How to Write a Good Reminder Email? Guide & Examples

If writing reminder emails makes you uncomfortable, don’t worry, you are not alone! Our instinct is that if someone doesn’t respond to a first email, they are not interested and will not appreciate receiving a second email.

In reality though, very few prospects say “yes” the first time. A study by publisher Iko System, based on the analysis of its customer data, showed that the first prospecting email received an average response rate of 18%, the 4th a response rate of 13%…and the 6th a response rate of…27%!

Another similar study, this time by Yesware, shows a 30% response rate to the first email. This rate decreases from email to email, but the tenth email still shows a response rate of 7%, which is far from negligible.

All this to say: do follow up with your leads. Once, twice, three times, four times, etc.

But it has to be done intelligently. Luckily that’s what this article is about.

How long should I wait between reminder emails?

It is worthwhile to start by answering this question. Or at least: try to answer it. Beyond the content of the reminder emails, it is essential to identify a good timing between each reminder. The answer, even if it varies in detail depending on the context, can be summed up as: “not long”.

The majority of emails are opened the same day they are received. Furthermore, when a recipient intends to respond to a prospecting email, they usually do so on the day they open it. It is therefore fair to assume that if a contact does not respond on the day you send the email, they will never respond. There’s no point in waiting for a response for 2 or 3 days. Here arethe statistics that Yesware proposes in its study:

To return to the original question: how long should you wait for each reminder? As a general rule, it is advisable to wait two or three days before sending the first reminder email. After that, the time between reminders should increase as each reminder is sent. As you will have understood, there is no absolute rule, but the principle is the same. For example:

• First reminder email on D+2
• Second reminder email on D+4
• Third reminder email on D+7
• Fourth reminder email on D+14
• Fifth reminder email on D+30

The different types of reminder emails

There are many possible follow-up email formats, depending on the different situations and stages of your sales funnel, but here we will introduce you to the following 3 types of follow-up emails:

The poke. We use these follow-up emails to identify inactive prospects and motivate them to respond or act.

The reminder. These emails remind prospects of their weaknesses and the solutions we have offered them.

The extra info. The purpose of these follow-up emails is to educate prospects and explain why our service will work for them.

#1 The poke

These follow-up emails are sent a few days or a week after the sales call. Their purpose is to find out if the prospect has managed to discuss your offer with the rest of the decision-makers, to explore the information you have sent. In this email, you don’t have to do anything except push your prospects to act, give a signal.

Example 1
Hello {First name},
It was a pleasure to speak with you on {Date},
I’m coming back to you to see if you’ve had time to look over the proposal I sent you, and if it’s appropriate to continue our discussions about {Your product} for {Company}.
If so, please feel free to complete the {following steps} so that we can offer you a free trial of our {offer}.
Thank you, see you soon.

Example 2
Hello {First name},
I haven’t heard back from you yet, where are we?
Thanks, see you soon,

Example 3
Hello {First name},
I am coming back to you after our last exchanges to know where you were in your reflection process? I still think that our collaboration could bring you real added value.
I remain at your disposal for any questions,
Thank you, see you soon.

Example 4
Hello {First name},
I hope you are well,
Just a friendly reminder about our last exchanges. Have you had time to think about our collaboration?
I look forward to hearing from you,

As you can see, the main requirements for pokes are as follows:

• Be brief but informative, do not add product information;
• Be frequent (send poke once every 2-5 days);
• Be sure to outline our next steps and ask for closure.

#2 The reminder

The purpose of these emails is similar to that of the “pokes”, but the reminders should be personalised to meet the needs of the customer and address the agreements made by each party in a sales call.

Your ability to customise a callback template depends on your ability to do your job as a salesperson. In a sales call, you need to qualify your prospects, find out what their needs are, how long they need to make a decision, what their budget is, etc. Then you need to use this data to create a follow-up template. Then you need to use this data to create a follow-up template.

