Write a sales follow-up email that gets a reply
Crade reads the previous thread on your screen and writes a follow-up that reminds the prospect without sounding pushy. Right tone, right ask, right length.
Hi Lena, thanks for taking the intro call yesterday. Sending over the proposal we discussed. Available to chat whenever works for you...
Anna, thanks. Proposal looks reasonable. Q3 budget gets finalized end of June. Will circle back then. Appreciate the patience.
Thanks Lena, makes sense. Will hold the slot for Q3 and follow up around mid-June. In the meantime, sending over the Northbeam case study . the engagement we just wrapped which I think mirrors yours...
Draft a follow-up. Three weeks since my last message. Polite but with a clear next step.
Subject: Quick update on the Q3 retainer Hi Lena, You mentioned in May that Q3 budget was finalizing end of June . wanted to check in since we're near that window. Since we last spoke, we shipped the brand sprint with Northbeam (similar SaaS, similar team size). Happy to share the case study if useful. A quick 20-min call this week or next to walk through how a Q3 engagement could look? Tuesday 2pm or Thursday 10am open on my side. If timing is off, no problem . just let me know and I'll stop chasing. Best, Anna
Sales follow-up has the highest conversion-per-minute of any sales activity, and the lowest hit rate per attempt. Most follow-ups sound like template noise: "Just bumping this up", "Wanted to check in". The ones that work reference something specific from the previous exchange and have a clear next step. Crade reads the thread and writes the follow-up that does both.
What you put on your screen
- The original email thread you sent
- Any context they shared (case study mentions, timeline they cited, blockers they have)
- Your CRM record if you want Crade to pull from notes
What you say to Crade
Specify the gap and the tone. "One week, casual" vs "three months, more formal" lands differently.
What you get back
- A reference to something specific from the previous thread (not generic "hope you're well")
- A clear update or value-add (something new they did not have before)
- An easy next step (a call, a yes/no answer, a forward to the right person)
- A short P.S. That gives them an easy escape if they need it
Tips for higher reply rates
- Reference the specific thing from the last thread. "You mentioned you were figuring out budget by end of Q2" beats "following up".
- Add value, do not just check in. A case study, a relevant article, a competitor update.
- Make the reply easy. "Are you still looking at this?" with a yes/no answer gets more replies than open-ended questions.
- Time your follow-ups. Most replies come within 24 hours OR after 2 weeks. Almost nothing in between. Time accordingly.
- After 3 follow-ups, switch to "closing the loop" mode: "Should I stop following up?". Surprisingly high reply rate.
Frequently asked questions
How many follow-ups is too many?
Most data says 4-7 follow-ups before you cap. Crade can suggest the cadence and language. After the cap, do a clean "close the loop" message and stop.
Should I use Crade for cold outreach too?
Yes. Crade reads the prospect's LinkedIn or company site on screen and writes a cold first touch with a specific hook. See the cold LinkedIn message post for the pattern.
Will the recipient know it was AI-written?
If you let Crade write it verbatim without your voice, probably yes. Tell Crade your tone ("keep my voice, I am informal and direct") and the output sounds like you. One or two edits seal it.
Can Crade pull from my CRM?
Indirectly. Open the CRM record on screen; Crade reads the notes. For native CRM integration, that is on the roadmap but not shipped.
What about A/B testing subject lines?
Ask Crade for three variants. "Give me three subject lines, optimised for opens." Send each to different sub-segments and track in your CRM.
The whole loop in one sentence
Thread on screen, one prompt with the gap and tone, follow-up ready to send. Reply rates go up because every message is specific to the conversation.
Most of the time spent on email is not the typing. It is the reading. Crade reads the thread on your screen, gets the actual ask, and drafts a reply you can send or tweak. Here is exactly how it works.
An email you typed too casually. A Slack message that came out blunter than you meant. A first draft that lacks polish. Crade reads what you wrote and rewrites it cleaner without losing your voice.
Crade reads the person's profile on your screen and drafts a cold message that mentions something specific from their work. Not generic outreach.