Warning: I sent a 'perfect' follow-up email and it totally backfired

I used a template from here for a potential project lead, a 3-day follow-up with a clear call to action, and the person replied asking to be removed from all future communications. This happened last Tuesday with a lead from a Phoenix networking event. What's a better way to phrase a follow-up so it feels less like a scripted demand?

3 comments

3 Comments

owens.laura11d ago

Maybe the template wasn't the problem at all? What if that lead was just a bad fit from the start and their rude reply saved you a ton of future hassle. Sometimes a canned follow-up works fine and it just filters out people you wouldn't want to work with anyway. Why change a system that probably works on better leads just because one person got snippy? Could it be that any follow-up would have annoyed this particular person?

kevinallen10d ago

Honestly, had a client just like that last month.

sam_cooper10d ago

Yikes, that's harsh. Look, a canned email is a canned email, and people can smell it from a mile away. I get what @kevinallen is saying about bad fits, but if your follow-up feels like a robot wrote it, you're setting the wrong tone from the start. You need to sound like a person who actually remembers the conversation, not just a system sending a demand. Try writing two lines from scratch that reference something you talked about.