Sales email templates

Sales Follow-Up Email Templates

Send one or two follow-ups, 2-4 days apart, each with one new reason to reply, and ask for the meeting every time. The 8 templates below cover no reply, after a meeting, after a proposal and after a demo.

Template 1 as a Ken Sequence Step

Ken sequence step

Query

Sequence step 1 - Sales follow-up email

Subject: None, it replies in the thread of your last email
Body preview: One thing I left out last time: [new reason]. It's usually the first thing teams like {company} ask about, so I wanted you to ...
Variables: {firstName}, {company}, {sender_first_name}
You write: [new reason]

Template 1 below, "The new-angle follow-up", set up as the first step of a Campaigns sequence.

Use this template in KenAI personalization: 300 credits per 1,000 contacts

When to Use

In short Send a follow-up when a cold email, a meeting or a proposal has gone quiet for 2-4 days.

A cold email got no reply in 2-4 days. Send one new angle, then a short close.
You just had a meeting. Send the recap the same day, with one owner and one date per next step.
A proposal went out and nothing came back. Name the part buyers usually want to change and offer a time to go through it.
A demo left one open question. Answer it and ask for the next step.
You may have the wrong person. Ask who owns the topic.

Templates

In short Copy any of the 8 templates below, replace each [bracketed] part and cut any line that isn't true for you. Ken fills the {firstName}-style variables.

Variables

The templates use Ken's editor syntax. Ken fills {firstName}, {company} and {industry} from each contact and {sender_first_name} from the sending inbox. {{First Line}} is an AI variable. Ken's AI personalization writes it for each contact from the prompt of that name. To cover an empty field, add a fallback after a pipe, such as {firstName|there}. Replace every word in [brackets] with your own before you paste.

Your signature

For cold and other commercial email, put your postal address and a one-line opt-out in the signature under {sender_first_name}, such as "Reply stop and I won't email again." The FTC's CAN-SPAM guide requires both, B2B email included.

Template 1: The new-angle follow-up

{firstName},

One thing I left out last time: [new reason].

It's usually the first thing teams like {company} ask about, so I wanted you to have it before you decide.

Want me to walk you through how it would work for you?

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: It adds one new reason to reply instead of repeating the first email, and it still asks for the meeting.

Template 2: The proof follow-up

{firstName},

[similar company] had the same problem with [problem]. After [timeframe], [result].

I can show you what they changed and what it would look like at {company}.

Open to a walkthrough next week?

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: One specific result from a company like theirs does more work than any adjective.

Template 3: The useful-resource follow-up

{firstName},

I put together [resource] for {industry} teams. It shows [what it shows], and it takes about two minutes to read.

Want me to send it over?

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: It hands the reader something useful for a one-word reply, which restarts a quiet thread.

Template 4: The close with an easy out

{firstName},

I really think {company} would get [outcome] from this, or I wouldn't have reached out.

If it's not relevant, just reply and I'll stop emailing.

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: It ends on belief and a plain opt-out, which earns a reply, even a no, without announcing a last attempt.

Template 5: The meeting recap

Subject: Next steps for {company}

Hey {firstName},

Thanks for the time today. Here's what I heard:
- [priority one]
- [priority two]

Next step on my side: [my next step] by [date]. On yours: [their next step].

Does [next meeting time] still work for the follow-up?

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: A written recap with one owner and one date per step turns a good call into a booked next step.

Template 6: The after-proposal follow-up

Subject: {company} proposal

Hey {firstName},

I sent the proposal for [project] on [sent day]. The part teams most often want to change is [common change], and I can adjust it either way.

Want to go through it together on [proposed day]?

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: Naming the part buyers usually push back on makes it easy to reply with the real objection.

Template 7: The open-question follow-up

{firstName},

On our call you asked about [open question]. I checked with [team name]: [answer].

That was the last open item on my list. Ready to [next step]?

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: Closing the one open question from the call gives the deal a reason to move this week.

