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Learn my one trick to follow up on a new business email

lead generation Feb 04, 2019

So you’ve spent time researching your prospect, looking them up on social media, reading the media section of their website, reviewing the business strategy section on their corporate website and crafting an email that’s really tailored to their challenges and needs.

You are excited to hit the send button because this is an email you have put a lot of effort into, one that is bound to hit the spot. Eagerly you keep checking your email for their response, you look at whatever Gmail extension you are using to check whether they have read the email and your heart sinks, the email has been read but you hear crickets…nothing… no response. 

Disheartened, you feel like giving up. Why aren’t they replying? Was it something you wrote? Where have you gone wrong? Should you email again? Should you phone them? What should you do?

What's my trick to follow up on a new business email?

Firstly, if you don’t get a reply, please don’t take it personally. Brand & marketing teams are just as busy as you are, if not more. They get approached day in day out by suppliers. Don’t try to read their minds, they might not be interested but then again, they might be and they might just be really busy. I have a great technique that I use to follow up when prospects don’t reply to my emails. I get so many more responses using this follow-up sequence than if I just send one email and follow up with phone calls.

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First of all, I usually wait 2-4 days after mailing them. Then I call them (of course!) – usually I get a voicemail and I always leave a message. I say:

“Hi, John, it’s just a quick call to follow up on my email that I sent on [insert date] regarding [insert Why]. I appreciate you are super busy, so I’ll drop you a quick email as you might find it earlier to respond to that. If you do want to give me a call however you can reach me on 123 456 789.”

Then I dig out the original email I sent and I forward it back to them with the following email:

 “Hi John, I just tried calling you to follow up on the email below. Is there a good time to reach you?

 If the timing isn’t right or if it just isn’t of interest to you, feel free to say No.

Thanks and best wishes

Lucy”

Having an FW: in the email subject, instead of RE: gets more responses and offering them a “get-out clause” of “If the timing isn’t right or if it just isn’t of interest to you, feel free to say No” makes them feel less pressured and more at ease.

I get so many more responses to this email. Yes, they might not all be from people wanting to meet or discuss a brief but they are usually the start of a conversation.

Try this approach next time and let me know how you get on. 

 

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