Below is an example of a reminder. You can customise it as you wish, as long as you manage to insert the prospect’s pain points that you learnt on a call, and show how your service or product can solve them.

Example
Hello {First name},
You seemed to be interested in {Your product}, when we last spoke.
{Company} should benefit greatly from it given your {Stress Point 1} and {Stress Point 2} concerns. I would really like to hear from you on this to see how we can help you achieve your {Objective}.
Could I call you in the next few days to discuss this? When are you available?
Thank you, see you soon.

Remember that the CTA is important. You don’t need to push your prospect to make another call on your second and third callbacks. However, after two to three weeks, you will need a more detailed reminder and a CTA that encourages the prospect to make another call with you.

If you do not get a response after three reminders, you can use other channels such as LinkedIn, the telephone or the additional info as explained below.

#3 Additional information

Usually these emails don’t get much response, but if we send information to help our prospect without asking for anything in return, the effect will be exactly the opposite. As a marketer, you know what your prospects need. Let’s say prospect A needs new leads and new sales channels.

You can respond with a generic message “Here’s the information about our services that can help you with the channels you’re interested in, let’s make a call” OR you can write “I know you’re looking for new sales channels at the moment, I hope this article gives you some advice. Take care”.

In the latter case, prospects will review the materials you have provided and thank you and your company for providing valuable information.

It doesn’t even have to be your content. You can use videos, blog posts and content from other sources, as long as they are interesting and match your prospects’ pain points.

Exemple 1
Bonjour {Prénom},
Nous organisons un webinar jeudi prochain au sujet de {sujet webinar}.
Le webinar aura lieu sur Zoom le {date & heure}. Voici le lien pour vous inscrire : {lien}.
Merci et à jeudi !

Example 2
Hello {First name},
I hope you and your loved ones are well during these difficult times.
Please take a look at this article which details how COVID-19 can impact B2B sales. I think you might find it useful!
Thanks, see you soon.

Example 3
Hello {First name},
I just came across this article today, I really think you might be interested!
{Article link}
Thanks, see you soon.

Remember to prepare your email sequences well to ensure that it works best.

Some tips to keep in mind

• Divide your follow-ups into categories. Each follow-up email serves a particular purpose. To get the most value out of them, know when to send a poke and how to speed up your results with the “extra info”.
• Establish a timetable for each type of monitoring. All types of follow-up have a particular cadence. Some may be sent more frequently than others, but to be sure, you should pay close attention to your schedule.
• Get useful data through communication. Your sales call is an opportunity to get useful information that will be incorporated into your callbacks. That’s why you need to map out your conversation and write down the questions that are most important to your prospect.
• Share and care. By being helpful without expecting a reward, you offer a refreshing experience to your prospects. Don’t be afraid to take your time to craft a relevant and rewarding email that is sure to catch your prospect’s attention. It won’t be an immediate conclusion, but it will convince your prospects to stay and raise their positive expectations.

Structure of a successful follow up e-mail

Now you know why it’s important to follow up on your prospects and how long you should wait between email follow-ups. Let’s get to the heart of the matter: how to write your follow-up emails? We’ll give you four tips, along with sample emails (which you can use to edit your email reminder templates).

But, first of all, you need to be clear about what you are looking for, what your objectives are through these follow-up emails. A prospecting email in general, and a follow-up email in particular, can have several objectives: to obtain information about the prospect, to schedule a meeting, to sell… It is up to you to determine this objective. Afterwards, obviously, this objective can vary from one campaign to another, and even from one follow-up email to another. But when you design an email, you must have the objective in mind.

#1 Add context at the beginning of your email

You should start by refreshing your prospect’s memory, reminding them of the content of your first email or interaction with them. Even if the prospect has completely forgotten the first email or phone call, they are more likely to respond positively to the reminder if you remind them that they have already heard of you.

