Practical Sales Training™ > How to connect with your buyer > Email Follow Up Sequence
What is it?
Email follow ups are automated sequences you can create to ensure your buyer is being contacted at the right moment- often because of their behaviour and something they have done. It ensures buyers are contacted promptly, questions are answered and they feel important and taken care of.
Why does it work?
It works because it can be designed to send the right message to someone at the best moment possible – without the complication of a human having to remember to send the message. This means it can work 24/7 at scale and allow you to get on with more important things in the business.
How can you use it?
The first thing you need to be clear about are the rules regarding emailing people in your jurisdiction. Take some advice so you know you have permission to email people and are operating inside the law.
The second consideration is that we must be very clear that at no point should we be pretending that these prewritten, automatically sent emails are anything other than automated. People aren’t stupid and they don’t mind automated email so long as it’s done well.
There are two ways you can implement this:
New client onboarding. Consider what your buyer wants and needs to know and have access to. Now arrange this in a series of 3-5 emails that will be triggered to arrive in the days that follow a successful purchase.
New prospect nurturing. When a new prospect downloads a lead magnet or opts into something, they get a series of messages to answer their questions and provide direction/next steps.
Hypothetical Example:
An online course provider notices that many new students feel lost after signing up. To improve onboarding, they set up an automated email follow-up sequence:
-
Day 1: Welcome email with login details and a short “Getting Started” video.
-
Day 3: Email with top 3 tips for completing the first module.
-
Day 5: Case study from a successful student to build motivation.
-
Day 7: Email prompting them to book a Q&A session with the course mentor.
As a result, students feel supported and guided, engagement rates increase, and fewer refund requests occur.
Similarly, a SaaS company uses behavioural follow-ups: when a trial user logs in but doesn’t set up a key feature, they receive an email:
“Not sure how to get started? Here’s a 2-minute setup video to walk you through it.”
This timely, automated contact boosts conversions by solving problems exactly when the buyer needs help.
See also
