Email Follow Up: How to Personalize & Automate Dreaded Sales Emails

Conversation follow-up is the dreaded part of sales that leaves both sellers and buyers frustrated. Buyers expect a timely and personalized follow-up email, but we all know sellers dread creating it. Sometimes reps neglect to send sales email follow-up after an important conversation and forfeit the whole deal.

We get it. Sellers are being pulled in a million different directions, and follow-up emails are just one of the numerous manual tasks they’re faced with constantly. In fact, Salesforce research shows that reps only spend 28% of their time selling. As a seller, there’s nothing more draining than feeling like you don’t have enough time to do what you were hired to do: sell.

Automation is key to solving this widespread problem for sellers. But it can be tricky to add the right amount of personalization when you’re fully reliant on automation. The best teams are able to balance automation and personalization, particularly when it comes to sales follow-up emails.

The Importance of Sales Email Follow-Up

The importance of sales email follow-up cannot be overstated. It’s a crucial step in the sales process that can make or break a deal. While it is often seen as a time-consuming and laborious task, its potential impact on customer relationships and sales success is immense. A well-crafted follow-up email can keep a conversation going, demonstrate your commitment to the customer, and increase the chances of closing a deal.

The reality is, customers expect and appreciate timely, personalized follow-ups. It shows them that their business is valued and that you’re invested in addressing their needs. Ignoring this step can result in missed opportunities and lost deals. Furthermore, a lack of follow-up can leave customers feeling neglected, which could damage your company’s reputation and relationship with them.

However, we understand the challenges faced by sellers. With numerous responsibilities vying for their attention, it can be difficult to find the time to craft thoughtful follow-up emails. This is where automation comes into play. By automating the follow-up process, sellers can ensure regular communication with customers without having to manually send each email.

But here’s the catch – while automation can save time and ensure consistency, it can sometimes lack the personal touch that makes follow-up emails effective. That’s why the most successful sales teams strike a balance between automation and personalization. They use automation to manage the process, but add personal elements to each email to maintain a genuine connection with the customer.

To assist your reps in this process, we’ve compiled three customizable templates for follow-up emails. These templates are designed to save time, maintain personalization, and most importantly, drive deals forward. By using these templates as a starting point, your team can create compelling follow-up emails that resonate with customers and contribute to sales success.

3 Sales Email Follow-Up Templates to Use Right Now

Cold Call Email Follow-Up Template

Subject: +

Dear ,

This is from . I’m reaching out to follow up on our recent call. I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me about .

As promised, I wanted to summarize our conversation and provide you with some next steps.

During our call, we discussed how can help solve by , as well as by .

You also asked about and .

I hope I was able to answer all of your questions and provide you with a better understanding of how our can benefit .

Based on our conversation, I believe that our solution could be a great fit for . That being said, I would love to schedule a video meeting to dive deeper into your specific pain points and how can help address them.

If you’re interested, select a time on my calendar that works for you. I’m looking forward to continuing our conversation and exploring how we can help your business grow.

Best regards,

Discovery Video Meeting Follow-Up Template

Sub: + Meeting Recap

Dear ,

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for taking the time to meet with me and discuss your business needs. The meeting was incredibly insightful, and I appreciate the opportunity to learn more about .

During our conversation, we discussed , and . I hope I was able to provide you with valuable insights and answer all of your questions.

Based on our meeting, I believe that our can really help solve . That being said, I would love to schedule a product demo. From our conversation, it seemed like should see the demo. Is there anyone I’m leaving out that you think should be there?

In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns you may have. I’m looking forward to continuing our conversation and exploring how we can help you achieve .

Best regards,

Product Demo Email Follow-Up Template

Dear ,

Thank you for taking the time to check out . It seemed like you agreed that could help achieve and .

During the demo, we covered . I hope I was able to answer all of your questions and provide you with insights into capabilities.

It seemed like could especially align with priorities by .

Moving forward, it sounds like the next steps would be:

In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns you may have.

Best regards,

P.S. I thought might be helpful to share with your team.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Follow-Up Emails

Follow-up emails are an essential part of the sales process, but they can also be a minefield of potential missteps. Remember to avoid these common mistakes as you’re crafting sales email follow-up.

• Omitting the Context: Always provide context in your follow-up emails. Your recipient shouldn’t have to dig through their inbox to remember who you are or what the conversation was about.
• Not Adding Value: Your email should always provide some value to the recipient. This could be new information, a helpful resource, or an answer to a question they had.
• Relying on Generic Templates: While templates can save time, they should not be used verbatim. Personalize your emails to show that you understand the recipient’s needs and challenges.
• Ignoring Social Proof: Including testimonials or case studies in your follow-up emails can build trust and show potential customers that others have had positive experiences with your product or service.
• Overloading the Email with Text: Keep your follow-up emails concise and to the point. Long, dense paragraphs can be off-putting and may cause important information to be overlooked.
• Delaying Follow-ups: Time is of the essence when it comes to follow-ups. The longer you wait to follow up after a conversation, the more likely it is that the lead will go cold.
• Poor Use of Subject Lines: Your subject line is the first thing the recipient sees, so make sure it’s compelling and free of errors. Avoid using all caps or overly long subject lines.
• Assuming Your Email Was Seen: Don’t assume that your recipient saw your last email. If you haven’t received a response, it’s possible that your previous email was missed or forgotten.

By avoiding these common mistakes, you can craft follow-up emails that are effective, engaging, and more likely to elicit a response.

How to Automate Email Follow-Up with Generative AI

To take your team’s email follow-up to the next level, consider implementing generative AI to make things faster. With Revenue.io’s generative AI email summarization feature, your reps will always do the following after a conversation with a buyer or customer:

• Send a timely and personalized follow-up email
• Perfectly summarize what was discussed
• Describe next steps for both parties

Here’s how it works. Harnessing the power of Generative AI and conversation data, we can deliver a post-conversation email into the rep’s draft folder. The rep can then view it, edit, and send. That’s going to save every rep on your team at least 23 hours every single month.

We’re currently working with a select group of customers for the exclusive private beta, but if you’re interested in getting early access, sign up here to get first in line.