How to Write a Great Follow-Up Email After a Meeting

“Hi Sachin,. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today, I really learned a lot from your suggestions. I enjoyed our meeting very much ... Ifyou’regoingtoinvest30-60minutesinmeetingwithsomeone,youoweittoyourselfandwhoeveryoumetwithtosendafollow-upemail. Likebaseball,networkrelationshipmanagementisagameofincheswherethedifferencebetweenwinningandlosingisrarelydecidedbygrandgestures;moreoftenthannot,thewinneristhepersonwhotookthesmallextrasteps. Thisisespeciallytrueifyou’recompetinginacommoditizedmarketwherethedifferencebetweenyouandyourcompetitorismarginal.Thinkofsendingfollow-upemailsasoneofthosesmallextrastepsthatcanmakethedifferencebetweenvictoryanddefeat. Besides,whenyoulookattheminimaltimeandenergyinvestmentinvolvedinwritingafollow-upemailtoyourmeetings,it’sreallyano-brainer:Ifyouwanttofullyleveragethepowerofyournetwork,youneedtosendfollow-upemails.[Tweetthis!] WhyMostPeopleFailtoConsistentlySendFollow-upEmails Thisprobablyisn’tthefirsttimeyou’vethoughtaboutsendingfollow-upemails.Infact,itprobablyisn’teventhefirsttimeyou’vetriedtomakethispracticeintoahabit. Andthefirstcoupledaysofyourinitialattemptprobablywentreallywell.Butthensomethinghappened;acrisisarose.Youinvestallofyourtimeandenergyintoresolvingthecrisisand,asaresult,forgetaboutsendingfollow-upemails. Thecrisisends,buttheemailsdon’tbeginagain.Soundfamiliar?It’stheclassicstoryofwell-intentionedhabitsbeingcrushedbeforethey’refully-formed. Ifyou’rereadytocommittothishabitagain,here’saquicktiptostreamlinetheprocessandmakeiteasiertoremembertosendthoseemails,nomatterwhathappens:Createafollow-upemaildraftbeforethemeeting. Obviouslythisdraftcan’tbetoospecificordetailedsinceit’sbeingwrittenbeforethemeetingistakingplace,butthat’sokay.Youcanalwaysfleshitoutafterthemeeting.Here’sanexampleofwhatthisemaildraftmightlooklike: “HiSachin, Thanksformeetingwithmetoday.Ienjoyedourmeetingverymuchandlookforwardtomeetingyouagain. Cheers,Patrick” Onceyou’vegotthisemailsittinginyourdraftsfolder,it’shardtoforgettosendit.Allyou’vegottodoispersonalizeitoncethemeetingwrapsup.Speakingofwhich,let’stalkabout… HowtoWriteaGreatFollow-UpEmail Aneffectivefollow-upemailhasthreecomponents: A“ThankYou”component, A“CommonGroundReference”component,and A“KeyTakeaways”component. Let’swalkthroughathree-stepprocesstocreateafollow-upemailwiththesethreesections. ComponentI:ThankYou Saying“Thankyou”isusuallyagiveninfollow-upemails,sowhyevenmentionit?Simple:Becausegratitudeisoneofthemostpowerfulwaystomakeaconnection.That,andbecausetherearetwowaysofcommunicatingthanks:Oneisjustsayingit,theotherismeaningit. Oneisastandardphrase,theotherisalittlemorethoughtful.Thinkofitasthedifferencebetween“What’sup?”and“Howareyoudoingtoday?Youseemquitehappy.” Usingsentenceslike,“Ireallyappreciatedthetimeyouspentwithmetoday.Ihopeitwastimewellspentforyou,too”or,“Letmestartbysayingthankyouforyourtimetoday”areagreatplacetostart. Ifyoucanfortifythesestatementsbyaddingspecificreasonswhyyou’rethankful,that’sevenbetter.Forexample:“Ilearnedalotfromyoursuggestionstoday,”or,“IfeelIwillbeabletoactupontheadviceyouoffered.” Thekeyistomakesureyourrecipientperceivesthatyouaregenuine.Here’showthismightlookinpractice. ExampleI:ThankYou “HiSachin, Thankyoufortakingthetimetomeetwithmetoday,Ireallylearnedalotfromyoursuggestions.Ienjoyedourmeetingverymuchandlookforwardtomeetingyouagain. Cheers,Patrick” ComponentII:CommonGroundReference Thiscomponentaddsasentenceaboutwhatyouenjoyedaboutthemeetingandwhatyouhaveincommonwiththoseyoumetwith.Ithasthreeprimarybenefits: Itpersonalizestheemailsoitdoesn’tlooklikeyou’rejustsendingoutapre-writtentemplate.Thiswilllikelycausetheotherpersontoperceiveyouascaring,thoughtful,andattentive. Peopleareattractedtopositivity.Byhighlightingapositiveelementofthemeeting,thoseyoumetwitharelikelytohaveabetteropinionofyouandthinkofthemeetingasasuccess. Commongroundisthesourceofallconnection,andthiscomponentallowsyoutoestablishthatcommongroundquickly. Here’showthismightlookinpractice. ExampleII:CommonGroundReference “HiSachin, Thankyoufortakingthetimetomeetwithmetoday,Ireallylearnedalotfromyoursuggestions. Ienjoyedourmeetingverymuch,andwasparticularlyintriguedbyyourpassionfortea.Asyouknow,Iloveteaaswell;andit’snoteverydaythatIrunintosomeonewhoappreciatesagreatcupoftea. Ilookforwardtomeetingyouagain. Cheers,Patrick” ComponentIII:KeyTakeaways Thisfinalcomponentisyouropportunitytoshowthatyou’recommittedtothisrelationshipbygoingtheextramile. Usethissectiontosumupallcommitmentsgivenandreceived.Thiswillunderscoretheproductivityofthemeetingandcreateconfidencethatyouaregoingtofollowthrough. Inaddition,thiscomponentalsocreatesaninformalagreementthattheotherpartywillfollowthroughaswell. Forapowerfulwayofleveragingthesecommitments(andothervitalsourcesofmeetinginformation),clickheretolearnaboutMeetingDebriefs. Here’showthismightlookinpractice. ExampleIII:KeyTakeaways “HiSachin, Thankyoufortakingthetimetomeetwithmetoday. Ienjoyeditverymuch,andwasparticularlyintriguedbyyourpassionfortea.Asyouknow,Iloveteaaswell;andit’snoteverydaythatIrunintosomeonewhoappreciatesagreatcupoftea. Besidesgettingtoknowyoualotbetter,therearethreekeytakeawaysfromourmeeting: Youareinneedofhiringgreatengineersandfindthatverydifficulttoaccomplishintoday’seconomy. Weagreedtomeetnextweektodiscusshowwecouldworktogethertoovercomethischallenge. IofferedtointroduceyoutoRivieraPartners,oneofthetopengineeringrecruitmentfirmsinSiliconValley. IfyoufeelIleftoutanyotherimportantaspectsofourconversation,pleaseletmeknow. Again,Ienjoyedourmeetingverymuchandlookforwardtomeetingyouagainnextweek. Cheers,Patrick” FindanApproachthatWorksforYou Doyouseehowthosethreecomponentsworktogethertocreateanemailthatyourrecipientsarelikelytoperceiveasrelevant,valuable,andmeaningful?Attheveryleast,it’smuchbetterthansendingnofollow-upemailatall. Butattheendoftheday,keepthisinmind:Focusonthecomponentsofagreatfollow-upemail;notmyspecificexamples.Youdon’tneedtousemyexactwords;theymightnotberightforyou. ThemostimportantruleinNetworkRelationshipManagementisbeinggenuineandstayingauthentic.Ifyousay,“I’dneverwritethatway,”that’sfine!Thenaskyourself,“HowwouldIcommunicategratitude,establishcommonground,andsumupthekeytakeaways?” Weallhaveourownstyle.Findyours,andstartfollowingup. FurtherRecommendedReading Create“Wow”MomentsinYourRelationshipswiththeMeetingDebrief Follow-upemailsarejustonecommonpartofagreaterwholeIcalltheMeetingDebrief.Inanutshell,thisconceptisallaboutcollectingandactingonthemostvaluableinformationyoulearnaboutsomeoneoverthecourseofaconversation.CheckoutthisarticletosuperchargetheROIofyourmeetingsand,asaresult,yourrelationships. Back-to-BackMeetingsPoisonYourProductivity.Here’stheAntidote. Follow-upemailsmightbeagreatideaintheory,buttheoryonlytakesyousofar.Attheendoftheday,you’vegottoactuallysendthem;andfindingthetimetodosocanbeaproblemwhenyourcalendar’sbookedback-to-back.Checkoutthesetwoquick-and-easytacticstobreaktheendlessmeetingcycleandmaketimeforwhatmattersmost. HowtoMakeProfessionalIntroductionsandWriteBusinessIntroductionEmailsThatDeliverMassiveValuetoYourNetwork Oneofthemostcommoncommitmentsmadeinmeetingsisanintroduction.Theproblemis,mostpeoplevastlyunderestimatetheintroductionprocess.Totrulymakeitarelevantandvaluableexperienceforbothparties,ittakesmorethanasimpleintroemail.Checkoutthisarticleforafullwalkthroughoftheintroductionprocess. YouMayAlsoLike… ResolutionstoReality:Why80%ofNewYear’sResolutionsFail(andHowtoMakeYoursStick) It’sthattimeofyearagainand,ifyou’reanythinglikenearlyhalftheUSpopulation,you’reprobablythinking... ForgetAboutForgetting:OurTop10+OnlineLearningToolstoMasterAnySkillinRecordTime Takechargeofyourgrowthanddevelopmentthisyearwithourselectionofpowerfulonlinelearningtools.Growth... WhyYouShouldNeverOfferYourHelp(andWhattoDoInstead) Everfoundyourselfinasituationlikethis?You’reinthemiddleofagreatmeetingwithanewconnection—let’scall...