How to write a sales follow-up email after no response

Sending an effective follow-up email is a crucial part of connecting with prospects and closing deals. But understanding what to send — and when to send it — is often a difficult feat for already-busy sales reps, who struggle to break buyer silence without appearing overly aggressive.

Account executives face this challenge, too. They're often ghosted by prospects with whom they've already been in contact but have become (for one reason or another) disengaged. It's true that sellers hate losing deals: Every loss hurts, but perhaps none more than the closed lost — disengaged opportunities. Nearly every salesperson has a horror story about missing their number because the buyer ghosted them at the finish line. But ghosting isn't an unnatural phenomenon; it happens when sellers lack clear alignment or milestones with the buyer, leading to lost deals.

Creating successful email follow-ups can become one of your sales team's biggest assets. With the right sequence, sellers can put an end to buyer silence, avoid ghosting, and move more deals across the finish line. Here, we will take a look at the science behind email follow-ups, some strategies for a more effective approach, and examples of how to improve prospect responses.

The Science Behind Email Follow Ups

Before we dive into specific follow-up strategies, it's essential to first understand why prospects don't respond to initial outreach or disengage after they've already been in contact with sellers.

It's seldom that a prospect responds to a reps initial email: They're far too busy to reply to read and respond, even if they fit the ideal customer profile. Reps must demonstrate their solutions value to the prospect's business in a limited number of characters, which, even when done well, doesn't guarantee a response — much less a positive one.

Once they do manage to make a connection, sellers need to have clear alignment with buyers on next steps, milestones, and who are actually involved in the buying process in order to avoid a surprising loss on an opportunity they've committed. But sellers may not have knowledge or access to the entire buying committee, nor understand the roles they play within the final decision-making process.

Deals often start with just one person, but that person may not be the true decision-maker. It soon becomes a buying committee, made up of individuals with shifting preferences and priorities. This can result in wasted time selling to the wrong people or seeing the deal go sideways at a late stage because key influencers haven't been engaged and convinced along the way.

Effective follow-up is vital for keeping conversations going, and timing is everything: In fact, nearly 87% of buyers reply within two days of their most recent message. And while it can take 80% of leads up to five-to-twelve points of contact before deciding, only 8% of reps follow up with prospects more than five times. That means a strong follow-up process is a competitive differentiator that can become a valuable asset for your team.

Follow-up sequences can help sellers reach the right person at the right time and avoid chasing their tails with under-qualified contacts. And when your team's follow-up process is thoughtfully aligned with buyers' objectives, timelines, and milestones, they can accomplish more with less effort.

A Closer Look at Email Responses

Sales reps have only a 14-day window after first contact to engage a buyer before it's too late. With every day that passes, the probability of prospect response diminishes more and more; so effective follow-up is the key to success. But reps must balance personalization versus volume, while also deciding exactly when to send each email for the best results.

There's a fine line between persistence and pestering: One that only a predetermined, organized follow-up process can stabilize. This is especially true as your organization scales and more reps reach out to more prospects. While there's no cut-and-dry answer for when to follow up, there are tools that can make the process more of a science than an art.

Robust follow-up platforms make it easier to test results, so your team can efficiently determine which messaging best resonates with prospects. We know that simply opening an email won't tell us much about how a prospect feels about that particular email; but technology like buyer sentiment analysis is shedding more light into emotional response and intent. Whether it's negative, positive, unsubscribe, or a referral, buyer sentiment can help teams more effectively craft their follow-up and better understand when to send it.

Start by developing four or five templates that have different bodies and proposed next steps. Leverage powerful software to track and measure the resulting data, then eliminate the messaging that flounders and duplicate the messaging that garners a positive response. Play around with timing and don't forget: Successful buyers reach out to prospects an average of nine times across various channels, so don't give up too quickly!

Strategies for Effective Follow up Emails

While each sales team's follow-up strategy will vary depending on industry, target buyers, sales process, etc. there are some overarching best practices that any team can benefit from implementing. Make your follow up emails more effective by:

