How To Write Follow-Up Emails And How To Optimize Them

The make-or-break element of every sale is the second touch when you start to transform leads and outlooks into customers. Your contact may not have reacted to your initial outreach attempt for several reasons, and establishing your second contact is a vital step towards turning cold calls into leads. There is when follow up emails come into play. 

Email is perhaps the easiest and reasonable approach to track your prospects after the initial introduction or proposition, but it has one very major drawback: inboxes are generally packed with offers, introductions and messages that they do not want to answer. How can you keep your emails from vanishing into the ether of your box? In this article, we have explained every detail you should know about drafting the best follow up emails. So let us get started.

How, who and when to send follow up emails?

One of the greatest things that every salesman has to learn is that consumers buy when they are ready to purchase.

Each salesperson likes a hot lead, the sort he quickly buys and requires the least effort, but a small proportion of your overall prospects are always hot. Real sales occur with chilly or warm leads.

There are three principles that you just have to stick to while following these guidelines:

• Patience is going to be recompensed. You have to play the long game and follow up for a long time.
• Make sure that sales and marketing are coordinated and have defined follow-up duties.
• You need a system. A decent sales CRM like Pipedrive is a long way to minimize embarrassing situations, such as duplicating emails or spamming your prospects.

Boosting response rate with optimized follow-up process

You will need to develop a proven follow-up procedure before you write a single email. Let us begin by addressing four key stages, including your follow-up procedure. Then we will look at errors and how to optimize your process.

Fitting follow-up into the sales pipeline

The aim of your initial pitch is to establish the basis and start the process of discovery. This includes knowing who else participates in the purchasing process and how they decide. Similarly, although you're getting a flat "no," the game isn't finished yet.

Why is this important? Simple: the method you track your prospect depends on the stage of the sales process. At each level, your sales funnel needs a follow-up process. These may usually be divided into the following steps:

Lead acquisition

If a lead initially fills in a form or starts a connection with you. Here, you have to answer fast while your motivation is hot. If an appointment or following steps are not confirmed, you need to follow up here.

Lead prioritization

The follow-up message will rely on the information you know about the prospect and on any action that you take. For example, you want to lead individuals who visit your price and feature pages multiple times by means of a powerful call-to-action.

Start of discussions

It depends on numerous things how you start the relationship. For instance, a senior decision-maker needs greater strategic insights, whereas more "tactical" positions appreciate technical specifications. Match your follow up emails based on with whom you speak.

Opportunity progress

You want to plan a presentation or a pitch after the initial discussion. From then, a second call or meeting may be organized to discuss any issues and to grasp the schedule. You must take the prospect from one step to the next, and this frequently needs follow-up.

Don't be scared to seek help from your perspective on the next move. You may even inquire how they would want to be followed up. While sometimes it is difficult to lock down, you should always try to finish the conversation with a clearly stated next action. Do this towards the end of a conference call or meeting since you may compare schedules there and then. Finally, always wrap up your initial meeting. This gives a good excuse to send an email following the call. 

Mistakes to avoid in follow up emails

You're well ahead of the game just by creating a regular follow-up approach. Here are the five follow-up mistakes that you should avoid while drafting the email:

Unprompted follow-up

Many thinkers feel that you should follow up five minutes after the query. However, this is impractical, given you don't sit down all day on the phone, and you can serve a worldwide audience. However, timely follow-up is crucial. The longer you leave them, the less likely you will receive a reply. Install mechanisms to guarantee that you react as fast as feasible. Therefore the time you should send your follow up email should be taken care of. It is also very important in the case when you are writing follow up emails for jobs. 

Not concentrating on the company

Many salesmen make the mistake of investing all their attention towards the future. If you sell to huge companies, you have to engage many people. Get as much information about other stakeholders and the purchase process to suit all decision-makers.

Not enough follow-up

A study conducted by Velocify revealed that the sixth attempt reaches 93 percent of converted leads. Make sure you follow up sufficiently as the connection starts. 

Not utilizing channels of choice

Anecdotally, 90% of the time, prospects want to hear from you via email. But some people might prefer a telephone call or other contact. If they prefer an email telephone call, ask them what time to contact them is ideal. So it is necessary to decide the channel for the follow up before drafting follow up emails after the interview.

Tips to optimizing follow-up emails

Below are the various tips for optimizing follow-up emails:

Start with value 

As soon as a fresh lead falls into your pipeline, it may trick you into the pitch. Instead, bring as much value to the front as feasible. New pathways are rare, to begin with, and by leading them and serving as a consultant, you are more likely to establish the trust that is essential to concluding the agreement.

Use information and insights

Back to anything you say with facts from third parties and tales from industry experts. You should also utilize testimonials and case studies to illustrate results for customers like them.

Automation avoidance 

Automation may be a valuable tool for simplifying some procedures. But you have to be as customized as possible when it comes to the follow-up emails. 

Keep them returning 

You require more than one call or meeting to seal the sale, depending on the intricacy of your offer. This is particularly true if the firm has multiple stakeholders. Make sure that the discussion is open and leads to the next step as soon as feasible.

Add your personality 

People do business with or respect individuals. You should always be yourself, but particularly throughout your follow-up emails and sales process. Even if you are divisive, many top decision-makers will respect your own convictions.

Final words

Follow up emails are an important element in every business process, either you are applying for the job, want to convert the lead into the customer or sell your products and services. Therefore having a properly optimized follow up process is crucial to grab your goal. So, implement the tips mentioned above and draft the best follow up emails. 

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