Are you worried that your sales follow up email comes across as way too pushy?
Do you want to follow-up in a way that’s more natural, doesn’t feel “salesy”, and leads to impressive results?
In consulting, follow-up is more important than your first outreach.
But many consultants are terrified of coming across as pushy.
The last thing they want is a potential client to say “stop contacting me.”
If you’re feeling this way, don’t fret. It’s a common mindset even among experienced consultants.
Is there a better way to follow-up with your clients — a way that they actually enjoy and appreciate?
Elliot Begoun, Clarity Coaching advisor and client and Founder of TIG Brands, discovered a better way to follow-up: using empathy-based emails. It’s been a gamechanger for his business.
The more you make follow-up a priority, the fuller your pipeline will be.
By the end of this article, you’ll have a step-by-step sales follow-up email strategy that will help you get more clients.
Our Role As Consultants
Clients don’t want your process. They don’t want your methodology.
What they really want is someone who understands their problem — what’s keeping them up at night.
They want someone who will come alongside them and help solve it.
With your sales follow-up emails, Follow the Principle of Empathy:
“Empathy is the foundation of human-centered design. The problems you’re trying to solve are rarely your own, they’re those of particular consumers. Build empathy for your consumers by learning their values.”
—Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford
In your follow-ups, when you lead with empathy, you’ll get a much better response.
Elliot’s approach is based on 3 roles — the 3 roles of any consultant:
Observe
View your ideal clients and their behavior in the context of their lives.
What are they working on? What’s important to them right now? What challenges are they facing?
Engage
You engage with your potential clients through short ‘intercept’ encounters.
Instead of making these intercepts all about your process or expertise, you simply reinforce empathy:
“I get you.” and “I hear you.”
Immerse
Immerse yourself in the life of your client. Put on their shoes. Experience what they experience.
If you can view the world the way they see it, all your communication will resonate much more.
By practicing these 3 roles, not a single person has asked Elliot to stop messaging them.
And if someone did?
He wouldn’t change his approach. They weren’t a good fit anyways.
The 3 “Buckets” For Your Email Nurture Sequence
Elliot separates the people in his CRM into 3 “buckets.”
Brands
Brands are the clients that are a good fit for Elliot’s consulting services. With these leads, he’s looking to nurture and build relationships with them.
A follow-up email to people in this bucket might look like…
“Hey, I just thought about you. What’s going on? Would love to hear from you. Just letting you know we care.”
Service Providers
Service Providers are other companies that Elliot uses to help their brands. By cultivating relationships with these people, they add value to Elliot’s clients and also serve as powerful referral partners.
A follow-up email to people in this bucket might look like…
“Hey, any big wins lately? Anything you want me to share on social for you? Would love to hear from you.”
Influencers
Influencers include investors, buyers, and other key players in his market. They aren’t potential clients or referral partners, but they are generally good to know in your market.
A follow-up email to people in this bucket might look like…
“Hey, what’s new with you? What are you working on this week? Would love to know what you’re up to.”
It’s not just about nurturing client relationships — but ecosystem relationships. Think about your industry as a whole.
Consistent, Empathy-Based Selling
Once someone has booked a call, there is no agenda. They’re just check-in calls. Elliot books 15 of these calls per week.
Think of a natural, normal conversation. It’s the same approach you’d take following up with a friend.
Examples of what he might say on this call:
- “How are things with you?”
- “What are you working on these days”
- “Give me a shout if you need any help with that.”
Notice the lack of a script. Notice how it’s focused on the recipient, not Elliot.
Forget about making a sale, and let it flow.
Using this approach, not a single person has asked Elliot to stop contacting them.
As he says…
“Until someone says you’re a pain, keep it going.”
And you’ll never be a pain when you lead with empathy.
Never give up too early. It’s a matter of timing more than empathy.
Action Step: Structure Your Pipeline For This Sales Follow Up Email
If you want to make your follow-ups effective, implement Elliot’s strategy in your CRM.
Set up 3 “buckets”:
- Brands: potential clients you’d like to work with.
- Services Providers: other companies in your industry that can provide value to your clients.
- Influencers: key people in your industry who are important to know.
Then, set up an automated reminder for each person. If after 14 days they haven’t gotten a “touch” (a short intercept email), follow-up with them.
Make your follow-up emails, short, punchy, and empathetic. Use in combination with a tool like Calendly to book short, 15-minute check-up calls.
Strive to have 3x your annual revenue in your pipeline at all times.
Your point of contact can come in many different ways. All of this helps you stay top of mind — and consistent. Commit to the long-term.
By using this strategy, you’ll win more consulting business. It’s that simple.
What are your biggest challenges when following-up with potential clients?
How could you use the principle of empathy to improve your follow-ups?
Leave a comment below and join the discussion!
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