Writing a follow-up email after getting no response from the prospect can be a challenging task. Cold email marketing is one of the most effective tools sales reps use for generating B2B leads and achieving sales targets. However, the process of achieving the same is not very easy. Most of your emails i.e. 95 out of 100 will not get any response from the recipients. This part of the cold email marketing process can be very frustrating. Considering the average professional gets around 100 to 120 emails per day, there is a great chance of him missing out on reading your email. As per the numbers trending over the years, the average open rate and response rate of a cold email is less than 10% and 5% respectively. It is not very difficult to understand that your prospect has more important emails to respond to from his colleagues, clients, or partners. Responding to a cold email would definitely not be their primary priority hence your email would get lost in your prospect’s inbox.
An experienced sales rep however doesn’t get disheartened by these numbers. He instead works on a well-planned follow-up strategy. Having a proper follow-up strategy is one of the most important things in cold email marketing. We often get dicey when it comes to “Follow-up”. We don’t want to look desperate and pushy, and still want to get a response. Follow-up emails are sent to recipients so that they can recollect and think back about the email you sent them last time. Getting a response is important even if it’s positive or negative. Follow-up emails are a kind of second chance for you to pitch in again to your prospect. Research shows that mostly after the 6th follow-up email you are able to crack a deal. This might help some people, but you don’t want to keep waiting for a long time. There are a few things that might need more attention when it comes to following up. In this blog, we have tried to answer your queries.
Why should you send a follow-up email?
Follow-up acts as a reminder in case the receiver may not come across your first email. It creates an opportunity to catch attention. When you send a cold email there is a high chance that the receiver may have not looked at your previous emails. Replying to their colleagues, clients, or their known ones can be more important than responding to an unknown email. This can be a reason why you haven’t received a deal closing response email from them. You can add more value to your last email, in your follow-up email. You can elaborate on your last email add extra benefits of your product or simply ask the prospect if he has any doubts that need to be cleared. A follow-up email can be used as a tool to enhance the value of your earlier email.
After how many days should you send a follow-up email?
According to research, people tend to open emails on the same day it was sent. If you didn’t receive a response on the very next day of sending the email, there is a high chance your email might have gotten lost or been left unseen by your prospect. As a sales rep, it can be frustrating to not get responses to your emails. And sending continuous follow-ups can be very annoying for the recipient. If the follow-ups are sent every day, there is a great chance of this activity getting considered spam and your emails end up in the recipient’s spam folder. Waiting for 2-5 days for the response is what is suggested by the experts. It is a safe card to play and you may stand a great chance that your follow-up email won’t end up in the spam. Ideally, you can send a follow-up email on the 3rd day from the day you had sent the first email, as this might help prospects to recall your earlier mail. In this way, you aren’t too early or too late. Nonetheless, you won’t look desperate.
How many follow-up emails should be sent?
Getting to a perfect number of follow-up emails can be a little tricky, but following certain guidelines can be helpful to decide where to stop or how many to send. Your urge to crack that revenue-raising deal may make your follow up without any capping, however, having a defined number of follow-ups in every campaign is the right thing to do
There are reports stating that your second email, i.e. the first follow-up has a great chance of prospect’s response. However, certain reports have also shown that the 6th follow-up email gives you a good response rate. Sending far too many follow-ups may worsen your reputation in the prospect’s mind and he may block all your future emails. To have the perfect balance between every aspect, sending 2-3 follow-up emails with a gap of a few days can be a very good strategy to apply. This way you make sure that you don’t annoy the receiver and don’t flood their inbox. With every follow-up, you try to connect with them. It is very important to find an objective for a follow-up and then send an email to them.
The number of follow-up emails also depends upon the type of campaign you are running. If you are asking for a backlink, a single follow-up email is good enough otherwise it may appear as if you’re begging for a backlink from the prospect. If your primary objective of the campaign is sales, then you may need more than one follow-up email. The audience you send an email to can also define the number of follow-up emails you will need. If the audience is a completely cold audience, you may need more follow-up emails to soft start. However, if the audience is familiar with your brand your number of follow-up emails may reduce.
Should your follow-up email stay in the same email thread?
There are two options you have to send a follow-up email.
- Using the same email thread (of the first email)
- Sending a fresh follow-up email
There are sales reps who follow the 2nd option of making each follow-up a separate email. Although this way of following up gives you a higher chance of getting the prospect’s attention, it also can become annoying for the recipient as he won’t be able to link the communication in case he never opened the earlier email.
After sending several follow-up emails, if you still haven’t received a reply, it makes a lot of sense to start a new thread. Make sure you start a new conversation only once in case you never get a response and you want to have one last try. Starting a separate thread also gives you a chance to rethink your subject line in case the earlier subject line was just not good enough.
Let’s look at some points that can play a crucial role when a follow-up email is written:
- Make them notice: The opening line acts as a break-even point for your follow-up. It should be flashy and grab the attention of the reader immediately. Be specific about your intentions and let them know why you are sliding into their Inbox again. These opening lines might work out for you:
- I hope all is well. I’m excited to hear about the next steps on the proposal I had sent.
- I just left you a voicemail but wanted to drop you a line by email in case this is more convenient for you.
- I wanted to quickly follow up and see if there are any updates on (refer to last email)
- Assist them: Make them recall your service or product. And try to add more information about your business. Add your current deals that can be useful to them in growing their business. If possible then try to bribe them with discounts or coupons.
- Show your work: In your email body mention your previous clients or your current clients if it’s required. This can be a game-changer. You may mention that you have worked with their competitors previously. This might increase their interest in connecting with you. Show them how happy your clients were or are working with you.
- Try different things: Keep experimenting and make an effort to crack a deal within the first follow-up itself. Try different formats, personalize their emails and add more value to them. Don’t copy and paste old emails to other clients. Be attentive when it comes to following up.
- Ending: Towards the end of your follow-up email, request for interaction. You can add these lines at the end:
- Let me know when you are up for a chat.
- Can we schedule a call so we can discuss our service?
- Hoping that you’ll give us feedback.
Use Cold Email Software
Cold email software can help you schedule follow-up emails. Create a series of emails for non-responsive prospects which will minimize human efforts of tracking responses and following-up. Cold email software like SmartReach.io lets you hyper-personalize your emails and create a smooth flow of follow-up emails. You can also set responses for the emails that got replied to.
Sample Follow-up Email Template
Using a template for a follow-up email can be a very good idea. A good follow-up email template can get that positive response from your prospect. Insisting the person to reply quickly or at least make a note of the email is very important. This type of follow-up is sure to make you get noticed by the prospect if not an immediate response. You can make a small summary of your first email and attract the prospect’s attention. Here’s a good example:
| Recipients:
_________________________________________________________ Subject: _________________________________________________________ Hey {{first_name}} Hope you’re well. Did you have a chance to look at the [articles, resources, links] I sent last week? Since it was a pretty long list, I’ve compiled the most useful ones below: (Share references) I’d love to touch base this week and see if we could collaborate with {{company_name}} to achieve X results. Are you free on Friday for a short call? Thank you. Regards, |
Conclusion:
Having a great follow-up email strategy isn’t easy. Sometimes the urge to follow up just a day after the initial email is strong. Resist it! It is very natural for a cold email marketer to get frustrated for not getting responses, but remember you have to respect the prospect’s time and be patient to get a reply. Using a perfect message in your follow-up email can play a huge role in your campaign success.
