Unpopular opinion: Your 'perfect' follow-up email template is probably making clients ignore you

I was at a networking event in Phoenix last week and heard a guy bragging about his 'foolproof' three-email follow-up sequence. He said he sends the same exact three messages, spaced two days apart, to every lead. I almost choked on my drink. That's not a system, that's spam with a schedule. I used to do something similar, sending a generic 'Just checking in' email after our first talk. My reply rate was terrible. Then I started adding one line from our actual conversation, like 'You mentioned your dog Bruno hates hardwood floors, so here's that article on pet-friendly carpets I promised.' The difference was night and day. People can spot a copy-pasted template from a mile away. If you're not putting in the tiny bit of work to make it personal, you're just adding noise to their inbox. What's one specific detail you always try to include to make a follow-up feel real?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_mary13d ago

Pet-friendly carpets" - how do you even remember details like that?

the_rose13d ago

How is remembering a dog's name any harder than remembering a client's business problem? @the_mary, you just listen and write it down. I keep a note on my phone. The real issue is calling a three-email blast a "system." That's just lazy. Personal detail is the bare minimum, not some magic trick. If you can't be bothered to reference the actual conversation, you shouldn't be hitting send.

finleym3713d ago

So you keep a note on your phone. What does that note actually look like? Is it just a list of names and facts, or do you write down the tone of the conversation too, like if they sounded stressed about a deadline or excited about a new project?