heard and connected with you.
2. Share a resource chosen especially for them: Is there a helpful blog post or short video you can recommend, based on your earlier conversation? If they haven’t responded to you yet, use what you know about them to send something relevant.
3. Offer them a promotion or discount: Opening up an email to learn that they qualify for a great deal or a bonus offer can help move a prospect toward closing.
4. Answer a question: If you learn to say “That’s a great question; let me check on that and get back to you,” then you’ll always have a follow-up that your prospects will want to read.
5. Schedule a next step: What’s next? Are you preparing a proposal, or waiting for them to get back to you? If a prospect is interested in working with you at all, they’ll appreciate being guided through the decision-making process. 

Break the habit of opening sales outreach emails with the words “I wanted to…” and write about them instead. Challenge yourself to use the word “you” in the subject line and again in the first few words of the email while mentioning yourself as little as possible.

Craft a catchy subject line

Most people scan their inboxes with one finger on the delete button. They’re looking for emails they can dump in order to simplify their day. Your email will only survive this screening process if the subject line sparks joy, seems vital, or promises a benefit.

The key to creating a great subject line is sending a message the receiver wants to read — and you already did that work in the step above. Now you just need a subject line that describes the reader-focused content and value you are delivering.

Sales outreach emails with personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened. Start with the recipient’s name and then the specific reason you think they should open your email. 

• Hey Greg, here’s that link you asked me for
• Melissa — You might like this travel industry tip I found
• Here are the highlights of our conversation for your records, Joe
• Hi Liz, just checking to make sure I understood your needs

Write a great body

A great outreach email has four features: It’s brief, it’s client-focused, it’s personalized, and it ends with a call to action.

Be brief

People are busy. A strong subject line can persuade them to open your email, but if they see a wall of text, they’re not likely to dive in. Here’s how to keep it readable:

• Use short paragraphs of 100 words or less
• Use topic headings to help them find the info they want
• Take advantage of links to direct them to more information
• Challenge yourself to cut your word count in half when you edit

Be client-focused

You’ve heard it before: stress benefits, not features. The best way to do that is to make sure your reader — not your company, product, or service — is the subject of each sentence.

• Our product will save you time —> Free up hours every week from repetitive tasks
• Our system will increase your sales —> Watch your sales grow as you harness the power of our system
• Our company has been an industry leader for 50 years —> Find out why our clients have stuck with us for 50 years.

Personalize

A recent survey by Accenture found that 91% of consumers say they are more likely to shop with brands that provide offers and recommendations that are relevant to them. People appreciate being addressed as individuals, and they prefer brands that reach out to them with personalized messages and offers, because it saves them time.

End with a call to action

The final sentence of every email should let the client know what step they need to take to move the process forward.

Your prospect is depending on you to guide them through the process. Should they hit the reply button? Schedule a call with you? Visit a link to fill out a form? Wait to hear from you? Let them know.

Tailor-made messaging is key

Personalization is vital to creating follow-up emails that get read and get results. 

You could gather relevant information from your prospect’s website, LinkedIn groups, newsletters, Google News, Twitter, Youtube, and other sources all over the internet. Or you can let Sharetivity collect that information, analyze it, and offer you a 360-degree view of your prospects.

Sharetivity makes it easy to create highly personalized emails, ask the right questions, and create powerful connections. Try Sharetivity for free and see how it changes your sales game.