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Follow up or not to follow up? Well, that is the decades-old question, isn’t it? One of the main concerns sales reps have is whether the follow-ups are effective and if they should dedicate their time to write a follow-up email after no response.
Good follow-ups take time, patience and can be challenging. You need to lure the prospect’s eye towards your email in an inbox and make sure to place just the right information in all the correct places.
Do not despair. We’ve got you covered as we shall explain:
- How follow ups can increase your response rate;
- What be the focus on your end;
- How to write a follow up after no response;
- How to use multichannel approach for your follow up emails;
- And, of course, present you with a follow up email after no response templates.
Table of Contents
Why You Should Send Follow Ups
Follow up emails are messages sent to the prospect you already contacted in the recent past. You can send it due to various reasons, such as a reminder of a previous email, meeting, or requesting a response.
In general, follow-ups are considered to be very assertive, especially if you send it to the prospect that opened your previous email but didn’t respond. That is why…
70% of salespeople stop at one email…
“They are not interested. I don’t like being pushy so I won’t bother them.” you think to yourself? Well… Check the rest of the sentence.
Alas, if you send follow ups, you’ve increased the chances to hear back by 25%. (Invesp)
As you can see, it pays off sending follow ups. It doesn’t always mean that prospects aren’t interested, and there are a couple of other reasons that they might not have responded to you. They either:
- Are really not interested
- Forgot to respond
- Are busy
- Got your message, but it is not clear, or
- Are not the decision-maker
So roll your sleeves up and prepare yourself to follow up.
Before We Start: Boost Your Social Selling Skills
Whether you are using a sales engagement platform or any other software to ease up your prospecting, outreach, and follow-up sequences, you need to be aware that you should do a couple of things on your end as well. Those things are called research and social selling. We won’t go into the details on how you should research your prospect first before you personalise your approach and do the outreach, but social selling is something we need to mention and that you need to pay close attention to.
You care for your business, right? Wish to have sky-high profit at all costs and push your product on the prospect as much as possible? Wrong – Forget about assertiveness in your sales approach and act as letters in password settings – case sensitive.
In your sensitive approach, social selling will help you out. Social selling is a strategy of connecting with prospects and developing relationships first as part of the sales process. Today, this often takes place via social networks such as LinkedIn, or Facebook, but it can take place offline, as well. Social selling means that prospects come to the first place, their pain points, and worries, and you as a company offer empathy and a solution.
Therefore, before taking their hand and leading them further down the sales funnel, get to know them, do your research, and develop the relationship. It will allow you to place the idea into your prospects’ heads and nurture it throughout the buying experience steps.
This is the most important way to develop a relationship with your niche target group. And there is no workaround. Social selling proved to be more than worthy for sales experts all around the globe, so it’s no wonder it is one of the go-to ways to master your sales outreach this year.
How To Write A Follow Up Email After No Response
When figuring out how to write a follow up email after no response, there are two strong pillars you need to build it on:
1. First, you need to think of follow ups not as spamming but as adding value with every email you send. Not just to think about it, but to do it.
2. The second one is to think of the means to make it easier for your prospect to respond – so you must keep in mind short CTA with precise options.
How to Write a Follow Up Email Steps
Follow-up emails after no response should be strong, precise, and offer value.
1. Forge a catchy subject line to improve the open rate
With the catchy subject line in combination with the preview text to follow it, you can make sure to pop up in the prospects’ inbox and improve the chances of opening up the email.
2. Determine a goal and provide the context in the beginning
Avoid intros such as “Just checking in to see if you’ve read my last email” or “I’m just following up on my previous email” if you didn’t have a connection with the prospect beforehand. This implies blaming them for not responding which is a big no-no in sales communication. Instead, say something like this:
- I know we’ve talked about {{PainPoint}}…
- As we quite recently connected, I thought it’s only fair you know something about me as well…
- Hi Jenna! Any thoughts on the email above?
3. Clearly state a purpose and keep it short
Keep it short, concise, and be direct. Long emails are tedious to read and will probably scare a lot of prospects away. Speak and deliver your information directly.
4. Provide educational content or other value
Depending on the follow up purpose, you should either offer educational content or product/service value to prove your expertise and interest. Moral of the story – Don’t just ask. Provide, and tone it up a notch, more then your last email, as well.
