Going forward, make sure your messages have clear closes, including a call to action that is easy for your prospect to follow through on. For example, did your original email to the prospect include a clear close? If it didn’t, that may be the reason you didn’t get a response. What you include in your follow-up email messages depends on what you have sent the prospect in the past. “Instead, leave the conversation open and return to it at a later date,” says Hoffman. And on the final email, don’t word the content like a breakup message. Don’t send more than three emails to the prospect. But how many can you send before you start to annoy them? Again, two to three is the magic number, according to Hoffman. You also shouldn’t give up on a prospect after only sending one follow-up email. So, the sweet spot for sending follow-up emails is two to three days. Waiting a week is too long, though they may have already moved on from wanting your product or service. Only waiting a few hours in between emails is when you go from persistent to pushy and desperate.
Don’t send a follow-up email on the same day you sent your initial post-meeting email. Hoffman recommends waiting no more than three days before sending a follow-up email. You don't want the connection between you and your prospect to go cold. Sending a Follow-Up Email during Radio Silence When to Send the Email However, there is a strategy you should follow in order to get the best results. In actuality, you’re following a perfectly normal course of action that can benefit both the prospect and your sales quota. “Those who do not get stuck at a 16% average reply rate.” You’re not being annoying or pushy. “Research shows that salespeople who send at least one follow-up email reach a 27% reply rate on average,” says Hoffman. What happened? Should you send a follow-up email or will that come off as pushy? According to Jeff Hoffman, writing for HubSpot, the answer is: Of course you should send another email. You left the meeting feeling good and sent them an email with next steps. So, you’ve recently pitched to a prospect who has a great need for your product or service.