Sales follow-up email examples & exercise

P.S.:
(abbreviation) This means 'postscript', although it always shortened in email or letter writing to 'P.S.'. It is always used at the end of emails (after you write your name and job title) to introduce a new topic in the email that you've not written about in the rest of the email.

Although the real purpose of follow-up sales emails is to sell, the main subject of good sales follow-up emails is normally different (e.g. to give information, check if they have something etc...). 'P.S.' can be used to write about what the real purpose of the email is (i.e. to try to sell or get them to do something), as it is used to write about something which is different (to change topic) from what you've written about in the rest of the email. For example, 'P.S. If you buy 2 books from us this week you'll receive a third book for free'.

A phrase which is used in the same way as 'P.S.' is 'by the way'.

In Spanish: no translation.

I've been thinking about:
(phrase) This phrase is used to introduce the reason why you are writing to them. It's important that you explain what the reason you're sending the email to the person is as soon as you can in the email.

For me, the reason you give in the email for sending it (e.g. to give information, check if they have something etc...), should be different to what the real purpose of it is (which is to sell or get them to do something). The reason you choose should be something which will encourage the person to read more (giving free advice or help is a good reason for example). You can then talk about your real purpose at a later point in the email.

There are many different phrases which you can use to introduce the reason of the email (e.g. 'I was wondering whether...', 'I'd just like to confirm...'). Obviously, which you choose to use depends on the reason you're giving. For example, 'I was wondering whether you have implemented the new EU standards in your call center?'.

In Spanish: no translation.

If you're too busy, I'll contact you:
(phrase) This phrase is used to encourage the person receiving the email to get in contact with you. No matter how good a sales follow-up email is, most of the people reading it will not respond. This phrase tells the reader that you will contact them if they don't respond, which should increase the number of people replying. This is very effective if you have the potential customer's phone number (in my opinion it is easier to make sales on the phone than through emails).

This phrase goes near the end of the email and should go after a sentence where you ask them to contact you. You can follow it by saying how you will contact them (e.g. 'by phone'), although you don't have to. But you should always say when you'll contact them at the very end. For example 'if you're too busy, I'll contact you in a couple of day'.

Be aware that this is quite pushy/aggressive, so some people may not like it.

In Spanish: no translation.

Take advantage of this superb offer:
(phrase) If the main/real purpose of the follow-up email is to talk about a promotion, discount or offer, you can use this phrase. Two of the techniques that advertisers use when writing sales copy (text to make/persuade people to buy things) is to use verbs as they are used in commands/orders (e.g. 'contact us' instead of 'you can contact us' or 'please contact us') and using superlatives (e.g. 'the best', 'the greatest' etc...). This phrase contains both ('take advantage' and 'superb'). When trying to sell things to people you should include these types of words.

In my experience, using these type of words/phrases works a lot better with potential non-business customers than it does with business/professional customers (they are less impulsive when buying things). In fact, this type of sales strategy may annoy potential business/professional customers.

In Spanish: no translation.

By the way:
(phrase) This phrase is used to introduce a new topic that you want to write about in an email. It is used in the same way as 'P.S.', but whereas 'P.S.' is used at the end of the email, 'by the way' is used in the body/main part of the email.

Although the real purpose of the emails is to sell, the main subject of good sales follow-up emails is normally different (e.g. to give information, to check if they have something etc...). 'by the way' can be used to allow you to write about what the real purpose of the email is (i.e. to try to sell or get them to do something), as it is used to change the topic of the email. For example, 'by the way, if you buy 2 books from us this week you'll receive a third book for free'.

The phrase 'by the way' is always followed by a comma (see the above example).

In Spanish: no translation.

I think will be of great benefit to you:
(phrase) In my opinion, being very direct and just talking about the product/service that you want to sell is normally not very effective in a sales follow-up email. Most people will just not respond to the email. But if in the email you actually give advice/help to the potential customer or give them some useful information (like a free guide etc...), you will not only have more opportunity to persuade them to buy, but they will appreciate you more for the help you've done for them.

You would use this phrase when you are giving them this non-sales advice/help/information. The phrase is just used as a recommendation.

