Regardless of what type of business you run, learning how to follow up on leads is vital to your business success. Too many business owners make the mistake of failing to follow up on prospects and miss out on a lot of clients. Taking the time to write a simple follow up email or call can be all it takes to secure more long-term clients.
On the other hand, there are follow up strategies that do not work. It can be frustrating when you attempt to follow up but never hear back from your prospects. It’s easy to assume that you’re bothering them and they have no interest in your products or services.
Though that may be the case in some situations, most of the time prospects would love to work with you again if you follow up using a value-driven strategy. Think of it like this, most people receive hundreds of emails a day and if an email doesn’t immediately catch their attention it goes straight into the trash. One of the reasons your follow up strategy might not be working is you don’t craft attention grabbing emails that provide value.
How to Craft Attention Grabbing Subject Lines
When following up on clients, most people will write email subject lines such as: “Hey, just checking in.”
There’s a reason most people don’t reply to those emails.
When it comes to crafting attention grabbing headlines, take your prospect’s business and desires into consideration. What do they need? How can you help them get it? Provide some value and they’ll be more than likely to open your email.
For example, if they own a website, one problem they likely struggle with is traffic. If you can find a way to boost their website traffic, they’ll be interested.
So instead of saying “Checking in”, try: “Would You Be Interested in Increasing Your Website Traffic? Here’s how I can help…” or something along those lines. Be creative.
In the email, explain your proposal and the steps you’ll take to boost their website traffic. If the proposal is well-written and fact-driven, the chances of you getting rehired significantly increase.
In short, the email subject line should hint at a solution to one of their problems, leading them to open the email instead of immediately deleting it.
This one change alone can have a drastic positive impact on your follow up strategy!
Time it Right
Oftentimes people will follow up either too soon or too late, learning how to time it right can make all the difference.
Some marketers will blast their leads with promotional offers every hour and few people like being bombarded with emails. You also don’t want to come across as desperate.
I like to let at least three days pass before I send a follow up email or call. Wait too long and your prospect might hire someone else. Remember, the last thing you want is to have your prospect become irritated with you.
Interestingly, in the research paper “Evolutions of Conversations in the Age of Email Overload, “ by doctoral student Farshad Kooti, and Kristina Lerman, one of the key takeaways was 90% of people will reply to an email within 2 days. In short, if you don’t receive a reply within two days, either the recipient never planned to reply or they haven’t had a chance to get around to it. If it’s the later, a follow up email would likely trigger a response.
It’s also a good idea to keep in mind people’s work schedules and when they’re most likely to check their inbox. Based on research, most people check their email between 2pm and 4pm. Very few people check their inbox and reply to messages at night and on the weekends.
Another important point is the more emails a person receives the more it takes to get a response from them. If you’re trying to contact a high profile person, a well-crafted email subject and a follow up campaign is recommended. Generic emails won’t work.
Learn When to Stop
When you take your follow up campaign too far you can easily end up on a prospect’s blocked list. Learning when to stop following up is just as important as learning when to follow up!
I like to send out at least three follow up emails after the original email, with a different lapse of time between each one. If I haven’t received a response after those three, I end the follow up campaign there.
After the first email, I wait at least three days before sending a follow up email. If I don’t receive a response, I’ll wait at least 6 days before sending another one. If I still don’t receive a response, I’ll wait another week. No response? I’ll end it there.
From the same paper mentioned earlier, about 50% of people will reply within two hours of receiving the email. If they don’t reply within two hours, it will be within at least two days. If they don’t reply within two days, the chances of them ever replying drop drastically.
One follow up email still might be able to catch people who are on the fence, but anything after that and you’ll hear crickets. In short, if you still don’t get a response after three follow up emails you likely never will.
Make Each Follow Up Unique
People receive enough spam in their inboxes. If your follow up emails look identical and feels like chainmail, they won’t be as effective. Take the time to write unique follow up emails for each prospect and try to include their name as well. People are more likely to reply to emails that include their name in the subject line.
Conclusion:
With a few simple changes your follow up strategy can starter converting at remarkable rates. Communicate with your prospects like you would with a friend and provide as much value as possible. If they can see that you can benefit their business, they’ll likely hire you again. Come up with creative solutions to their problems and mention them in your follow up emails. It works.
