Crafting the Perfect Follow-Up Message for Negotiation

Here's exactly how I structure my follow-ups to stop deals from slipping or ghosting at the last minute. Buyers ask themselves 5 crucial questions before they spend money. So we match our follow ups to each different question of the buying journey. The questions: 1/ "Do we Have a Problem or Goal that we Urgently need help with?" Follow up examples: Thought Leadership emphasizing the size / importance of the problem. Things like articles from Forbes, McKinsey, HBR or an industry specific publication. Screenshots, summations or info-graphics. NOT LINKS. No one reads them. 2/ "What's out there to Solve the Problem? How do Vendors differ?" Follow up examples: Sample RFP templates with pre-filled criteria. Easy to read buying guides. Especially if written by a 3rd party. 3/ "What Exactly do we need this Solution to do? Who do we feel good about?" Follow up examples: 3 bullets of criteria your Buyers commonly use during evaluations (especially differentiators.) Here's example wording I've used at UserGems 💎: "Thought you might find it helpful to see how other companies have evaluated tools to track their past champions. Their criteria are usually: *Data quality & ROI potential *Security (SOC2 type 2 and GDPR) *How easy or hard is it to take action: set up/training, automation, playbooks Cheers!" 4/ "Is the Juice worth the Squeeze - both $$$ & Time?" Follow up examples: Screenshots of emails, texts or DMs from customers talking about easy set up. Love using ones like the Slack pictured here. Feels more organic and authentic than a marketing case study. 5/ "What's next? How will this get done?" Follow up examples: Visual timelines Introductions to the CSM/onboard team Custom/short videos from CSM leadership When we tailor our follow ups to answer the questions our Buyers are asking themselves - Even (especially!) the subconscious ones Our sales cycles can be smoother, faster and easier to forecast. Buyer Experience > Sales Stages What's your best advice for how to follow up? ps - If you liked this breakdown, join 6,000+ other sellers getting value from my newsletter. Details on my website!

Most follow-up emails are weak. Here’s how to make yours stand out: A meeting’s impact isn’t determined by what happens during the meeting. It’s determined by what happens after it ends. And it all starts with the follow-up email. Here’s how to write a follow-up email that actually gets results: 1. Have ONE clear goal. Don’t send a follow-up just to be polite. Decide what action you want them to take. • Request a proposal? • Introduce you to someone? • Book another meeting? • Move toward a sale? If you don’t have a goal, you probably shouldn’t send the email. 2. Write like a minimalist. Your follow-up email isn’t a novel. • No long intros. • No repeating what was said in the meeting. • No fluff. Get to the point. The less time you take, the more they’ll appreciate it. 3. Make it skimmable. Use: • Lots of white space. • Bullet points. • Short sentences. People don’t read emails. They scan them. Write accordingly. 4. Sound like a friend, not a stranger. This isn’t a cold email. You’ve already met. Write like you’re talking to a friend. 5. Use a subject line that doesn’t suck. Would you open an email with the subject "Meeting Follow-Up?" Probably not. Try something more personal or intriguing instead: • "That thing you asked for? Here it is." • "I warned you this was coming." • "You really got me thinking..." 6. Use a P.S. to grab their attention. People always read the postscript. Use it to: • Add a personal touch (e.g., a funny link based on something they mentioned). • Re-emphasize the action you want them to take. • Make them smile and remember you. Your follow-up email can make or break the outcome of your meeting. Write a good one. 👉 What’s your follow-up strategy?

I just reviewed a follow up email that made me want to delete my LinkedIn account. After an incredible discovery call where the rep: → Uncovered $500K in annual losses → Identified specific pain points → Built genuine rapport with the prospect He sent this follow up: "Hi John, following up on our conversation. Any thoughts on next steps?" I'm not joking. That was the entire email. This rep went from trusted advisor to desperate vendor in one sentence. Here's what he should have sent instead: "John, Based on our conversation about the $500K you're losing annually due to deployment delays, I've put together a brief overview of how we've helped similar companies reduce this impact by 80%. Given the scope of this challenge, when can we get your CFO involved to discuss the business case? Best regards, [Rep name]" The difference is night and day: ❌ Weak follow up: "Any thoughts on next steps?" ✅ Strong follow up: References specific problem + demonstrates value + advances the sale Your follow up emails should sell, not beg. Every touchpoint is an opportunity to: → Reinforce the problems you uncovered → Show how you solve them → Move the deal forward Stop wasting these golden opportunities with generic, desperate sounding messages. Use what you learned in discovery to craft follow-ups that advance the sale. Your prospects are drowning in "just checking in" emails. Be the one who stands out by referencing real business impact. — Reps! Here’s 5 simple follow up strategies to close seals faster and to minimize ghosting: https://lnkd.in/gJRJwzsN