When it comes to sales, the money is in the follow up. Most sales teams fail to follow up properly. If you want to stand out in your market, it’s essential to create compelling follow up emails that keep your prospects wanting more.
So in this article, we’ll cover some key follow up email templates you can use across your sales team. That way, you can stay top of mind in your market and ultimately close more deals.
The first step to improving your follow-up email technique is to use a reliable, easy-to-use email sequencing tool such as Right Inbox that ensures you won’t forget to send a follow up if your first email is unsuccessful. Right Inbox also comes with helpful email templates built in to make sure the process is both quick and effective.
Without further ado, let’s cover best practices and powerful templates you can start using today to generate more revenue for your business.
1. The Value Add
This is the perfect technique to use when you’re pretty sure your product or service will almost instantly benefit your prospect – and then they won’t be able to live without it.
Subject line: Free gifts from [Company] to you – Christmas has come early this year!
Hi [Contact],
I sent you some information about [product/service] a week ago, and I’d like to offer you a free trial so you can see how [product/service] can improve [pain point].
I’ve attached a few guest logins to [product/service] for your team. Feel free to share these with your colleagues, and please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you need any assistance in getting set up with [product/service].
I look forward to hearing your feedback on your experience with [product/service].
[Signature]
2. Make It Simple
Got a time poor prospect on your hands? Break it down and make it simple for them to finally give you the response you need.
Subject line: Should we leave you alone or have you just been busy?
Hi [Contact],
I’ve reached out a number of times over the past few months without success. I’ve concluded you’ve not replied because:
- This is the wrong time for you. I totally understand and will get back to you down the line.
- You’re just not interested. That’s okay too – I’m not one to take these things personally.
- You’ve been meaning to reply but have just been too busy. That’s great! Did you know [product/service] saves users [x amount of time] in their working day?
I know you’re busy, so feel free to simply respond to this email with 1), 2), or 3) and I’ll take the appropriate course of action.
[Signature]
Try Right Inbox email templates – Install for FREE
3. Short and Sweet
Is your prospect a no-nonsense type? Speak their language with a short and sweet follow-up email.
Subject line: I’m still ready and waiting to help you with [pain point]
Hi [Contact],
Are you still interested in solving [pain point] using [product/service]? If so, I’m ready and waiting to assist you with this.
Feel free to reach out anytime to move forward.
[Signature]
4. The Bow Out
If you’re getting absolutely nowhere with your prospect but want to give it one last shot, try bowing out gracefully. You never know: once you threaten to break up with them, they might not be able to let you go.
Subject line: Should I close your account?
Hi [Contact],
I’ve reached out to you a number of times over phone and email over the past few months without success.
I don’t want to keep chasing you if you’re not interested in [product/service], so do I have permission to close your file?
If you are still interested, just let me know a good time to discuss [product/service], and I’ll keep your account open.
[Signature]
5. Ask for Feedback
The feedback technique is mostly an attempt to trigger your prospect to reply that they actually do think your product or service was a good fit for them, but if not, any feedback is incredibly helpful for hooking in future clients.
Subject line: Where did we go wrong?
Hi [Contact],
I’m aware I’ve reached out a few times without success, so I won’t email you again – but I would love feedback from you so we can improve [product/service].
What is the main reason you felt [product/service] wasn’t a good fit for you?
[Signature]
6. Double Down on Your Claims
You haven’t had a reply, and you need a reason to email your prospect again. Doubling down on your claims shows that you’re not full of hot air – and that you’re serious in your efforts to help them.
Subject line: Concrete proof that we can boost your [metric] by [stat]
Hi [Contact],
I sent you an email a week ago about [your company], and how I think we could help you and your company tackle [pain point].
I mentioned that our clients report [a 52% increase] in [inbound sales] when they use [product], and I thought you might like to see some proof, so I’ve attached a number of case studies for you to browse.
If you’d like any more information on how we go about getting these results, please get in touch. It would be great to schedule a phone call.
[Signature]
7. The Simple Reminder
You’re pretty sure your prospect intends to get in touch, but you just might be further down their to-do list than you had hoped. Give them a nudge with a simple reminder – no bells, no whistles, just the facts.
Subject line: Let’s book a call
Hi [Contact],
I sent you an email a while ago about [product/service] and how I think it could help you address [pain point].
I just wanted to check that it hadn’t got lost in your inbox.
