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5 Ways To Write A Follow-Up Email To Increase Response Rates When Mail Is Not Opened

Should sales representatives follow up with potential customers who have not responded to their initial contact? This is a question that has been debated for many years. Some sales reps worry that follow-ups are ineffective and a waste of time if the customer does not respond.

To be successful at follow-up, you should start by ensuring that your prospect sees what they want. Secondly, put only the right information in all of its proper places so it will resonate with them, and lastly make sure to keep their attention for as long as possible!

Think you’ve lost an email lead? Not so fast! Research shows that more than 70 percent of email recipients open messages within the first 24 hours of delivery, but only about 22 percent will open an email after that. If you don’t hear back from a recipient after a few attempts, it’s time to send a follow-up email.

Reasons to Send a Follow-Up Email

So you’ve sent out a few hundred emails and haven’t gotten any responses back. You might be wondering if it’s even worth it to send a follow-up email. Here are a few reasons why you should:

  1. People are busy. Just because someone didn’t respond to your first email doesn’t mean they’re not interested. They might have just been too busy to get back to you. By sending a follow-up email, you’re giving them another chance to respond.
  2. Your first email might have gotten lost in the shuffle. With so many emails being sent every day, it’s not surprising that some get lost in the mix. A follow-up email ensures that your message gets seen.
  3. It shows that you’re committed to your product or service. If you’re willing to take the time to follow up with someone, it shows that you’re passionate about what you’re selling. This can be a powerful motivator for people who are on the fence about your product or service.

Sending a follow-up email may not seem like a big deal, but it can make a huge difference in your cold email marketing campaign. So don’t be afraid to reach out and touch someone one more time!

Strengthen Your Social Selling Techniques

As you use software to ease your prospecting, outreach, and follow-up sequences, remember to research and utilize social selling techniques on your end as well. Doing these things will help you create the best possible experience for your potential customers.

Although we will not go into the details of how you should research prospects before personalizing your approach to outreach, social selling is something that we need to mention and that you should pay close attention to.

As a business owner, you want to see your profits grow. However, being too assertive in your sales approach can actually do more harm than good. Instead, think of yourself as letters in a password set – be sensitive to your prospects’ needs and wants.

You’ll benefit from social selling in this delicate situation. In order to start building relationships with prospects during the sales process, social selling is the technique. These days, this happens frequently online through social networks like Facebook or LinkedIn, but it can also happen offline. When you engage in social selling, you listen to your customers’ concerns and pain points in order to provide a solution.

So, before taking their hand and guiding them deeper into the sales funnel, get to know them, do your homework, and build a relationship. It will enable you to seed the thought and nurture it throughout the various stages of the buying process in the minds of your prospects.

In order to meet your sales quota, you must follow this route the most. No workaround exists either. It’s no surprise that social selling is one of the go-to strategies for mastering your sales outreach since it has proven to be more than worthwhile for sales experts around the world.

How To Send A Follow-Up Email When No One Responds

Before Sending A Follow-Up Email, Determine Buying Intent

Let’s clarify something first before moving on. In general, each lead belongs at a different stage of the buying journey and has a unique buying intent. As a result, whenever you communicate with your leads, you must keep in mind their intent and buying process. The same holds true for sending a follow-up email.

You may occasionally be unable to discern your prospect’s purchasing intent. But you should aim for it because you can achieve that conversion with a highly customized message that heavily relies on buying intent.

You would have to fight to remain at the top of their priority list and increase their intent if, for instance, you sent a follow-up email to a prospect with low buying intent. You would also need to repeat the process a few more times while writing a stronger, more valuable email.

However, customers who are highly motivated to buy will only require a demo call and a comparison page to make their choice. The buying intention is the key.

With that said, when figuring out how to write a follow-up email after no response, there are 5 pillars you need to build it on.

In light of the foregoing, there are 5 pillars you must base your follow-up email on when figuring out how to do so after receiving no response.

Steps on How to Write a Follow-Up Email

After receiving no response, a follow-up email should be persuasive, provide precisely the value the prospect needs, and elicit the desired response. But how can you convey such power in a single email? Here’s how to go about it.

1. Create an intriguing subject line to raise open rates

You can guarantee that your email will appear in the prospects' inbox by using intriguing subject lines and eye-catching preview text. You will have a higher open rate if you do this. Just be sure to include something in the follow-up email's actual body. To avoid making your lead feel duped, avoid writing anything that is not true.

2. Set a purpose and provide background information at the outset

Do not start your message with phrases like "I'm just following up on my previous email" or "Just checking in to see if you've read my last email." Such introductions suggest blaming them for not responding, which is strictly forbidden in sales communication. Say something like this in place of that:
  • I am aware that we have discussed “PainPoint”
  • We only recently connected, so I figured it was only fair that you know a little bit about me, too.
  • I’m Jenna. I can’t believe how quickly time has passed since our last conversation. I recently came across your post on “Topic” and thought it was fantastic. Anyway…

3. Keep It Brief and Clearly State Your Purpose

Be direct, succinct, and brief. Long emails are tiresome to read and will likely turn off many potential customers. Deliver your message clearly and directly.

4. Offer valuable educational materials or products

Follow-up emails should be viewed as a valuable addition to every message you send, not spam. Don't just consider doing it; actually, carry it out.
To demonstrate your knowledge and interest, you should offer educational content or product/service value, depending on the follow-up purpose. Don't just ask your prospects to do something, is the story's lesson. Give them something of value, and each subsequent email you send should be more impressive.

5. Add a powerful Call To Action

The ideal strategy is to make it simpler for your prospect to respond. Any ambiguous claims or calls to action will only confuse your leads. So, include a brief CTA with a specific request. In other words, leave them with a clear and direct call to action at the end of your email so they can respond right away.

Conclusion:

So, what do you do when your email goes unanswered? You send a follow-up of course! And we’re here to help make sure that follow-up is as effective as possible.

Demand.Cloud can automate much of the process for you, including finding the right time to send your follow-up email and personalized content. If you haven’t tried our tool yet, what are you waiting for? Get A Demo Now!