How to Follow Up After a Cold Call

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!

4 reasons why I always double (or triple tap) to start an outreach sequence. *The only double tap I no longer do is cold-calling a prospect twice in a row. I already have enough anxiety. I don't need to make other people feel anxious by making them worry if a loved one is in trouble and trying to reach them.* Otherwise, double-tapping is a KEY strategy I use when building sequences for myself and my clients. 👉 Here's why: 1. Enhanced Recall The first touchpoint in an outreach sequence might not always stick with your prospect. They’re busy, their inbox is flooded, and your message could easily get overlooked. That’s why a quick follow-up is crucial. By doubling down with a second touchpoint shortly after the first, you’re making sure your message isn’t forgotten. Rapid repetition helps solidify your presence in their mind, making it more likely that they’ll remember you—and take action. 2. Persistence without Pressure No one likes to be hounded, but showing a little persistence can pay off. The double tap strikes a balance between being attentive and respectful. W hen you follow up soon after your initial outreach, it signals to your prospect that you’re serious, but not overly aggressive. This approach can increase the likelihood of a response without making them feel pressured. 3. Multi-Channel Engagement Using different channels for each tap can make your outreach even more effective. Maybe you start with an email, then follow up with a LinkedIn message or a phone call. This multi-channel approach engages your prospects in different ways, making it harder for them to ignore you. Each channel reinforces the other, keeping your outreach fresh and top of mind. 4. Creating a Sense of Urgency Timing is everything. When you follow up quickly, you create a subtle sense of urgency that can nudge your prospect to respond sooner rather than later. In a competitive market, this can make all the difference. A well-timed double tap shows that you’re on the ball and that connecting with this prospect is important to you—encouraging them to prioritize your outreach as well. -- Enjoyed this post? Click here 👉lnkd.in/emVkCrf3 to hit follow & ring my 🔔 for more #SalesSequences #OutboundSales #ColdOutreach #SalesConsultant P.S. why do I look so sweaty in this video? I must have really been getting worked up about outbound sales.

Here's a simple tip to increase your show rates on sales meetings. I answered my phone on a Friday afternoon a few weeks ago to a cold call. I was bought in, but not an immediate priority, so I asked to book the discovery call for this week. The problem is that I forgot all about it. Each Sunday, I review my schedule for the upcoming week. This week, I noticed a 30 min meeting, "Company <> The Sales Factory" That's all it said. Now, because I forgot about it, I had no idea what this meeting was. I went into the invite. No description. I searched my email. No email. I searched the company and finally remembered what it was all about. BUT if I didn't review my schedule ahead of time and that meeting came up suddenly without context I may have declined it. This happens often. You book a meeting. The prospect accepts it. Then 10 mins before the actual meeting, you get a decline. What happened? Time is precious, so if you book a meeting with a prospect... Reduce the friction and make it easy! Add a description to the meeting of what it's about, what will be covered, and what to expect. It is also good and recommended to send a recap email and intro to all parties of the meeting right after you book it! And if you book the meeting further than a week or two out ensure you follow up to remind and confirm. Make it friction-LESS. Your results will increase. 

This week I'm thinking a lot about how done is better than perfect, inspired by a sales coaching conversation I had with a client last week. She was a bit stuck, worry about WHEN to follow up after a meeting with a potential referral partner. Should she follow up a week later? 3 days later? etc. Here's what I said --> Create a system that you always do after each meeting. It doesn't have to be perfect in terms of scientifically timing each follow up but it should be something that you ALWAYS do. It could look something like this: 1️⃣ The Post-Meeting Routine: Take 15 minutes immediately after each meeting to log detailed notes in your CRM. Document key pain points, objections raised, and next steps discussed. This ensures you capture insights while they're fresh. 2️⃣ The Calendar Commitment: Create calendar reminders for each follow-up touchpoint in your plan. Set specific dates for thank-you emails, value-add communications, and next steps outreach. This eliminates the mental energy spent wondering when to follow up – it just shows up on the calendar. 3️⃣ The CRM Nudge System Use your CRM's task features to create a sequence of follow-up reminders with specific actions attached to each. Set it up to alert you at 24-hour, 3-day, 10-day, and 21-day intervals to keep your prospects from falling through the cracks. The intervals aren't the important thing here. It's the automation that helps maintain momentum without requiring perfect memory. The best system isn't about timing – it's about having a process you'll actually stick to. What's one way you could make your follow-up process more systematic this week?

