Client Not Responding? Here Are 8 Follow Up Emails To Send

You’ve just been talking to a new client and you’re really excited about their project. You know you’re going to be able to deliver some great results for them – and you can see they’re excited, too.

But your excitement turns to confusion, and then annoyance, and then panic, when you realise it’s been several days and you haven’t heard back from them. Not a word. Not a peep.

Haven't heard back comic from Someecards

Now you’re wondering what’s happened. Have they been recruited by the secret service? Did they sell their business to a cryptocurrency startup in Tunisia and are off celebrating their newfound fortune on a beach in the Maldives? Do you smell bad?

When a client doesn’t respond, it can lead to doubts and questions. That’s why it’s important that you follow up with them, so you can figure out what’s happened and help get them on board. But how do you follow up without sounding rude or desperate?

You can use these follow up emails after you get no response from your client.

Why clients don’t respond in the first place

You had a great meeting with a client. They were super-enthusiastic and ready to get started. It seems totally weird that they’d suddenly drop off the face of the earth whenever you tried to get the ball rolling. Right?

The truth is, even if a client is super keen on a project, it won’t be the only thing jostling for their attention. They have a business to run, their own clients to tend to, personal commitments, and other things going on in their lives that take precedence.

With hundreds of emails appearing in their inbox every day, sometimes they just plain forget about you, or push your project further down their to-do list.

Busy to-do list

Also, when they’ve taken a step back from an enthusiastic meeting, they may have come up with some concerns or roadblocks that didn’t occur to them at the time. This may be making them more cautious than they previously indicated.

There are all sorts of reasons a client might not respond in a timely manner. Don’t let the reason bother you – make sure you touch base with them so thing can get underway again.

5 things to consider before sending a follow up email

When deciding if and how to follow-up with a client or prospect, here are five key things to keep in mind:

1. Be persistent, but not annoying

Clients really are super-busy. Often, people read emails for the information, but forget to respond. It may take a few follow-up touchpoints to prompt a response, so don’t give up.

On the other hand, don’t take up too much of a client’s time chasing responses. If they sound busy, don’t keep them on the phone. Try to get small details sorted out via email, text, or phone, rather than another face-to-face meeting.

2. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone

Too many service professionals operate client communications solely by email. In most circumstances, this works great (clients can reply at their convenience, and you have all correspondence saved in written format to refer to later), but when it comes to following up on unresponsive clients, email may not be the answer.

Why? Emails are too easy to miss or ignore. But a quick phone call will often remind a client you exist and that you’re waiting for something from them.

Pick up the phone

Why? Emails are too easy to miss or ignore. But a quick phone call will often remind a client you exist and that you’re waiting for something from them.

3. Automate when you can

You’re busy too, and if you’re chasing up a lot of clients, automation can save you hours typing out emails.

In certain circumstances, you can use your CMS software or other tools to automate follow-up.

Rebump is a free app that monitors which of your emails receive replies. For those that don’t, it automatically sends a follow-up every few days.

4. Always give the client a call-to-action

In order to keep the process moving along, give your clients a call-to-action in each correspondence. This may be some information they need to give you, some work they need to sign off, a question they need to answer, or a payment they need to make.

Giving the client clear instructions helps them to action things from their end as quickly as possible. Cold Emailing recommends making the call-to-action as direct as possible. Think about your goal with the follow-up email – if you want a meeting, then request a meeting.

5. Make sure you really need to follow up

Business author Laura Spencer recommends checking you haven’t already received a reply from the client. It might have disappeared in your email, or they may have contacted someone else in the team.

Check your spam and trash folders – you have no idea how often client emails get sent there by accident!

How long you should wait before following up?

It’s hard to know exactly when you should follow up if you haven’t heard from a client. On the one hand, you want to keep on top of things and make sure you don’t lose their interest. On the other hand, you don’t want to seem too pushy.

Here are some basic guidelines:

• For a call or meeting request, the follow-up time will depend on how far out the proposed meeting is scheduled. I’d follow up within 2-3 days if you haven’t heard back about a meeting, or the following day if the meeting is urgent.
• After sending in a proposal to a client, I’d give them at least a week to look it over before following up. This gives them time to pass the proposal around to other people in their organisation who need to approve it.