If you’d like more information on [product/service] please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’d be happy to jump on a quick call with you, and send you over a [free trial/case study/product demo]
[Signature]
8. Social Proof
Infuse some social proof into your follow up email. This is an incredibly important psychological trigger that will increase your response
Subject line: [X] customers already [Got result]
Hi [Contact]
[Name] here…I just wanted to share the exciting news that we’ve already helped [x] clients boost their sales by 20% this year!
If you’d like to join this exclusive group too, we’re happy to chat.
When would be a good time to hop on a quick call and discuss your project needs?
[Signature]
9. The Hail Mary
This followup template is a little risky. Essentially, you’re calling them out for not responding yet. However, it’s done in a way that’s not pushy or rude.
Subject line: I’m guessing [Result] is no longer a priority for you?
Hi [Contact]
Earlier when we spoke, you seemed very committed to [Boosting sales]. However, since our initial conversation, I haven’t heard anything back from you.
Has something changed in the meantime? Or is [Driving growth] for your business still a top priority?
Please let me know so I can find a time to connect or archive this email thread.
[Signature]
10. Inject Urgency
You want to compress the amount of time from your initial conversation with the prospect before they actually buy. The longer you wait, the less likely that they will commit. That’s where urgency comes in.
Subject line: Only 11 spots left [This month]
Hey [Contact]
I hope this finds you well. As you know, [Company] only has so much bandwidth to take on new clients each month.
We would love nothing more than to help you [Achieve result] like you mentioned. However, I do just want to let you know that spots are limited and there is no guarantee you will be able to access our service past the 30th of this month.
Could you let me know if you still want our help? That way I can save your spot.
[Signature]
11. Special Promotion
The idea behind this template is to provide some kind of discount or additional value to get the prospect off the fence. Ideally, you will have already planned this out in advance as a followup tool. For instance:
Subject line: Web design packages now 50% off until Friday
Hi [Contact]
First I just wanted to thank you for expressing your interest in [Product or service]. We pride ourselves on helping [prospects like you] achieve [business results].
As our way of saying “Thank You,” we are extending a one-time, limited offer that is good until this Friday. Any of our design packages will now be 50% off for the first month.
Hopefully, the added value of [product] combined with these additional savings will make it easy for you to get started this week!
If you’re interested, just reply to this email and we can get you going :)
[Signature]
12. Where can I send it?
This email assumes that your prospect will want to receive something of high value. By asking “where” you can send it instead of “if” you can send it, you’re pulling them further through the funnel.
Subject line: Where can I send [the ultimate kitchen remodeling book]
Hi [Contact]
[Name] here again. [Influencer] has just wrapped up writing [valuable pieces of content]. He wanted me to ask you where we can send your free physical copy?
It’s packed with incredible, little-known tips to have your kitchen looking better than ever!
There are only [47] left so I want to make sure you get your copy soon. Can you kindly let me know which address to ship it out today while they’re still available?
[Signature]
Best Practices for Sales Follow-up Emails
Before we dive into the templates, it’s important to understand some principles when you’re following up with prospects.
If you take the wrong approach, you could turn prospects off. But by using these best practices, you’ll be able to balance being persistent with being professional.
- Keep At It: Don’t stop after the first, or second, or even third follow up. Try to follow up at least 10 times — it’s a numbers game.
- Stay On Topic: Your goal is to help your prospect with your product or service. Every message should contain this theme.
- Mix It Up: Try appealing to different emotions, pain points, and benefits. Each email should address your prospect’s needs in a different way.
- Personalize It:Don’t just copy and paste a message for each prospect. Make sure to mention something specific when you can to show you’ve done your research.
- Use Different Channels: Email is incredibly powerful. But don’t be afraid to pick up the phone or reach out to prospects in other ways to cut through the noise.
If you stick to these key principles, your follow up game will improve dramatically. But it always helps to start with some training wheels. So let’s explore some templates you can start sending from day one
Follow up emails aren’t always the most enjoyable task, but if you use Right Inbox’s sequencing tools, along with our email templates in Gmail, you’ll find it gets much easier. If your not satisfied with these 7 templates then be sure to check out the email templates hub that has over 100+ email templates to chose from. Good luck!
Track emails, email reminders & templates in Gmail for free
Upgrade Gmail with the features it’s missing
Add to Gmail
David Campbell
David Campbell is the editor of the Right Inbox blog. He is passionate about email productivity and getting more done in less time.