• Automating the process: Reps are often inundated with myriad administrative tasks that take precious time out of their days. With the right tools, your team can take the burden of following up with each prospect off of reps’ shoulders. Some sales engagement platforms, for example, enable sellers to set up different types of email sequences that automatically reach out to silent buyers over a specified period of time. That way, your solution is still top-of-mind for prospects, while reps are freed up to focus on other initiatives.
• Including a CTA: Don’t forget that your follow-up emails should always point prospects in a clear direction. Include a call-to-action (CTA) that acts as a clear next step to prevent confusion or neglect on the buyer’s end. Do you want them to provide more details, schedule a meeting, or direct you to someone else who’s better suited to speak with you? It’s easier for a prospect to engage with your outreach if you tell them exactly what you want or need from them.
• Anticipating needs: Part of delivering an exceptional customer experience from the jump is being as proactive as possible with prospects. This is particularly true for account executives who are trying to prevent future ghosting from buyers; who are themselves busy professionals and likely aren’t going to reach back out if they don’t get a clear answer or requested information from a provider. Implementing tools like conversation intelligence softwares can help, as they automate follow-up by capturing next steps and action items on call meeting notes, so reps remain accountable and nothing ever falls through the cracks.
• Ensuring the next step is very easy: The buying process is often complex: In fact, 77% of B2B customers say their last buying experience was extremely complex or difficult. If sellers don’t offer a simple, direct next step, they risk irritating, confusing, or disenchanting prospective buyers. Success plans (sometimes called mutual action plans) are a great way to collaboratively map out the buying journey with customers, so everyone is aligned and engaged on clear next steps that are anchored to the buyer’s goals. That way, buyers won’t jump ship due to uncertainty or misunderstandings.
• Personalizing content: 31% of sellers say that sending one-to-one, customized messages to prospects is the most effective approach. But many salespeople struggle to find the adequate time needed to customize their outreach for each prospect. Too many reps spend an exorbitant amount of time personalizing their initial emails; but the truth is, customization at that stage isn’t nearly as valuable as it is during follow-up. Reps should spend less time on first-contact emails and more time focusing on tailoring their follow-up messages. This strategy will help them save valuable time while still ensuring a highly personalized, genuine connection that contributes to a deeper relationship with customers.
• Leveraging an omni-channel follow-up approach: It’s essential for reps to find out which channels (e.g. social media, brand website, mobile apps, review sites, email, etc.) best serve their customer engagement strategy and use a healthy mix of those touchpoints to effectively reach prospects. Remember: it’s important that these channels don’t operate in silos, so invest in technology that integrates the data between your touchpoints. That way, reps won’t risk accidentally sending salesy, first-contact ad pitches to a customer who’s already working with an account executive further ahead in the buying journey.

5 Follow-up Email Examples

There are several sales situations that require follow-up emails for moving prospects along the buying journey. Depending on your team's sales process and sequences, this might include:

1. Reply Follow-Up

Sellers should use reply follow-up when they need a prospect or customer to respond to an email; whether to provide more information, deliver a document, set a meeting, answer a question, or complete an agreed-upon next step. Its a great way to gently push buyers for a response and prevent them from going dark. Automation is extremely valuable for this type of follow-up, as it eliminates lower-value tasks and minimizes manual steps for salespeople and prospects alike.

2. Task Follow-Up

If a seller is actively engaged with a customer but doesn't yet have an agreed-upon next step, they can use a task follow-up to keep the ball rolling. This generally means sending an email reminder to the buyer at a regular cadence (e.g. every few days over a two-week period) to check in on the customer and ensure the communication remains open.

3. Weekly/Bi-weekly/Monthly Follow-Up

It's not uncommon for a prospect to tell a seller that they won't be ready to continue with any next steps for some period of time. By sending a follow-up email during or towards the end of that intervening period, reps ensure they remain in contact with the prospect and can continue to build their value. With weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly follow-ups, sellers can share product updates, white papers, case studies, industry news, or any other information that is relevant to the prospect. This helps sellers to demonstrate their understanding of the customers pain points and needs, as well as their expertise in the industry.

4. Discovery Prep

Once a prospect has accepted an invitation for a discovery meeting, sellers should follow up to ensure they're properly prepared. They can make connections, confirm title and job descriptions, and discuss any other information that will be relevant to the initial meeting. That way, the prospect knows the seller has done their homework and has a proactive attitude towards their working relationship.

5. Referral Follow-Up

Once you've completed the discovery call, you may find that there is someone within the prospect's organization who's better suited to handle the deal. Salespeople should take the time to reach out to their initial contact to thank them for their time and ensure they get connected with the right prospect. This helps sellers to capitalize on the guidance provided by the referring prospect and to keep the conversation going with the appropriate audience.

Follow Up After a Demo

If a prospect has gone cold after a demo, they might just need an extra push. Perhaps they're stretched thin or can't get buy-in from the right decision-makers. Regardless of the reason, sending a strong follow-up email can help keep your solution on their radar and drive them to the next stage of the buying journey; especially if they left the demo without any clear next steps.

Hello [Prospect Name],

Thanks again for making time to meet with me [Yesterday, Last Week, etc.]. Glad to be continuing the conversation we started.

As we confirmed [Product/Solution] was designed to solve some of your primary challenges: [Include challenges from initial meeting and additional insights from demo call].

We also clarified the objectives you're looking to accomplish and how you hope to achieve them: [Include objectives, desired outcomes, and required capabilities].

We didn't nail down a clear next step, but I will check back if I haven't heard from you in a couple of days. In the meantime, [insert name of discovery call contact] may have shared these with you already, but if you haven't seen them yet, these customer stories illustrate how we've helped companies like [insert account name].

If you have any questions or need anything before we meet again, please don't hesitate to let me know.

