7 Essential Cold Call Follow-up Strategies To Book More Meetings [+Templates]

All SDRs can attest to the fact that most meetings don’t get booked in a single call. So, strategic and consistent cold call follow-ups are essential to reach your prospect. 

Reps can’t just sit around killing time in hopes that a lead will respond to you. Despite how easy it is for leads to forget you and move on, research shows that 48% of salespersons never even make a single follow-up attempt after the initial cold call.

If you keep calling the next cold prospect on the list without duly following up on the prospects you’ve already called, you’re going to burn through your prospect list without booking a lot of meetings. Bye-bye, sales quota attainment. 

So, how do you overcome these sales snags?

By adopting strategies to make follow-up calls to your ideal customers after your initial cold call. A consistent follow-up approach will help you establish credibility with your prospects and keep the ball rolling.

In this blog, we’ll give you 7 cold call follow-up strategies for different scenarios to create a brand recall in the minds of your prospects and help you book more meetings.

What Is a Cold Call Follow-Up?

A cold call follow-up simply means reconnecting with the prospect after making the cold call. With this, sales reps will be able to move the qualified lead to the next stage of the buying process.

The follow-up can be a call, an email, a LinkedIn message, or even a text message that you use to reach out to your lead based on the outcome of the cold call. You can gauge which touchpoint will help move the sales process forward and convince the potential lead that your business is the right choice for them.

Executing a follow-up at the right time is crucial to sustain sales momentum. It helps retain the prospect’s interest, increases the chances of booking the meeting, and keeps the opportunities moving through the sales pipeline.

7 Cold Call Follow-up Strategies + Email Templates for Different Scenarios

In prospecting, time is of the essence. Potential customers want to hear from you within an hour after the initial contact. Any minute after that and you can see their response rate drop dramatically by about 400%.

But, every prospect is at a different stage of the customer journey and you need to curate follow-ups for every possible scenario. Moreover, you need your follow-ups to address their challenges and convince them your solution will help meet their goals.

To help you execute follow-ups that get you more meetings booked, we give you 7 email templates for each of these scenarios. 

Why email? Research by Belkins shows that the first follow-up emails can result in a 220% surge in reply rates, boosting your chances of booking the meeting. Plus, email outreach is a less intrusive channel that can complement your cold calls, which can be perceived as intrusive by cold leads and prospects.

Let’s take a look at the 7 cold call follow-up scenarios with strategies for each.

1. How To Follow Up After Leaving a Voicemail?

Sometimes, you can’t reach your prospect through a cold call. Even though you don’t want to smother your cold lead and prospect, you can’t leave them alone without letting them know about your solution either. So, you leave a voicemail letting them know why you have reached out. 

But here’s the harsh reality: Most voicemails go unnoticed. Still, a voicemail lets you tell prospects that you tried to reach them and have left a message that can help them solve their biggest problem.

Dropping a voicemail will inform your prospect why you reached out to them, but it doesn’t convey all the information the prospect needs to consider your solution. Here’s where sending a follow-up email sometime after dropping the voicemail becomes a requisite.

You can send an email within a few hours after leaving the voicemail and inform them the specific time of day when you had left the voicemail earlier, making it easy for the prospects to go through your message. Or, make it a point to send the follow-up email on the very same day.

In the email, let them know that you’ll re-engage with them through a call at a different time the next day.

So, to make the most of the voicemail you sent, here’s a foolproof follow-up email template that you can use to reach out to your potential prospect:

Email Subject Line: {Prospect name}, sorry I missed you

Hi {Prospect name},

Sorry I missed you on the phone today. I called you about {solution} and how it helps you {solve their specific pain point}. 

I just left you a voicemail at {time} today to briefly explain {value proposition}. 

As I mentioned in the voicemail, I’ll give you a call at the same time {next day} to discuss your specific needs

But if something changes, please feel free to give me a call at {your phone number} or reply to this email. 

Thanks!

