Writing Better Professional Follow-up Emails

Customers may not be convinced about your business’ offerings at first contact. Rather than conclude that they’re not interested in your product or service, sending a professional follow-up email is essential.

Following up on a lead is one of the most powerful facets of a successful lead-generation process that can result in better sales. The process will help you establish a back-and-forth conversation with the customer, which can lead to an eventual sale or a partnership. 

A follow-up email is sent to a person you’ve previously contacted. Customers may fail to respond to your first email for several reasons. They might have forgotten about the email because they were busy, didn’t need the service immediately, or didn’t see your email. Your professional responsibility is to encourage potential customers to realize their need for your product.

This guide discusses the nitty-gritty details about writing a professional follow-up email.

Why Send A Follow-Up Email?

A follow-up email that uses persuasive language can encourage an immediate response from potential clients and pave the way to a win-win relationship. Such email serves as a prompt or reminder for an earlier email you’ve sent. Instead of starting a conversation, the goal of a follow-up email is to rekindle it and elicit a response. 

Professional follow-up emails are sent out for various reasons, including to: 

• Remind customers of your product/service.
• Ask if customers have any questions regarding your offering.
• Request a meeting or call.
• Inform the customer about a significant date (e.g., an event) 
• Request feedback on your product or service.

How To Write Professional Follow-up Emails

Professional follow-up emails must be precise, polite, formal, and direct. It must contain the following key aspects.

1. Email Subject

The subject of a professional email should be short, catchy, and direct. Avoid using spammy phrases or words. Instead, use phrases such as:

• Reminder on the email sent on [Date]
• Thank you for meeting with us
• Are you still interested in us? 
• Updates for us, please? 
• It takes two to collaborate.
• Let’s get right to it.
• Let’s take a 10-minute call to discuss this. 
• [Customer name], just a quick query, please.
• [Customer name] I suggest we talk.

2. Salutation

The email salutation must be formal. Unless you know the customer by their first name, you should always greet them professionally. Using [Dear Sir/Madam] is appropriate.

3. Email Body 

The email body should be formal and direct. It must provide crucial information concerning the email you sent previously.

There are numerous approaches you can take here: 

• Highlight the original email (as an attachment, or paste it below your follow-up email). 
• Remind people of the crucial details (meeting details, for example).
• Provide an external link to the crucial details you need them to fill in.
• Do not send the original email as a forward.

4. Closing

Include a call to action as you end the email. For instance, your closing statement can be “Can I communicate with you going forward?”

5. Signature

A courteous and appropriate signature is essential. For instance,

• Yours faithfully, 
• Yours sincerely
• Kind regards,

Professional Follow-up Email 

1. Subject: Reminder on the email sent in [Date]

Hello [Customer name]

I am just following up on the email sent to you earlier. I’d appreciate it if you could read the email and get back to me as soon as possible. 

I’ll call you if I don’t hear from you before the weekend.

My heartfelt thanks, 

[Your name]

2. Subject: Are you available to talk?

Hello [Name] 

It was lovely to meet you at [event name]! It was incredibly intriguing to hear about [something they indicated they are struggling with]. I would love to assist you in solving this difficult to obtain the desired outcome. 

Are you available to talk next week? 

Let me know what works for you when you send me an email. 

Looking forward to your response, 

Best regards.

(Your Name)

3. Subject: I am here to answer all your questions

Dear [Customer name] 

I hope you’re enjoying your week. 

I sent you a form last week; have you reviewed it? 

Do you have any inquiries regarding it? 

Please let me know if you require another copy, need additional time, or have any queries. 

Thanks, 

(Your Name)

4. Subject: It has been a while… 

Dear [Customer name]

I had previously contacted you regarding [product’s] advantages for [prospect’s company]. Maybe you were too busy or didn’t think it was a good fit. That’s fine; we understand entirely. 

However, I couldn’t resist contacting you again because I firmly believe that [product] is the best fit for your business. 

I’d be happy to go over the features and advantages of our product, so you can see the potential for our collaboration.

Regards,

(Your Name)

5. Subject: Could we continue where we left off? 

Hello [Customer name],

When we last talked about “value proposition,” you said it wasn’t the proper time. You asked me to get in touch perhaps before the end of the year. Should we continue where we left off, then? 

I would love to hear from you! 

Regards,

[Your name]

Conclusion

One of the most challenging things for a professional organization is to write a follow-up email that prompts a reaction. 

The key to getting a good response is to not come across as pushy or unpleasant to your customers. This can turn them off. Use the tips in this guide to draft a professional follow-up email.