Example:
I think that our product/service could easily manage a 30% sales increase for your company. I am sending you the link to a resource to support this claim below, but I’d like if we could also discuss your current needs so I can figure out if {{Product/Service name}} might help you increase your sales beyond 30%.
5. Add strong CTA
Create an easier environment for your prospect to respond. End your email with a clear and direct call-to-action so they can respond quickly.
Example:
Could you point me in the right direction? Who should I talk to about…?
Does Monday at 10 AM suit you?
Respond with "Let’s do this" and I’ll send more educational content tailored for your industry.
Now that you know how to write them, the best way to send and keep track of follow up emails after no response is using a sequence strategy.
Multichannel Your Follow-Ups If You Don’t Get The Response
Follow-up emails can be tedious to track, especially if you have a lot of leads you need to tend in your inbox. Whatsmore, keeping track of what number of follow-ups you sent previously to each prospect or what the context and goals were can be downright messy. That is why some SDRs use various sales engagement platforms to organise leads and put follow-ups in defined sequences.
Follow-up messages sequencing ensures that messages are delivered to the receiving party in a particular order. Putting your follow-up emails into the sequence so you can be neat and organised is a smart choice.
Did someone say smart? Can sequences be smart?
Why yes. Yes, they can.
We interrupt this program to bring you: The Ultimate Lead Generation – the outreach that thinks for you! Starring – Smart Sequences – groundbreaking algorithms that allow you to use multichannel outreach messaging, other actions, and personalisation to their maximum potential. Combine different actions in one sequence, define the time delay between them, and add as many steps as you wish to boost the conversion.
Back to the program. Of course, you can place your follow-ups in a sequence manually. Some people do use a sales engagement platform that has the option of putting your follow-ups into the basic sequence. Alas, only a handful have Smart Sequences choice, which provides you with an easier and time–saving multichannel approach to your follow-ups and increases the chances of getting the response.
Follow Up Sequence Tips
– Using storytelling in the follow up sequence
One of your sequence strategies can be storytelling. For example, you could be inviting them for a coffee, and the entire sequence can have a “coffee conversation” theme.
The idea is to reveal one value to the pain point at the time, in every following email, enhancing its value as you go. You can speak about the value in ascending order of importance, with each email being more important than the last one.
– How many follow ups should you send in a sequence before calling it off?
Someone says 4 times in a sequence, someone says 8, but the truth is it really all depends on the purpose of your follow up target group and objective. Typically the prospect needs 5 to 10 touchpoints to respond.
– How often should you send a follow up email, and for how long?
You should spread your follow-ups out by roughly 2 to 4 days. If you wait for more than that, it will probably reduce your chances of getting a reply.
Either way, using platforms or doing the manual work, you can organise your follow-up emails after no response in a sequence and incorporate a multichannel outreach. In The Ultimate Lead Generation, setting your follow-ups in a sequence is as easy as 1,2,3, and the sending process itself is done for you. Let us show you a typical, simple sequence in The Ultimate Lead Generation with a multichannel approach, if the lead doesn’t respond at all.
Example of the sequence when you are connected with the lead on LinkedIn:
Why it works
Setting up your sequence to include other outreach channels other than email works best, as it shows your prospect that you really care about making a connection with them, and they are more likely to respond to you (hint: social selling).
Furthermore, in this sequence, LinkedIn acts as a powerful and supportive lead generation tool, as you can interact more with your prospects and increase the chances of them seeing your message and responding. Just make sure you prepare it for the outreach.
Follow Up Email After No Response Templates
Without further ado, let’s jump to concrete templates and real-life examples.
1# Follow Up Email After No Response: The One With The Coffee
This template can be perfect as the follow up message after you received no response from the first cold email.
Subject line:
Coffee To Warm Us Up ☕
Email:
Hey {{FirstName}},
As I’ve recently reached out to you, I thought it’s only fair you know something about me as well. I’ve made you a coffee so we can sit down and chat.