My followup emails after meetings get an 63% reply rate...80%+ if you count the people who don't reply and just book the next meeting. Here's how I write one in under 10 mins. The main parts of my followup emails are: 1. Subject line 2. Greeting 3. Rapport 4. What I heard 5. Empowering CTA/Offer 6. Close This requires a call recorder with "Ask AI" to be quick and easy. You can cobble it together with transcripts pasted into ChatGPT, too. 📩 Subject line Prompt: Look at this entire conversation. If there was one word that you would use to represent the most important buyer-centric topic or issue, what would it be? Always 1 word, not capitalized. 🤔: the point of a subject line is to get someone to read an email, not to summarize the content of the email. 📩 Greeting I am a big user of the word "Yo!" But, I change based on the conversation I've had. I try to take the energy of the call I just had and amp it up a notch. Main thing - make it you. 🤔: A greeting is a chance to set the energy of the email! 📩 Rapport Prompt: Look at this entire conversation. What are 2 or 3 areas of commonality or personal connection that reminding someone of could create a deeper relationship? I don't always need this prompt as something is usually top of mind, but I try to inject a little humor here. 🤔: When you stop working on a relationship, it stops working. 📩 What I Heard Prompt: What are 3-5 problems that Mr./Ms. X said that Operator can solve? I want the exact quote in their words. I'm looking for at least 3. I make sure they are all 1 sentence, and I always put a dash with a little "pitch" for each one. Example: You need 2-3 more meetings per rep per month to close your pipeline coverage gap - you can get 1-2 high value accounts per month into a rep's pipeline using compelling messaging around provable business problems they are already suffering from 🤔: Begin with the end in mind. Knowing I'm going to followup this way means I actually make sure to really dig in and make these good during the call bc if I can't find 3 good ones in the transcript, I didn't do good discovery and the deal is already at risk. 📩 Empowering CTA/Offer A CTA is a Call to Action, not a Cause to Ask, yet most reps just ask for something. Because I know the next step in the process and sold it in the meeting, I am able to do a CTA that creates forward momentum in a meeting. Example: Send me over those 2 high value accounts you want to see our results for. Here's my calendar {{link}}. Grab some time so we can review them together. Super interested in your feedback. After we're done, you can have the data. 🤔: CTAs should move the buyer to the next meeting or milestone, not just ask for something. Think of how to make the CTA an offer, not just an ask. ♻️ Consider reposting if you want better followup emails. ❓ Do you use a template for followup emails?

Want to increase your closed-won rate? Here are 3 types of 'follow-ups' that help me close more: 1. The Pre-Meeting Follow Up When I book a meeting with a prospect over email, LinkedIn, or on the phone I ask if we can set aside 5 minutes to collaborate on an agenda. I also send over a relevant use case the day before the meeting. These 'follow ups' build rapport and trust before jumping on the first call. 2. The Breadcrumbs I posted about this last week and many people loved it. The concept is simple: stay top of mind. After a discovery call, I don't send everything over in one email. I only send the summary and next steps. Based on when the next meeting is, I sporadically send relevant documents they asked for, use cases, and helpful information leading up to the next meeting. Prospects will forget you quickly after the call. Don't let them. 3. The Post-Meeting Follow Up If you have a champion, shoot them an email and ask if you can hop on the phone for 5 minutes. On this call, it's very important to get an understanding on how they believe the call went. If you don't have a champion, email each attendee separately after the call and ask if they got their questions answered and what else you can provide. **This is 100x more effective if you write down what each person asked/how their body language was. You can then use this to guide the email follow up** My guess is 90% of reps aren't doing this. It's all about delivering a good experience and working with them as if you're on THEIR team, not a sales rep. Do these for each deal and watch how smooth the deals flow. Like this info? I run a free sales community on Slack. There's 600+ sellers in it and these tips are shared daily. Submit an invite request here: https://lnkd.in/dXxvZbWS

FOLLOW UP! It's mind-boggling how many SDRs drop the ball after a cold call. Even more baffling? The sheer number who stop at just one follow-up, crossing their fingers for a miracle. The secret sauce to unlocking more opportunities? It's all in the follow-up game. Hit them with an email post-call, then keep at it with calls and emails. Yet, so many SDRs miss this golden ticket. Underrated doesn't even begin to describe it. Many fresh SDRs are sleeping on the sheer power of the follow-up. You end the call, maybe it wasn't stellar, didn't get the enthusiastic response you aimed for. No problem! Shoot them a recap email. 📧 That email might just be the game-changer. Maybe they missed your value prop, were juggling tasks, or simply prefer email chats. Countless times, I've wrapped up a call, fired off a personalized recap with some eye-catching visuals, and BOOM - positive response. Sometimes, I toss them into a Reply sequence, working it for a solid 2 weeks. And guess what? That's not where it ends. Don't be that person who sends one lonely follow-up and then ghosts the prospect. Let's hit you with some stats: "48% of sales reps don't even attempt a first follow-up" “Only ~2% of sales are made on the first point of contact” “44% of sales reps give up after the first follow-up” “80% of sales require 5 follow-ups” “60% of prospects reject 4 times before saying yes” So, dear SDR... - Always follow up your calls with a killer email. - Never throw in the towel after round one. - And don't stop at just one follow-up. P.S.: "Bump" or "Bumping this to the top of your inbox" is a no-go zone. 🚫 Inject value into each follow-up: - Maybe an enlightening article. - A compelling proof point stat. - A sneak peek at a new feature. - A video overview your prospect might love. Options are endless for value-packed follow-ups. Leave the "Bump" in the dust! 🌟 #sdr #bdr #sales

✨The Power of the Follow-Up: Where Deals Are Won (or Lost)✨ In medical sales, the initial conversation is just the beginning, but the real magic happens in the follow-up. How many times have you had a great meeting, only to let the opportunity slip because you didn’t follow up effectively? Here’s what I’ve learned: It’s not about being pushy, it’s about being present. Here’s how I approach follow-ups to add value and keep the conversation going: - Recap and reinforce: After a meeting, I send a quick recap of the discussion, highlighting the key points we covered and emphasizing how my solution can help. - Provide something extra: Every follow-up includes something valuable, an article, case study, or even a simple insight related to their challenges. This keeps me top of mind while building trust. - Stay consistent: I schedule follow-ups like any other meeting. Whether it’s a week later or a month, I stay committed without letting leads go cold. The best follow-ups aren’t just reminders, they’re opportunities to deepen the relationship and show you’re invested in solving their problems. Sales isn’t about the one big pitch; it’s about creating multiple touchpoints that deliver value every step of the way. What are your strategies for effective follow-ups? Share your tips below. I’d love to learn from you!