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Follow up politely when prospects go quiet
Three short, friendly follow-up emails, each adding something useful, scheduled to send on the right days from your own inbox.
When to use it
When someone hasn't replied for a week
Step by step
Note where you left things
Copy your last message to them and note what they were interested in. Remove anything confidential.
Ask AI for a gentle sequence
Paste this prompt into your AI assistant.
Prompt to copyI sent this to a prospect and got no reply: [paste last email]. They were interested in [topic]. Write 3 follow-up emails for days 5, 12 and 21. Each under 70 words, in British English, warm and not pushy. Email 1: friendly nudge plus one useful tip. Email 2: share a short example or result relevant to them. Email 3: a polite 'shall I close your file?' that makes it easy to say not now. No guilt-tripping, no 'just checking in'. Reply in the same thread so give no new subject lines.Schedule them
In Gmail, reply in the same thread, paste the first follow-up, and use the arrow next to Send to choose Schedule send. Add calendar reminders for the next two, since you'll stop if they reply.
Stop when they reply
If they reply at any point, cancel the remaining reminders and answer them personally.
What you get
Day 5: Hi Ben, a quick thought on the menu reprint: printing seasonal specials on a separate card often saves reprinting the whole menu. Happy to show a sample. Day 21: I don't want to fill your inbox, so shall I close this for now? If timing's better in spring, just say and I'll check back then.
Tips
- Outlook also has a schedule send option under the Send button's arrow.
- The third email often gets the most replies, because it's easy to answer.