I am an avid {{Shared Interest With The Prospect}} lover such as yourself, predominantly {{Interest1}}, and {{Interest2}}. Most importantly, I love my job. I love helping companies like {{TheirCompanyName}} scale up their business and reach 30% higher sales with {{ProductName}} by {{MeansWhichProvideValue}}.
It would be great to see you in person as well, so we can get to know each other more and discuss our experiences and how we can help each other out.
How does Tuesday at 12 PM sound?
P.S. I hope you liked the first cup of coffee. I’m already making another one for our meeting. How would you like it?
Real-Life Example
Hey Josh,
As I’ve recently reached out to you, I thought it’s only fair you know something about me as well. I’ve made you a coffee so we can sit down and chat 🙂 .
I am an avid book lover such as yourself, predominantly ecology-oriented, and I adore hiking. Most importantly, I love my job. I love helping companies like Astra LLC scale up their business and reach 30% higher sales with The Ultimate Lead Generation by helping you streamline and accelerate the most time-consuming part of the sales process and focus on building relationships and closing the deals.
It would be great to see you in person as well, so we can get to know each other more and discuss our experiences and how we can help each other out.
How does Tuesday at 12 PM sound?
P.S. I hope you liked the first cup of coffee. I’m already making another one for our meeting. How would you like it?
Additional Tip
Take a picture holding a coffee cup, and use your image, adding their name on the mug to personalise your approach. The prospects will see that you are a genuine person, and they will connect the warm face with the cold outreach.
Why It Works:
Everybody likes to read themed content, even more so if it is geared towards them. It is simply more fun and elevating. That means more interest in what you have to say. Furthermore, offering someone a coffee over email simulates how we talk in person, making your cold outreach warmer.
2# Follow Up Email After No Response: The One After The Meeting
Imagine you had a meeting with the prospect, and after you did you sent them the meeting notes over the email and the next step which is trying out your product. A couple of days passed and still no response from the prospect, nor did they try out your product. Take out the next follow-up for a spin.
Subject line:
Dropping A Quick Present 🎁
Email:
Hey {{FirstName}},
Just wanted to say thanks again for the call. When we talked about {{PainPoint}} and how your company handles it currently, after our meeting, I am still convinced that {{ProductName}} can help you reach {{MetricValue}}.
I included a little gift for you: {{GiftRegardingFreeTrial}}, so you can fully try our product out and experience {{MetricValue}} first hand.
Let me know when you start the Free Trial, so I can send it to you.
Real-Life Example
Hey Claudia,
Just wanted to say thanks again for the call. When we talked about how you are not sure where your budget went and how your company handles it currently, after our meeting, I am still convinced that BudgetOptimizer can help you reach more than 30% budget savings.
I included a little gift for you: 14 days of free trial and 10% discount off the first month purchase, so you can fully try our product out and experience more than 30% increase in sales first hand.
Let me know when you start the Free Trial, so I can send it to you.
Why it works:
A short, precise email, that prospect doesn’t waste time reading, is always a winner. With exact value and a gift to top it off, which everyone likes to get, you will be sure to get a high response rate.
3# Follow Up LinkedIn Message After No Response: The One With The “I’ve just seen your content”
Sometimes, your prospect needs a little nudge reminding them you exist and that you wish to build a relationship. This template is perfect for it. As we mentioned the multichannel approach, it would be better if this message is sent over LinkedIn (you can always send it over email, in other instances).
LinkedIn Message
Hey {{FirstName}},
I’ve just seen your fantastic LinkedIn post on {{Topic}}. The thing that really resonated with me was {{Quote}}.
It would be great to hear more about how your business operates in this regard and also share some of my tips if you’re up for it.
How does Friday at 1 PM sound?
Real-Life Example
Hey Nathan,
I’ve just seen your fantastic LinkedIn post on the struggles of cold outreach. The thing that really resonated with me was that you tried out certain follow-ups and they failed.
It would be great to hear more about how your business operates in this regard and also share some of my tips if you’re up for it.
How does Friday at 1 PM sound?
Why it works:
You have another channel to communicate over. It is more organic as you’ve basically seen their post on LinkedIn, and it’s only natural to send them the message there. Plus, the short and sweet message, with a friendly attitude and clear CTA guarantees a high response rate.