By reaching out to your prospect through an effective follow-up email, you can achieve the following:

• You'll make it easier for your prospect to go back and listen to your voicemail by stating the exact time you had sent it in your follow-up email.
• By mentioning their pain point in the follow-up email, you'll entice their curiosity just enough to make them go back and listen to your voicemail. And when you insert product, it will serve as a reminder why they need a solution like yours in their tech stack and increase chances of a customer interaction.
• By letting your prospect know ahead of time that you will give them a ring, you are giving them a chance to decline the invitation to continue the conversation or schedule a meeting according to their convenience.

Besides, sending follow-ups within a shorter time frame increases the likelihood of your email being read before it gets buried.

2. How To Follow Up on Prospects Who Have Requested More Information Over Email?

One of the common cold call objections you hear from prospects during sales calls is: “Send me an email with more information.” 

It may seem on the surface that the prospect is interested in your solution and that’s why they’re asking for more details over email. But, there’s a good chance that the prospect might not engage or respond to you, and might even go cold.

So, how do you craft your follow-up email in a way that sustains their interest and doesn’t let them go cold?

Ideally, the follow-up email should be sent within the next 30-60 minutes of the conversation. When you send the email as soon as your phone call ends, the prospect is more likely to open the email as the conversation is fresh in their memory.

In your follow-up email, you should:

• Start the email by giving context about the call you had.
• Mention how your solution is valuable to them.
• Provide a sales enablement collateral like a deck, customer testimonials, overview video or relevant content that they can check out to create interest in your product.
• End your email by asking if they would be interested to learn more by getting on a demo call.

Here’s a relevant email template that will convince your prospect that you’re a credible source:

Email Subject Line: {Prospect’s name}, here’s info you asked for + next steps

Hi {prospect’s name}, 

Thanks for taking the time to talk earlier about {your solution}, I really appreciate it. 

In our call, we briefly spoke about how {solution} can help you {solve pain points/achieve results}.  

Here are few more ways how {solution} can help you:  

{Value proposition 1}  

{Value proposition 2}  

{Value proposition 3}  

Plus, here’s {link to sales enablement collateral} that goes deep into how {solution} can help with {prospect’s priorities}. 

If you feel this is worthy of exploring further, I’d love to walk you through a customized demo of {solution}.  

Feel free to schedule time with me here {calendar link} directly or respond to this email with your preferred availability. Of course, you can get back to me if you need any more information on {solution}. 

Looking forward for our chat,

{Your name}

And taking this follow-up works because: 

• Sending the follow-up email within an hour after the call will ensure that the prospect will be able to recollect the details of the phone call. The longer you take to send your follow-up, the lesser the chances of your email getting noticed.
• By sending a deck/ collateral and relevant resources, you will be able to gauge the interest of your prospect and segment them better. You can prioritize reaching out to intent prospects who display higher levels of interest in your solution. Add customer testimonials and downloadable resources to enhance their customer experience.
• By mentioning the time slots for a meeting rather than leaving it to the prospects, you will have a scheduled time for the meeting at hand as well as assure your intent prospect that you will certainly follow up. 

3. How To Follow Up on Prospects Who Said They Were Busy?

When prospects respond that they are busy and slam the phone, it doesn’t mean that they are not interested, it simply means that you have caught them at a time when they are genuinely busy or they simply are not interested to be sold over a cold call.

Your prospect might be pressed for time and unable to respond to your initial outreach. Or, they simply might not be interested in hearing about the solution over a call.

So, you make use of another channel. The best way to follow up in this scenario would be to send an email.

To make the best of your outreach, send your prospect a follow-up email within the next 60 minutes. Make it a point to inform them that you caught them at the wrong hour.

In the same email, let your email recipient know that the reason for calling was to understand how they were tackling a pain point. Ask them if they would be interested in learning about how your own solution can help them with their business challenge. 

To elicit a better response from your prospect, here’s an email template:

Email Subject Line: {Prospect name}, let’s try again 

Hi {prospect’s name},

Sorry, I caught you at the wrong time earlier today. I totally get how hectic things can get for a {prospect’s role}.

I called to talk about how you’re tackling {pain point}. If solving {pain point} and achieving {goal} is a priority for you, I’m sure you’ll get a lot of value from {solution}.