In Spanish: no translation.

You recently downloaded:
(phrase) When you start your follow-up email, one of the first things you need to do is to explain the contact the person you're sending it to has had with either you or somebody in your company (e.g. 'I sent you an email about...' etc...) or with your website/company before (e.g. 'you became a member of our....' etc...). You do this so the person receiving it will know that the email is not unrequested spam, but a valid email. So they will read more of it.

'you recently downloaded' is just one of a number of different phrases you can use to do this. Whatever phrase you use to say what form of previous contact the potential customer has had with you or your company, you need to say when it happened. For example, 'thank you for speaking with me yesterday', 'we spoke last month about...' etc...

You can also include your name (e.g. 'my is Chris Smith. we spoke...') and the name of your company, but this is not necessary if you have had direct previous contact with the person before. You can also explain what the contact or action was (e.g. 'I sent you an email about our service agreement last week ' etc...) if you want to.

In Spanish: no translation.

If you'd like:
(phrase) For me, sales follow-up emails shouldn't or don't have to only focus on getting a sale straight away. They can also be used to open up communication with the potential customer to find out more information about them and lead to future sales.

A good way to do this is by asking them questions where they have to reply to you. The phrase 'if you'd like...' is used to get the person to respond to your email. Even if they don't reply to you, you will have a valid reason for either sending another email to them or to call them.

One good tactic of using this is offer to send them something for free (e.g. a guide or report). People are more likely to respond if you are giving something away for free and you will be able to find out more about the customer (especially if you give them a choice of things to receive). For example, 'if you'd like, I can send you a copy of our guide on making chairs or making tables?'.

In Spanish: no translation.

Plus:
(conjunction) When you are trying to sell a product or offer to somebody, it is important to talk about what the benefits of it are to the potential customer (e.g. 'listen to music for 12 hours without a recharge' etc...). Talking about the benefits can persuade/convince people to buy. In my experience, you should list more than one benefit and your choice of the benefits you say should depend on what you think is most useful or beneficial to the potential customer (e.g. a business customer will want different things from a mobile/cell phone than a non-business customer).

'plus' is used to introduce an additional/second benefit. You can use 'in addition' or 'also' instead to do this, but for me 'plus' sounds more positive. If you want to add/introduce a third benefit, use 'and' to do this. For example 'if you buy today, you'll get 20% off. Plus a years free insurance and a free pair of sunglasses'.

In Spanish: no translation.

I hope you are well:
(phrase) When I was working in sales, my boss told me 'people don't buy from companies, they buy from people'. What he meant is that if people know and trust you, they are more likely to buy from you. Although I wouldn't agree with this 100%, building up a relationship with a potential or existing customer which isn't just focused on you constantly selling them things, does help. With business customers, I often used to ask them questions about sport or if they were busy or their holiday plans when I spoke to them on the phone or in person.

'I hope you are well' is an example of a phrase which you can use in a follow-up email once you have built up a relationship with the person, but there are many others (e.g. 'how was your holiday?' etc...). Using this type of what are called 'small talk' phrases, not only makes the email more personal (and less like an advert or sales pitch), but makes the email more likely to be read and replied to.

Always use these small talk phrases at the very start of the email. The most important thing to remember, is to only use this type of phrase in your email if you have had some direct contact with the other person in the past. If you haven't, then don't use small talk, it just sounds false.

In Spanish: no translation.

If you buy before:
(phrase) For most people, buying things is an impulse or an emotional decision. So the likelihood that a person will buy something decreases the longer they think about. Advertisers and marketers use many strategies to try to make people buy quickly. One of the most common methods used is limited time promotions or offers (e.g. '25% discount when you buy today').

This phrase is used to tell the person reading the email about a promotion or offer. It is followed by the date when the promotion/offer finishes and then by details of what the promotion/offer is. For example, 'if you buy before the 25th of June, you'll receive a free leather jacket'.

In my experience, using these type of promotions/offers works a lot better with potential non-business customers than it does with business/professional customers (they are less impulsive when buying things). In fact, this type of sales strategy may annoy potential business/professional customers.

In Spanish: no translation.