Are you frustrated because your cold outreach leads are not responding even after a perfectly crafted cold email? Wondering what is the best cold email follow-up strategy?
The thought of following up after a cold outreach appears a little uncomfortable to most of us. Because we tend to think if they didn't reply after the first outreach, it means they are not interested in our service. And this is where most marketers make a mistake.
Since a limited number of prospects tend to respond after the first email, there’s a high chance that professionals can overlook even a perfectly crafted cold email. That's where follow-up emails enter the picture.
Keep reading to get insights into a consistent cold email follow-up strategy to boost your sales pipeline and sign off deals.
The average response rate of cold outreach is 1-5%. However, this rate might vary since multiple factors come into play.
Don’t be surprised if your cold emailing success comes after after several attempts. Because almost always, people do not even open the cold emails they receive. The people you are trying to contact are primarily professionals. Hence it is likely that they will have a packed schedule.
Some of your prospects might not even notice your email. Some might open and even like your mail, nevertheless, it is not unlikely to forget about it. That's why follow-up emails are essential.
Sending several emails lets you mend your mistakes and experiments. Not sure if your subject line is intriguing enough? More follow-ups provide the chance to tweak the email. You can experiment with alternate phrasings, tones, and contents in subsequent emails.
Multiple emails expose your brand to people. When a recipient remembers your name by seeing your mail, you are most likely to get a positive response from them even if they do not know anything in detail about you.
That does not imply you should flood their inbox with your emails. Instead, a few subsequent cold email follow-ups are enough to enhance brand awareness.
Efficient cold email follow-ups are stiff but not rocket science. Read on the guidelines to get an insight. However, the only way to master the art of efficient follow-ups is to practice. That being said, here is the secret recipe for the effective cold email follow-up.
To improve your cold email follow-up strategy, you need to set a benchmark.
What do you hope to achieve through cold email follow-up that is currently lacking on your cold outreach campaign?
Is it open, read, or click-through rates of your emails? Or the decreasing reply rate? Are your conversion rates significantly low? Which metrics matter most to your business? What are the setbacks of your current follow-up strategy?
Specifying your goals helps you to analyze the situation and zero in areas that need more improvement.
The first step to send a subsequent follow-up email is to send the first cold email. The success of your follow-up email largely depends on the first contact between you and your prospects.
The content of your follow-up email is essential. Be careful what you are including in your follow-up emails.
Timing is extremely crucial in this regard. Note that your cold outreach prospects are people who are not yet ready to respond to your mail.
Rather they are either still considering your service, or they forgot about it. Wrong timing can annoy your prospects which might result in unsubscription or spam marking.
The first cold email follow-up is a slight moderation of your first cold email. The goal is to convey the same message differently.
If the first cold outreach took one or two paragraphs, make the subsequent follow-up mail 2-3 sentences long. The golden rule is to avoid crafting a completely different message.
The purpose of your cold email follow-up is to provide a quick summary of your initial CTA. You may request a meeting over the phone or a response to your email.
Moreover, you can request your prospect to introduce you to the right person of their company to approach in this regard.
For instance, your cold email follow-up could be like this:
Hey Samantha,
Can we schedule a quick call to discuss this? Will you be available this Tuesday at 9 PM?
The example provided here consists of only two sentences. Instead of letting your prospect decide when to sit in on a meeting with you, take charge and give a specific time and day.
This is your last resort. After this, if your prospects do not reply, you should give up spending time behind them and zero on a new prospect.
At this point, you need to play a psychological game with your prospects. This email would be a Goodbye message for your prospect.
This email will lead them to believe that the chance will slip out of hand if they respond immediately. Before this final notice, you can send another follow-up mail. However, we do not recommend following up more than four times.
The goal of follow up is to create a communication flow. However, if anyone expresses a lack of desire for your products or service, you need to respect that.
You can persist on follow up until you receive a definite response. If a prospect wants to get back to you after a week, then mark the date on the calendar and contact them accordingly.
If a prospect expresses, they are swamped, try to know what would be a good time to contact according to their busy schedule.
Here, we have listed a couple of mistakes for you to avoid while creating an effective follow-up strategy.
The rule of thumb for sending an unknown prospect a follow up does not go beyond six times. To do more than that, you need to build a cordial relationship with your prospect.
If you have had interaction with your prospects before and haven't expressed a negative response, you may send a follow-up until getting a response.
Remember, your customers are constantly in a rush. Therefore, without keeping the message precise and straightforward, you will lose them. Being friendly and nice does not mean long paragraphs of formalities and pleasantries. Keep it short and simple, and focus on getting your message across.
Hey (Prospect's name),
In case you forgot, we are still interested in (quick context recap). This is an excellent chance for you to (iterate the value proposition).
Would you be available for a quick discussion over the phone (specify time and date)?
Regards,
(Your Name)
Hey (Prospect's name),
I understand you are busy. But I was excited to show you how (Your Business) has helped (hyperlink a customer case study/feedback/any other relevant resource) to achieve (selling points).
When should I get back to you? Are you available on (add specific date and time if they haven't specified any)?
Thanks!
(Your Name)
Hey (Prospect's name),
The meeting was great, right? I am so grateful that you have spent time behind this. I am so excited to meet you again at (specific date and time).
Can you take a look if I have summed up our discussion accurately?
(Precisely insert discussion points in bullet points)
The agreed steps from meetings are:
(Precisely insert agreed points in bullet points)
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Best Wishes,
(Your Name)
Hey (Prospect's name)
I hate to bother you, but I see a great opportunity for (prospect's team name) with (your company) at (specific value proposition).
However, since you are busy, I plan to reach you again after a couple of months. However, you can anytime reach me out if you are ready to reevaluate.
I can even help you with getting (your specific service) on a trial basis.
Thanks for your time!
(Your Name)
Attracting someone who hasn't responded to your mails and with whom you never had any interactions before ain't a cakewalk. That's why, while crafting cold email follow-ups, offering value is more essential rather than flooding their inbox with emails.
A cutting edge subject line and intro will not only make your recipients read your emails, but also you will win in your cold outreach campaign. Although numerous other factors impact a successful cold outreach, an automation tool can pave the way and provide a smooth experience.
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