Beyond the First Touch: Turning Cold Leads Warm Through Follow-Up
Leverage Follow-Up Emails to Reignite the Conversation
Sending that first cold email is just the beginning. The real work starts after you press send. Most leads won’t convert after just one email.
In fact, research shows it takes connecting with a prospect an average of 7 times before they become a customer. That’s why having an effective follow-up strategy after your initial cold outreach is absolutely critical.
According to Salesforce, only 2% of leads convert on the first touch. However, that conversion rate jumps to over 15% after 5 or more follow-up messages.
The key is being persistent but also strategic with your follow-up cadence.
Here are some best practices to implement:
First Follow-Up ☝️
Send your first follow-up 2-4 days after the initial outreach if you haven't received a reply.
The goal of this email is to re-open the conversation. Maintain a similar tone and subject line as the original message. Ask a question about something you discussed or provide new information that builds on your initial pitch.
For example, if your first email focused on your team collaboration software, you could highlight a new feature you recently launched in your follow-up. Or ask them if they use any similar solutions now and their thoughts on what's working vs areas for improvement.
Second Follow-Up ✌️
If you don't hear back after the first follow-up, wait 3-5 days and try again. Now it’s time to switch up the subject line so your message catches their eye again. For example, instead of “Following up on team collaboration software”, try “Quick question on streamlining cross-functional workflows”.
Provide additional social proof, customer stories, or detail on the specific benefits they will experience by switching to your solution. Then make it easy for them to take the next step by offering to schedule a quick call to demonstrate the platform.
Follow-Up Cadence 🎯
Once you’ve sent those two or three initial follow-up emails, you need to determine the right ongoing cadence based on your ideal customer’s buying cycle. Highly considered B2B purchases may require spacing out emails 2-3 weeks apart. For a simpler SaaS trial signup, weekly or bi-weekly follow-ups could be more effective to stay top of mind.
The key is varying your messaging, subject lines and calls-to-action in each follow-up to always provide value. Personalize your outreach with unique insights on their pain points or company after doing more research.
Following Up with Non-Responders 🙅♀️
If you’ve followed up 4+ times with no reply, it’s time to reconsider your approach. Go back and evaluate if you targeted the right decision-maker with a truly relevant message. Look them up on LinkedIn to confirm you have the right title, role, and email.
If they switched companies, the email could be outdated. In that case, try messaging them on LinkedIn or finding their new contact information.
You may also need to change up your timing, messaging, subject lines and offers if your initial outreach just wasn’t compelling enough. Consider testing different follow-up intervals, or a new medium like LinkedIn or phone calls.
The bottom line is you should never give up after one attempt.
As the stats show, it takes multiple thoughtful, well-timed and personalized follow-ups to turn a cold lead into a warm prospect ready to engage. Implementing a structured cadence of follow-up messages after your initial cold email outreach could significantly increase your sales.