{Solution} helped companies like {Customer A} and {Customer B} achieve {goals with stats}, and I’m sure it can help you get similar {results}. 

Worth a chat, {prospect’s name}?

Cheers,

{Your name}

Why does this work, you ask?

• Sending a follow-up email is less intrusive and if your prospect is busy person, they can check messages when it is convenient for them.
• By using an apologetic tone for reaching out at the wrong time, you can pacify your prospect’s agitation and increase the chances of them reading your message till the end.
• You can come across as consultative rather than salesy by letting your prospects know that you are reaching out to understand how they are currently tackling their pain point.
• Sending a follow-up email will help you gauge your prospect’s interest and see if they want to pursue the solution.

4. How To Follow Up on Prospects Who Are Interested in Booking a Meeting?

Your cold call went spectacularly well, and the prospect agreed to hop on a meeting with you. This deserves a celebration, but only after the meeting is actually booked in your calendar.

To get the meeting booked, you need to send a follow-up email confirming the time and other meeting details.

This follow-up email should be sent within 10 minutes of your cold call to ensure that the cold call is still fresh in the prospect’s mind. And highlight meeting details such as Zoom links in your email if you have already discussed them. Or send the prospect your meeting calendar link and ask them to select a time slot that works best for them. 

Here’s an email template you can use to encourage your prospect to confirm an appointment:

Email Subject Line: {Prospect’s name}, pick your time for our meeting

Hi {prospect’s name},

Stoked about our meeting to discuss how {solution} can help you {achieve specific goal}. Thanks for being open to exploring our solution.

To make things easier, you can choose a time slot that works the best for you here {calendar link} for our meeting. 

If anything changes from your side, do reply to this email or give me a call at {phone number}.

Excited for our e-meet,
{Your name}

This approach works because:

• Begin your email in an appreciative tone. Thank your prospect for agreeing to explore how your solution will benefit them. Assure them that you’re looking forward to the initial meeting by including the meeting details as well. This reveals your human side and helps you build better rapport.
• Sending a meeting link over the email works better because the prospect gets to choose a time slot that works best for them. Moreover, you can avoid the back-and-forth discussion of what time works for both of you.

5. How To Follow Up on Prospects Who Asked You To Continue the Discussion Later?

There are times when prospects might ask you to circle back to them at a later time. These prospects are most likely open to discussing their pain points and display interest in your solution. But, they had to initial interaction short earlier because they had something else important to attend to.

If this is the case, you can send a follow-up email within the next 30-60 minutes. And ask them if they can hop on another call with you at a specific time. Mention when you would want to reconnect with them to continue the conversation. 

Remember to begin the email by stating how appreciative you are of the prospect for attending the cold call and giving you an opportunity to discuss the prospect’s challenge.

Also, reiterate that you would like to discuss further over another call in your email.

Here’s an email template that will help you reconnect with your prospect:

Email Subject Line: Let’s connect again, {prospect’s name}?

Hi {prospect’s name},

Thank you for connecting with me earlier today to discuss {solution}. 

During our conversation, you said this wasn’t the right time and asked me to connect with you later.

Shall I give you a call today at {time} to continue where we left off? I have a few ideas on how {solution} can help you solve {pain points} and achieve {results}. 

If this doesn’t work for you, please feel free to reply to this email or call me at {your phone number}, and we can fix a different time. 

Talk soon,

{Your name}

The reasons why this approach work is because:

• By sending a follow-up email within an hour of the cold call, you can jog your prospect’s memory. You can get them to take a look at your email before they forget the details of your cold call and become occupied with other things.
• By using an appreciative tone, you can show your prospect a more humanized approach and gain their trust.
• Reminding the prospect that you will call them again will allow you to make the call without worrying about getting their permission this time around. Make sure you do this after they have affirmed their interest in your solution. 

6. How To Follow Up on Prospects Who Didn’t Pick Up After Several Attempts?

It takes about 6 calls with a prospect before closing a deal. So, if your prospect continues giving you the cold shoulder, warm them up with cold emails. 

Since the prospect is still cold, add them to a sales email sequence, which is a series of emails sent over a period of time to get a reply from your prospect. 