4# Follow Up Email After No Response: The One After The Webinar
Imagine you sent a cold email to your prospect and they didn’t respond. Meanwhile, you noticed the said prospect or his company hosted a webinar. You can use this chance to reach them out, and follow up to your previous email.
Subject line:
Awesome Webinar {{FirstName}} 👌
Email:
Hi {{FirstName}},
How are things going at {{CompanyName}}? I’ve noticed that you guys had a webinar on {{Topic}}. Nice work!
As you guys are busy bees, I have suggestions on how you can work smarter not harder in terms of generating new clients. This can become a breeze for you.
Is there any chance that we can hop on a call I mentioned to chat about it further?
P.S. Just to brighten your day a bit:
Do you know how Yoda got his first lead?
He used the sales force.
Real-Life Example
Hi Sonja,
I’ve noticed that you guys had a webinar on how to optimize the workflow between the team members. Nice work!
As you guys are busy bees, I have suggestions on how you can work smarter not harder in terms of generating new clients. This can become a breeze for you.
Is there any chance that we can hop on a call I mentioned to chat about it further?
P.S. Just to brighten your day a bit:
Do you know how Yoda got his first lead?
He used the sales force.
Why it works:
A follow-up email like this instantly shows your prospects that you care and you are up-to-date on what they or the company does. And don’t be afraid to spice it up with a little joke as it always brightens up your prospects’ day and further increases the reply chances.
5# Follow Up Email After No Response: The one with “I’m leaving You Off – For Now”
If you’ve sent a couple of emails so far and none work, you need to know when to stop reaching out. While doing so, it is best to evoke an emotional reaction from the prospect, as demonstrated in the email below. The key here is to stay genuine.
Subject line:
Perhaps it is better this way…
Email:
Hi {{FirstName}},
The reason for my outreach is that I want to make sure I haven’t overstepped my boundaries.
Given that your current company challenge is {{PainPoint}} and {{ProductName}} offers {{Value}} I thought it was originally a good idea to reach out.
Maybe it is me, but I get the feeling that it is just not the right time to connect. Perhaps we can connect in the future? I could reach you back in a couple of months, unless you decide to try out {{Product Name}} before that.
I will definitely keep an eye out for you and your company.
In the meantime, I thought you might like a blog piece on {{PainPoint}}
{{LinkToBlog}}
Hope you will find it useful.
Cheers, and until the next time.
Real-Life Example:
Hi Matt,
The reason for my outreach is that I want to make sure I haven’t overstepped my boundaries.
Given that your current company challenge is budget optimizing and BudgetFly offers detailed analysis and budget saving recommendation I thought it was originally a good idea to reach out.
Maybe it is me, but I get the feeling that it is just not the right time to connect. Perhaps we can connect in the future? I could reach you back in a couple of months, unless you decide to try out BudgetFly before that.
I will definitely keep an eye out for you and your company.
In the meantime, I thought you might like a blog piece on budget leaks and how to overcome it.
budgetfly.com/10-ways-to-find-leaks-in-your-budget
Hope you will find it useful.
Cheers, and until the next time.
Why it works:
It communicates to the prospect that you do not have any agenda for pushing the product on them further. If you try to walk out the door, people subconsciously do not like that, so they would want to stop you.
Furthermore, providing the exact, tailor-made content with bulletproof value will make you stand out. If they still do not reply, at least they will have the document, which will serve as a reminder of your educational content, whenever they come across a problem your product can solve.
Conclusion
In sales, it certainly pays to be not assertive but proactive. Become the part of your leads’ lives, a helping hand, a person to turn to expertise wise.
You will do this by:
- Improving your social selling skills;
- Building the follow up sequences;
- Knowing how to write an effective follow up and when to send it;
- Providing constant value;
- Using a multichannel approach to increase response chances.
Follow ups can indeed increase your chances of getting a response. Take these follow up email after no response templates, change or edit them, build the sequences and enjoy as you watch the results. Continue to think about your sequences and what elements you can improve. Always keep track of response rates, open rates, conversion rates, and ultimately what messaging best works with your prospects.
Let’s become a part of each other’s lives! Drop by, say hi, and let’s talk about how The Ultimate Lead Generation can skyrocket your sales, drinking hot beverages at that :).