Follow-ups to cold emails and phone calls designed to warm-up leads should usually come within a few days, while the prospect still remembers the previous email.

8 email follow up templates for every situation

We’ve created some follow up template emails to help you get an answer from your client for typical situations. You can use these emails as the basis to craft your own. Simply add the correct names, and personalise details about projects and the client’s business.

I’ve used examples from different business types and situations, but these follow up emails will work across all professional services.

1. Post initial client meeting

This email follows up after an initial meeting. It gives the client a list of action steps and keeps a proactive tone – as though you’re already in partnership together. The call-to-action of the meeting and the reply at the end help to move along to the next stage.

2. After you send a proposal and don’t hear back

The client has outlined their project and asked you to send a proposal (maybe using's Practice Ignition's proposal management software 😉). You do this – excited to be bringing a new client on board – and then you never hear from them again.

This email offers a friendly reminder to the client that they have your proposal, and that the onus is on them to give you their decision or make changes before the project can move forward. Stating that you’ll call them at a certain time gives them a sense of urgency to get the proposal read and approved.

3. When they don’t send you the documents/info you need to get started

You require key information from the client before you can begin your work, but the clock is ticking down and they still haven’t sent it through.

This email makes it clear the urgency of this matter, while also ensuring the client knows exactly what they’re supposed to send.

4. When they’re late to pay

Asking clients why they haven’t paid their invoice is always an uncomfortable situation. Many business owners avoid this by simply never following up and writing the account off – we don’t think that’s any kind of solution!

Usually the invoice doesn’t get lost, but it does get forgotten about, or it sits in a big pile in the accounts department but doesn’t get dealt with. This email gives the client an “out” so it doesn’t seem as if you’re guilting them into paying what they rightfully owe you.

5. After you send a cold email to generate sales

Cold calling can be a daunting sales technique, but it’s still very effective. However, you risk losing a lead from cold calling if you don’t follow up with them within a few days. They may come to you of their own volition, but chances are, you’ll need to make the next move.

This email offers a useful piece of content as a way to keep the conversation going and build trust with the lead. Chances are, they’re not ready to buy right now, but by warming them up, you’ll end up with a client further along the sales process.

6. To revive cold leads

Once leads have been marked as cold, it can be tough to bring them back again. However, at one time, this person was seriously considering your services – there’s a real benefit in reaching out to them again.

You get the best results with following up on cold leads by presenting them with an offer. This gives you the perfect “excuse” to email and may provide the incentive to push them over the edge.

7. Closing the loop

If you’ve tried several times to reach out, both by email and phone, and you’ve received no response, then it’s time to “break up” with your client. This usually happens during the initial proposal stage – perhaps the client was talking to several companies and chose a competitor, or they’ve decided not to go ahead with the project. Often, they won’t actually notify you – they just move on and don’t return your queries.

Rude? A little. Common behaviour? Definitely.

Your final contact should be an email, letter , or phone call to “close the loop.” This gives your client a final chance to respond, but also gives you some closure and enables you to

The sense of urgency in this email helps spur clients to action. Many business owners find that a “closing the loop” email will drive a new client over the line.

8. Check again in six months

Sometimes, an unresponsive client will come back and ask you to check in with them in a few months time (or that they’ll check in in a few months time). This is usually because a proposed project is delayed or the business is changing strategies, and they need to work out some details before they commit.

It may also be a way for a shy person to get you off the phone.

Add these clients to a “follow-up” folder on your email client. Find out from them what needs to change between now and their follow-up date in order for them to bring you on board. These are the prospects you want to follow-up with.

Here’s a six-month follow-up email you could try:

Conclusion

When you don’t hear from a client, it’s not a reflection on your or your business. Usually, clients get busy in their own business, and things fall off the top of their to-do list, or they forget to reply to emails. Most clients appreciate when you follow up and get the right answers so you can do your best work.