Examples:

• “I wanted to follow up on the email I sent you [Date] about [Subject of first email]”.
• “I wanted to get back to you regarding the email I sent you [Date] about [Subject of first email]”.
• “I wanted to come back to you to ask you what you thought of [Subject of first email]”.
• “This may sound a bit odd, but I know you read my first email”. (bolder…).

Find out how to write the perfect prospecting email.

#2 Explain why you are following up

You should then explain to your prospect the reasons for your reminder, in a direct and concise manner. Get straight to the point: tell your prospect what you want from them. If it hasn’t changed since the last email you sent, call them back.

Some examples are given below:

• “I think [Name of your product] could really help you to [One of the prospect’s tasks] more effectively. I’d love to talk to you about it and see if I’m wrong or not.
• “I think [Name of your product] could really help you and I was wondering if you would be interested in trying it out for a month (for free, of course).”
• “We have just launched [Name of your product], and I think it could make a big difference to [One of the prospect’s missions]. Below is a link to a resource that will tell you more about the product we offer. But ideally we should discuss your current needs together so that I can show you in concrete terms how you could use [Name of your product].”

#3 Include a call-to-action

You should do everything you can to get your prospect to respond, to do what you want them to do. For example, if you want to schedule a meeting with them, offer them a date and time (and also a location, if it is a face-to-face meeting).

Examples:

• “Would 2:30 next Wednesday be OK?”
• “Are you the right person to talk to about this? If not, could you tell me who to contact?”
• “If you are interested in getting more information, just say “Yes”. I will send you some documentation”.

#4 Conclude your follow-up email

You should conclude in a way that is natural and in a friendly tone. The conclusion is a very personal thing. Feel free to deviate from the examples below.

Examples:

• Tell me what you think! [Your name]
• If you have any questions, don’t hesitate. [Your name]
• Let’s talk again soon? [Your name]
• I hope to hear from you soon. [Your name]

Discover the best tools for email prospecting.

Some examples of follow-up emails

Finally, and because illustrations are always better than any explanations, here are some examples of prospect follow-up emails.

Reminder email – Example #1

Hello [Name of prospect],Can I call you quickly [Date] at [Time]?

Kind regards,

[Your name]
PS: I think you might be interested in this article: [Link]

Reminder email – Example #2

Hello [Name of prospect],

I haven’t heard from you since last week, when I contacted you to get the contact details of the person in charge of [Role] in your company.

Could you tell me who to contact?

Thank you in advance,

[Your name]

Reminder email – Example #3

Hello [Name of prospect].

I contacted you some time ago to discuss the business development strategy of [Prospect’s company name]. I assume that you did not respond to me for one of three reasons:

• You are not interested.
• You have found another solution for [Action related to business development].
• You are a superhero in your second life and have been too busy solving crimes to answer me.

If one of these reasons is right, I think we should get in touch.

Thank you,

[Your name]

Discover the best tools for generating leads from LinkedIn.

Reminder email – Example #4

Hello [Name of prospect], I tried to contact you to see if there was a possible match between our expertise and your objectives in [Challenge, Activity].

If you are not interested, or if someone else would be better suited to answer, please let me know.

Would you be interested in a 5 to 10 minute discussion to identify possible partnerships between our two companies?

If not, who would you recommend I contact?

Thanks to you,

[Your name]

Reminder email – Example #5

Hello [Prospect Name],This message is in response to the email I sent you [Date]. No member of your team has contacted me since. If you are interested in meeting with me, please let me know when it would be convenient for you.

If not, who is the most appropriate person to talk about these issues?

Thank you for your help,

[Your name]

Reminder email – Example #6

Hello [Prospect’s name]I tried to reach you by phone and left you a message on the answering machine. I would like to discuss [Subject] with you. Please call me back at [Phone number] or send me a short message if you get a chance.

Thank you!

[Your name]

That’s it! Obviously, copying and pasting would be pointless. But we hope that these examples will help you to optimise your follow-up emails. That was the whole point: