Writing Friendly Reminder Emails to Prospects 101

BY Rachel Cagle
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We all have moments when we leave an important task on the back burner. Sometimes we’re aware that we’re arguably putting off the task for too long. Other times, we’ve forgotten about it entirely. In one case, a friendly reminder is welcome. In the other, it’s flat out annoying. That’s why writing a reminder email to prospects can be a nerve-​wracking experience for sales reps. How can you send a friendly reminder to move the sale along without sounding too pushy, annoying, or risk having the sale fall apart?

Writing Friendly Reminder Emails to Prospects

According to Katrina Kirsch, writing for HubSpot, “All friendly reminder emails should be clear, kind and to the point. You want to be polite enough to encourage people to take action, but not so passive that people ignore your message.” Here are a few core elements Kirsch says all reminder emails should have.

Succinct Reminder Email Subject Lines

Be honest about why you’re sending this email to the prospect. If you word the reminder subject lines well, the recipient will feel compelled to read the email and respond to you. So, your subject lines for friendly reminder emails should be short while stating your purpose and adding urgency to communicate the messages’ time sensitivity. Remember that reminder email subject lines will determine whether your message is read, so take the time you need to get the wording just right.

Friendly Greeting

A greeting sets the tone for the body of your email, so don’t skip over it,” says Kirsch. Friendly reminder emails should begin with a more casual greeting such as, “Hi there, [Name],” or, “Hello, [Name].” This strategy not only sets a less formal and calmer tone to the email, it also communicates the familiarity you should have with the prospect by this point in the sales process.

Clear Context

Now it’s time to get to the heart of the matter: Why you’re sending the friendly reminder emails. Give the recipient the details of the deadline for whatever it was they were supposed to do for you. Also, be sure to include specific names and dates to provide the clarification they may have been missing or forgotten. Kirsch gives these examples:

  • With the start date of our contract (add the date) fast approaching, I’d like to make sure I have all the information needed to get your product/​solution set up so that you can start seeing results as soon as possible.”
  • I’m checking in to remind you about the upcoming meeting. I sent you an invite for our Wednesday, August 1 at 2 p.m. EST meeting to address any remaining concerns you may have and customize your solution. Looking forward to getting this last bit of the process completed so that we can put your personalized solution into action.”

A Clear Call to Action

Yes, reminding the prospect of the upcoming deadline they’re about to miss is important. But a clear call to action is what makes friendly reminder emails effective. Give recipients a short, clearly worded request of what you would like them to do in order to meet the deadline, whether that’s setting up a final meeting, sending over a finalized and signed contract, etc.

Photo: Daniel Thomas


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