Thanks,

[Sellers Name]

Follow Up After a Sales Call

Closing the deal is always the goal, but this rarely (if ever) happens right after the initial sales call. Reps should remain persistent by reminding prospects of the value of their solutions and engaging them in further discussion. You want your buyers to be excited about what you're offering and understand that you're customer-centric enough for them to trust you with their valuable time and significant investment. Be sure to include specific details (like a recap and action items) from the call to demonstrate that you were actively listening. 

Hello [Prospect Name],

I appreciate you jumping on that call with me. Here's what we settled on for next steps:

[Action item 1]

[Action item 2]

[Etc.]

And just as a reminder, here's what we covered today:

[Topic 1]

[Topic 2]

[Etc.]

Once again, thank you for your valuable time! If I don't hear from you by [Insert relevant date], I will follow up.

Thanks,

[Sellers Name]

Follow Up After a Sales Inquiry

If your prospect submitted a form, they're signaling an intent of purchase that shouldn't go ignored. If a rep responds to the inquiry and doesn't receive a message back, they shouldn't give up just yet! It's likely that the email simply became buried in the leads inbox or they forgot to respond, so sending another message is crucial.

Hello [Prospect Name],

Thanks again for contacting us through [submitted form type]. I realize my last message may have gotten buried in your inbox, so I wanted to follow up.

You said your business is struggling with [insert relevant pain points] and that you're interested in how [product or service] might help. I'd love to set up a time for us to discuss. Are you available Thursday afternoon?

If not, feel free to book a meeting directly on my calendar: [insert calendar link]

Thanks,

[Sellers Name]

Follow Up After a Missed Call

If you've sent an email and called a prospect, but haven't actually connected with them, it may not be the right time. To avoid agitating the prospect, wait a week or so before sending a follow-up email. It's important to note that if you still don't receive a response, you might be reaching out to the wrong person: Ask if there's another person in their organization who may be better suited for the conversation.

Hello [Prospect Name],

It seems like now might not be the right time to connect, but I would love the opportunity to discuss how [specific product or service features] could help your business [achieve specific results].

If you're not the right person to talk to, whom should I connect with?

Thanks,

[Sellers Name]

Follow Up After Sending a Quote

If your prospect has reached the stage of getting a quote, it's fair to say they're at least mildly interested in purchasing your solution. They may have realized that your product or service isn't a great fit (due to price, buy-in, etc.), or they may just need an extra nudge forward. Either way, it's important to reach out and re-emphasize the value of your offering.

Hello [Prospect Name],

I hope you're enjoying your week! Did you get a chance to review the quote I sent over on [date]?

Once I get the quote approved, we can get your business ramped up to [achieve X results]

I'm happy to answer any of your questions or, if need be, hop on a call to re-negotiate some of the terms. How does Thursday morning sound?

Thanks,

[Sellers Name]

Follow Up After Sending a Product Sample

For organizations in certain industries (e.g. manufacturing and print), product samples are a great way to give prospects a taste of the real thing. If a prospect goes silent after receiving their samples, make sure you follow up to see if you can course-correct and move things forward.

Hello [Prospect Name],

I hope you're enjoying the product samples we sent over on [date]. I sent a follow-up last week to check in and wanted to reach out again to see how things are going.

How do you like the samples so far? Here's a comparison list of the products I sent over: [Insert list].

I'd recommend [Product X] because of [how it solves the prospects challenge].

Would you like to discuss any additional products? Im free Friday morning, or you can take a look at my calendar and schedule a call at your earliest convenience: [Insert calendar link]

Thanks,

[Sellers Name]

Follow Up After a Free Trial

As a prospect's free trial ends, reps have a short window of opportunity to capture their attention and get them hooked on the full-price offering. If they're not responding to your outreach, try sending an email that keeps your solution top-of-mind.

Hello [Prospect Name],

I hope you're enjoying your week! I just wanted to remind you that your free trial of [Product X] is ending on [date].

How do you like [Product X] so far? Has it helped your business [achieve X results]?

If you still feel you need some more time to make a decision, I completely understand. Just let me know if you'd like a trial extension and I can work with our product team to get you another week.

Id also love to hear how [Product X[ is working for you. Are you free Friday morning for a quick, 10-minute call? If not, you can take a look at my calendar and schedule a call at your earliest convenience: [Insert calendar link]

Thanks,

[Sellers Name]

Powerful Tools for Effective Follow-Up

Ensuring strong, consistent follow-up can feel time-consuming and burdensome for salespeople, who have myriad other tasks to complete on any given day. But neglecting to follow up in a genuine, timely, and effective way can mean missing out on deals and leaving revenue on the table.

Want to eliminate the need for last-minute deal-saving efforts altogether? Put AI and machine learning to work to unlock a better understanding of customer interactions, trends, and overall deal health. Outreach’s sales engagement capabilities help sales teams improve prospecting effectiveness and lead follow-up efficiency, so every rep can build qualified pipeline that converts to revenue.

Learn more about modern buying behavior or request a demo to see Outreach in action.