Success in marketing is all about persistence. Failing to receive a response from a lead may seem like the end of potential business, but this is far from the case. Studies into email lead generation show that a single follow-up comes with a reply rate of 65.8%. In many cases, response rates are higher with the follow-up email after no response than the initial email.
Let’s explore how to send a follow-up email after no response and how to increase the chances of a reply.
Why You Should Write a Follow-Up Email After No Response
Research has demonstrated time and time again that sending a follow up letter after no response increases your chances of receiving a reply. While studies differ on exactly how much your chances increase after sending a follow-up email after no response, even a few percentage points could mean the difference between yes and no.
It’s important to know how to interpret statistics on follow-up emails. For example, if a study says that you have a 40% increased chance of receiving a response with a subsequent email, this doesn’t mean you will have a 40% reply rate. Instead, it means that if your usual initial email reply rate is 5%, your average follow-up reply rate will be 7%.
When to Write a Follow-Up Email After No Response
Timing is everything in the digital world. Replying within 24 hours is too soon and comes off as desperate and spammy. Waiting a week is too long because the other person will likely have forgotten that they received an email from you already, so it will have the same impact as sending the email the first time.
Three days is considered the sweet spot. Marketers can set up programs to automatically remind them when a reply hasn’t been received within three days. A smart tip to increase your chances of a response is to never send a separate email. Instead, include any no response to email follow-up within the same sequence. This keeps the conversation flowing.
How to Write a Follow-Up Email After No Response
Sending a follow-up email after no response may seem simple. Asking them whether they received your email is a waste of time because 99% of the time they saw your email, they just didn’t feel like it was worth replying to. Here’s what you need to know about how to send a follow-up email after no response.
Step One – Add Value in Your Follow-Ups
Every follow-up message should have some inherent value. Follow-ups that have no added value will typically go ignored, tossed in the trash bin like the first. There’s a reason why you never received a reply in the first place. You failed to catch the lead’s interest, didn’t add value, or were unclear on how you could help them.
For example, if you’re offering SEO services, you might choose to provide success stories, results, or case studies to add further value to your proposition. Remember, value is everything, and the more value you offer with every follow-up, the higher your chance of getting a lead to bite.
Step Two – Make Your Opening Line Catchy
If your opening line is forgettable, your chances of receiving a reply drop instantly. Make sure your opening is catchy and interesting, or provides a solution to their problem. Otherwise the delete button will inevitably be the next click. Try to avoid cliché lines, such as:
- Just checking in
- I wanted to hear about
- Touching base
The goal is to spark interest, as most follow-up emails will be cast straight into the trash after the opening line. Some ideas to generate interest include mentioning the lead’s problem, posing a question, or mentioning a mutual acquaintance.
Step Three – Keep Your Follow-Up Email Short
A follow-up email after no response should be kept short. One study from Sleeknote revealed that emails with 95 words significantly outperformed emails with more than 170 words. On average, shorter emails commanded nearly 6% additional CTR. It makes sense — people are busy. They don’t have time to read a monster email that may or may not give them what they’re looking for.
Avoid wordy sentences and eliminate any words that weigh down the meaning of what you’re trying to say. Keep it simple and make every word count.
Step Four – Personalize Your Emails
Anyone can tell the difference between a templated email and one where real thought has been put into it. As part of your follow-up email, take the time to personalize on a high level. The more personal you make it, the higher the chance of receiving a response. Show that you’ve done your research into the lead. Demonstrate that you’ve taken the time to learn more about them.
Naturally, for marketers with large numbers of prospects, it can take hours to personalize follow-up emails. For that reason, there are automation programs that can help with personalization. These programs automate much of the email while allowing you to add personal touches. Although you cannot fully automate a personalized email, you can save time with automated personalization.
Step Five – Include a Persuasive Call to Action
Make it clear what you want to achieve in your follow-up email. The first question on anybody’s mind when they receive an email is, “What does this person want?”
A call-to-action must detail what you want the lead to do, even if it’s nothing more than an offer to organize a Zoom call. Rather than simply asking them for a call, suggest a specific date and time instead. This is more direct, and it shows that you’re both organized and serious about making something happen. Too many follow-up emails either have too much ambiguity in a call-to-action, or they lack one entirely. Tell your prospects what you want from them.
Step Six – Check Your Tone
Desperation and passive-aggressive tones often slip into a follow-up email after no response. While it can be irritating to spend precious time crafting the perfect personalized email only to receive no reply, microaggressions will never increase your chances of receiving a reply.
