Aren’t we all too familiar with those follow-up emails that have no other goal than to receive a status update? You know, the “Hi, Just checking in” emails.
Here’s the thing with status updates, it gets annoying when there is a big mismatch between the seller’s and the buyer’s timeline.
Do you really think a customer is ready to buy, when they don’t respond rapidly to your offer?
The next time you find an opportunity stagnates, instead of sending out reminder emails, try to uncover the stagnation source. Pick up the phone instead of sending those dreaded email reminders!
Look within your customer’s organization, search amongst your stakeholders. Focus your actions on what you can do to help the customer advance within their buyer’s journey.
You want to: help the customer advance in their buyer’s journey by taking the correct actions, focused on the correct stakeholders, at the correct times.”
Want an easy and powerful approach to align your sales process to the buyer’s journey and get your timing spot on?
Is your answer Yes? Then you’re definitely going to like this article about the MAAP (Mutually Agreed Action Plan).
23 “just checking in” alternatives
Now we’ve got that sorted, if you do decide to send out a “just checking in” email, at least try to add a bit of value. Check out this handy infographic made by Visme.
Be sure to check out the last paragraph of this article before you leave. It’s one of my golden nuggets you’ll definitely appreciate: How to end “just checking in” emails to get responses.
How to end “just checking in” emails to get responses
Whether you’re sending out a cold email or that dreaded “just checking in” message, the goal is similar: get a response.
One of the best ways to trigger the receiver to respond is to end your email with a trigger question.
Trigger questions are designed to confront the receiver with a problem and then ask them how they are handling the problem now.
For the trigger question to work, you’ll need to trigger a problem you’re pretty sure off they haven’t handled correctly yet.
Ideally, the receiver’s answer to the trigger question should be a solid, I haven’t.
Check out these two trigger question examples. They are constructed by Linkedin influencer Belal Batrawy and originally used to start a conversation at the start of a cold call (ps. if you’re interested in reading more about cold calling formula’s that actually work, you would love this article!).
Let’s steal the wisdom behind these cold calling openers, so you can use them as the last sentence in an email, and boost your email response rate.
Did you notice the words “what” and “cobbling together” in the second example? A master example of gentle provocation.
The word “what” is used to confront, the word “cobbling together” is used to evoke a negative emotion.
As said, our goal is to trigger a problem we’re pretty sure off they haven’t handled correctly yet, to create the urgency that is needed to get the customer to respond now.
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Take care — Mohamed Ali