Here’s an example cold email template for the first email in your sequence:

Email Subject Line: {Prospect Name}, I reached out yesterday for this...

Hi {Prospect Name},

I tried calling you yesterday to discuss how you can tackle {pain point 1} as I saw your LinkedIn post on how you are struggling with it. 

I understand how frustrating this is, especially when achieving {result} is hugely dependent on tackling {pain point} at the earliest. 

Ignoring {pain point 1} for a longer time can result in {pain point 2} and {pain point 3}, according to {relevant study}.

{Company name}, one of our previous clients, had a similar challenge last year, and they tackled it within {time frame}. 

If you are interested, I can send along the case study on how they did it. 

Ciao,

{Your name}

7. How To Follow Up on Prospects Who Asked to Circle Back After a Few Months?

Your prospect picks up your cold call but asks you to reconnect with them sometime in the future. The prospect might be interested in your solution but unable to make it a priority for now. So, they might explain the constraint they are facing at the moment and ask you to circle back months later. 

Here are some of the probable reasons why your prospect might push the discussion to further date include:

• Your prospect might be under a contract with a competitor.
• They might be receiving the budget only in the upcoming quarter.
• They could be hiring new talent at the moment.

There are things you should do right after the cold call. To begin with, send your prospect a follow-up email within 2 hours of the cold call.

In this initial email, thank the prospect for showing interest in how your solution will solve their business problem. And at the end of your sales follow-up email, inform them that you'll call them back at the requested time.

To make your email more informative, include your company deck and other sales enablement collateral. This way, you’ll know if the prospect is engaging with your collateral and gauge their interest.

And to pick up from where you left after the cold call, here’s the email template:

Email Subject Line: {Prospect name}, let’s connect again in {month}

Hi {prospect’s name}, 

Thank you for your interest in how {solution} can help you solve {pain point}.

During our conversation earlier today, you felt this isn’t the right time for you to decide on the next steps and asked to continue the conversation in {month}.

I’ll reach out to you again on {date and time} of {month} to discuss further.

In the meantime, here’s {link to sales enablement collateral} that goes deep into how {solution} can help with {prospect’s priorities}. 

If something changes, please feel free to give me a call at {your phone number} or reply to this email. Thanks!

Talk soon,

{Your name}

How Klenty Helps You Follow Up on Your Cold Call?

Reps need to focus on selling and they need to sell at scale. They also need to reach out to every lead with follow-ups. What’s more, buyers really appreciate it when responses are tailored to their needs via their preferred touchpoint.

So, you need to ensure your follow-ups are multichannel and cater to all prospects, no matter where they're on their buying journey. You have to follow up through phone, email, LinkedIn, text message, and WhatsApp to stay on top of your prospect’s mind. And you must make your outreach meaningful and strategic by personalizing every touchpoint.

To help you with this endeavor and sending personalized emails, you need a sales engagement platform like Klenty.

Klenty automates all your follow-ups, personalizes every touchpoint for you, and ensures every email lands in your prospect’s Primary Tab.

Here’s how Klenty can set your team for success with its follow-up capabilities :

• Build sales cadences with touchpoints across 5+ channels and let the automation tool ensure you send follow-ups in a timely manner. Engage with your entire prospect list with ease and add as many touches as you need.
• Kai, Klenty’s AI Cadence Writer, can scan prospect profiles and add personalization points to help you craft hyper-personalized follow-ups that get replies.
• Liquid templates use dynamic formulas to change the content of your personalized emails based on when the prospect receives and opens the email.
• Timezone detection. Identify the time zones of your prospects and schedule your automated follow-ups based on your prospect’s timezone. Follow up at the right time.
• Voicemail drop. Send a pre-recorded voicemail and drop it in your prospect’s voicemail box as part of your follow-up efforts.
• Cadence Playbooks helps you customize your outreach based on their intent. You can automatically move prospects to a different cadence based on intent, and execute precisely those follow-up activities that will take each prospect towards a meeting.

So, take advantage of its email automation capabilities to propel your prospect's customer journey phases. 

Interested in knowing how Klenty can help you meet your sales targets and gain you a leg up in the industry? Book a demo now!

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