Microaggressions aren’t always simple to spot. Some examples of common microaggressions include:
- Just sending a friendly reminder
- I’ve attempted to reach you numerous times now
- I know you opened my first email
- I’m sending this email because you haven’t responded yet
Marketers know that average reply rates are low. Even upping your response rates by a couple of percentage points represents a huge step forward. When you fail to get a reply, think not about your annoyance, and think more about how you can improve your email marketing technique.
Step Seven – Avoid Using Tricks to Encourage an Open
Some marketers have attempted to use tricks to encourage highly prized prospects to open their emails. You may have received the following subject lines in your inbox at various times in the past:
- Re: Our Meeting Last Week
- Re: Our Call Last Week
These subject lines, or anything similar, are nothing more than forms of deception. If your prospect has never replied to you, these things never happened.
While you may get the prospect to open your email out of curiosity, it’s unlikely they’ll act on your email. Most likely, they’ll end up irritated and you’ll end up blocked or labeled as spam. Stick to short, snappy copy in your subject lines that are likely to spark interest — not trick your subject into opening your email.
Follow-Up Email Examples
Every situation is different. It can be difficult for marketers to visualize how the ideal follow-up email after no response should look. Study these examples of sending a follow-up email after no response and implement the same tactics as part of your business.
Follow-Up Email After Sending Resources
Are you a marketer who likes to send out free resources to potential prospects, such as articles, resources, or links? Here’s a great template to make this happen:
Hi [NAME],
Hope you’re well. Did you find the time to look at the [RESOURCES] I sent to you a few days ago?
It was a pretty long list, but these are the ones I think will be most useful for you:
· [Link 1]: This is a quick read that’s great for solving [PAIN POINT]
· [Link 2]: If you’re curious about [X], this is an excellent summary done by one of my business partners.
I’d love to speak to you this week to see if I can help [BUSINESS NAME] achieve [X] results. Do you have any spare time this Friday afternoon for a fifteen-minute call?
Thanks,
[YOUR NAME]
As you can see, this is an email that carries a pleasant, professional tone. It also essentially acts as a summary of the previous email, which would likely have been significantly more detailed. You’re also connecting each resource to fulfilling a certain need you believe their business has, which will quickly build authority and credibility.
Follow-Up Email After a Demo
Once a lead reaches a demo stage, it’s unlikely that a customer will ignore your emails, but if someone suddenly stops responding, it’s a good idea to touch base with them. If they’ve already enjoyed your demo, chances are it will be simple to get them back on board.
At the very least, if you receive no response to your follow-up email, you know not to waste any more of your time on them.
Hello [NAME],
Did you get the chance to speak to your colleagues about moving forward with [PRODUCT NAME]?
If you haven’t had the opportunity, I’d like to set up a phone call so I can show you how it can help your business to achieve [X].
Are you available this Thursday afternoon for a short call?
Thanks,
[YOUR NAME]
The key to this email is the call-to-action. Referring back to the previous call-to-action makes it more likely that they’ll engage and do what you want them to do. It’s also a good idea to mention how your product helps and to repeat the product name. Larger businesses often have to be reminded about the names of the demos they took. Also, by mentioning the prospect’s colleagues, you have a chance of securing a call with another representative if your primary lead is unavailable.
Follow-Up Email After a Missed Call
Sometimes you may have called the prospect, whether scheduled or not, and they didn’t pick up the phone. This can be one of the most frustrating scenarios of all, but how you approach it dictates whether you will convert that lead into a customer.
Since you called, try waiting a week. A call is more significant than an email, and communicating with them again too quickly will make it seem like you’re pestering them. Here’s an example of how you might approach this situation:
Hello [NAME],
I called last week, but maybe it wasn’t a great time to call. I think [PRODUCT NAME] is a great option for helping your business to achieve [X], and I would really like to discuss it with you.
If you’re a little busy right now, when would be convenient for you? Alternatively, maybe there’s someone else I can reach out to?
Thanks,
[YOUR NAME]
At first glance, this may seem like an aggressive email because you’re assuming that the other person may not be qualified enough to speak to you. Dig beneath the surface, and you’ll see that you’re giving the other person an ‘out.’ Perhaps they simply don’t have the time and would like to pass on the process of speaking to you anyway, so chase down someone who will take the time to explore their options.
Follow-Up Email After Sending a Contract
Among small businesses, contracts are often sent earlier in the lead generation process. They’re not legally binding contracts in most cases, and are more like quotes. The exception is enterprise sales, where a contract will only make an appearance when the customer is certain to sign. In enterprise sales, it’s extremely unlikely that you’ll need to deliver a no response to email follow-up. So, what do you do if you send a contract as a small business and you don’t receive a response?
Hey [NAME],
I hope your week is going well. Did you have the opportunity to go over the contract I sent you on [DATE]?
