How To Write An Effective Follow-Up Email After Meeting With Someone
Six tips and a template.
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The true impact of a meeting is determined by what happens after it ends.
And the first step of that post-meeting phase is a follow-up email.
Following are a six things I’ve learned increase the effectiveness of follow-up emails and a template you can use to guide the next one you craft.
1. Have one clear goal for the email.
Don’t just send a follow-up email to be polite.
Every email you send should have a specific purpose and be designed to accomplish a goal.
Get clear on your goal before you write the email and decide what action you want the recipient to take as a result of it.
Do you want them to request a proposal? Are you hoping for an introduction to somebody else they know? Is it about strengthening your relationship with them? Getting another meeting? Making a sale?
It doesn’t matter what your goal is, but it matters that you have one so you can optimize your email to generate that action.
And if you can’t come up with a goal for your follow-up email, you probably shouldn’t send one.
(Speaking of goals, here’s how to set goals in a way that helps you accomplish them.)
2. Write like a minimalist.
Less is more.
Everything in your email should be there for a reason. You’re writing an email, not a novel.
You don’t need to repeat what you told them in your meeting — they were there.
You don’t need to give them your life story or validate yourself — they already thought you were valid enough to warrant a meeting in the first place.
The longer your email, the less likely the recipient is to read and act on it.
No rambling introduction and concluding paragraphs — just get into it, get to the action you want them to take, and get out.