If you did, I’d love to be able to answer any questions or handle any of your concerns. I’m excited to start working with you in the near future so we can achieve [X] for [BUSINESS NAME].
Thanks,
[YOUR NAME]
Again, this is short and snappy. It also, once again, highlights what you can do for the prospect’s business. Contracts are a little more in-depth, so don’t worry if they need some extra time. Remember, the contract stage only happens when you’ve already made a strong connection with the prospect. The template above uses positive emotions to demonstrate enthusiasm, support, and encouragement.
Follow-Up Email After Receiving a Sales Inquiry
This can seem like a strange situation — why would you need to know how to write a follow-up email after no response if they reached out to you first? Stay with us, this happens more than you might think. Either way, this is a hot lead that’s worth pursuing as they’ve already signaled interest and a degree of intent. Let’s look at a basic template for this type of situation.
Hi [NAME],
Thanks for sending your message through our website. I’m following up again because I know how easy it is for emails to get lost in a busy inbox.
You said you were interested in [PRODUCT] and want to achieve [X] results for your business. I’d love to set up a time to chat about it. Will you be available for a call on Wednesday afternoon, or would a more convenient time be suitable?
If not, book a slot on my calendar, and I’ll get back to you: [CALENDAR LINK]
Thanks,
[YOUR NAME]
A successful follow-up email after no response in this scenario is all about reminding the lead why they contacted you in the first place. Talk to them about their pain points and how your solution can help them to achieve solid business results. It’s also well worth repeating back any points they made in their initial sales inquiry, such as any business issues they said they were experiencing.
Follow-Up Email After a Successful Connection on Social Media
If you received a bite via social media, sent them an email, and got nothing back, try sending them another email. Of course, the value of social media leads is difficult to measure, but if they seem genuinely interested, it’s well worth following up with them. Here’s one way of how you can follow-up with someone who reached out on social media:
Hey [NAME],
Thanks for reaching out on [SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM] a few days ago. I’m sending you a few resources that I think would help your business to achieve [X] results:
· [Link 1]
· [Link 2]
· [Link 3]
If it’s not a good time for us to connect, I’d still like to stay in contact. Sign up on this form, and I’ll send you the latest product updates, so you can stay in the loop: [LINK TO FORM].
Thanks,
[YOUR NAME]
It’s no secret that social media leads are less reliable than leads coming from other sources. It’s still wise to bring up some potential pain points and to enhance the value of your offering, such as by offering something for free. The fact that they reached out to you on social media in the first place means they’re at least a tiny bit interested. Upping the value could tip the scales in your favor and encourage them to engage with you.
When to Write a Second Follow-Up Email After No Response
What happens if you fail to get a response to a follow-up email? This is where many marketers will give up and assume that the lead isn’t interested in what they have to offer. There are countless studies on how many follow-up emails you should send. It largely depends on the marketer and personal preference. This is well worth experimenting with, as each situation will vary. Too many may actively hurt you, whereas too few can lead to you being ignored.
Either way, sending a second follow-up email after no response is an excellent idea. Leave a slightly larger gap than you did between your initial email and your first follow-up. Again, make sure it remains part of the same email chain. Avoid breakaway emails at any point.
Tips for a Second Follow-Up Email After No Response
- Reiterate Your Interest – Explain to the prospect that you were thinking about how you can support their business. Make it clear that you’re willing to go the extra mile and that you have their best interests at heart.
- Repeat Pain Points – It’s always worth repeating the pain points you may have mentioned before. Keep providing a value-based proposition to show them how you can address those pain points.
- Offer More Resources – Adding value in the form of free resources is a great way to continue to generate interest. By giving them a taste of how your product can help their business, they’re much more likely to become a customer.
- Show Off a Recent Accomplishment – Nailed some great results since you last wrote? Mention it and how you can help them get those same results. Real-world proof is a great way to encourage a response.
- Ask About Any Next Steps – Pose a question asking how you can help them. Questions are always an excellent way of engaging and encouraging a useful response.
These five tips can help you to craft your second follow-up. Ultimately, there’s little difference between follow-up emails. All the guidance above will continue to apply to your subsequent follow-ups. Finally, be aware that it’s also important to know when to quit. If nothing happens over the next few weeks, move your prospect to the inactive list and spend your time on hotter leads.
Conclusion
Sending a follow-up email after no response is always worth the time and effort. Building a database of templates will enable you to handle qualified leads quickly and simply. At Rocket Reach, we take pride in supporting businesses to power up their marketing and supercharge their sales with our email finder solution. To find out more about sales and marketing solutions and how we can help you get better results, contact Rocket Reach today.