Template 8: The right-person check

{firstName},

Not sure you're the right person for [topic] at {company}. If someone else owns it, who should I talk to?

{sender_first_name}

Why it works: When you may have the wrong contact, a one-line ask turns the reply into a single name.

Timing

In short Ken's default is 3 emails in about 9 days: the first email, one follow-up with a new angle and a short close.

Sales follow-up email cadence
Day	Step	Goal
Day 1	First email	Make the offer and ask for the meeting
Day 4	Follow-up with a new angle (template 1 or 2)	Give one new reason to reply
Day 9	Close (template 4)	Give an easy yes or an easy out

Gaps follow Ken's sequence guide: 2-4 days between emails, up to 5 before the last one. Add an email only when it carries a new idea. After a meeting or a proposal, send the recap the same day.

Examples

In short 3 filled-in versions for freight brokerage, dental lab and managed IT services, all with fictional companies.

Quillmoor Freight is a fictional company. A rep selling shipment-tracking software follows up with the operations lead at a 25-person freight brokerage, 3 days after a first email got no reply.

Example: Freight brokerage

Dana,

One thing I left out last time: brokerages your size usually lose the most hours on check calls, not on finding loads.

Our tracking texts drivers for a status and logs the answer on the load, so your team stops calling for updates.

Want me to show you how it would run at Quillmoor?

Sam

Brindlewood Dental Lab is a fictional company. A sales lead at a lab software vendor sends the recap the same afternoon as a first call with the lab's owner.

Example: Dental lab

Subject: Next steps for Brindlewood

Hey Priya,

Thanks for the time today. Here's what I heard:
- Remakes on crown cases are the biggest cost
- Any change has to work with the scanners your dentists already use

Next step on my side: a remake report from your last 90 days of cases by Thursday. On yours: send me the case export.

Does Friday at 10 still work for the review?

Alex

Orrin Bay IT is a fictional company. An account executive follows up 2 days after sending a help desk proposal to the IT services firm's operations director.

Example: Managed IT services

Subject: Orrin Bay proposal

Hey Marcus,

I sent the proposal for the help desk move on Tuesday. The part most teams want to change is the after-hours coverage, and I can adjust it either way.

Want to go through it together on Thursday?

Jordan

Mistakes to Avoid

Opening with "just following up", "circling back" or "checking in". The reader learns nothing new, so there is nothing to reply to. Lead with the new reason instead.
Repeating the first email in new words. Each follow-up needs one new idea: a proof point, a resource or a sharper ask.
Asking a soft question instead of asking for the meeting. "Is this worth a look?" gives the reader nothing to say yes to; "Open to a walkthrough next week?" does.
Starting a new subject on every follow-up, or faking a Re: on a first email. Reply in the same thread; Google's sender guidelines reserve Re: and Fwd: for real replies and forwards.
Sending a fifth and sixth email that say nothing new. Stop after 3 unless the next email has its own idea.

FAQ

How many follow-up emails should you send?

Two after the first email is a good default, so 3 emails in total. Ken's copywriting skill adds more only when each extra email carries a new idea, such as a case study or a resource.

How long should you wait before following up?

2-4 days after the first email, and up to 5 days before the last one. After a meeting or a proposal, send the recap the same day while the details are fresh.

What do you write in a follow-up email after no response?

One new reason to reply: something you left out, a result from a similar company or a resource they can use. Keep it around 50 words and ask for the meeting again in plain words.

Should a follow-up email have a new subject line?

No. Reply in the same thread so the reader sees your first email under it. Google's sender guidelines say to start a subject with Re: or Fwd: only on real replies and forwards.

How do you end a follow-up sequence?

With a short close that restates the outcome and gives an easy out, such as "If it's not relevant, just reply and I'll stop emailing." Skip "last email" lines; they read as pressure.

Do This in Ken

Send This Sequence in Ken

Run these templates as a Campaigns sequence in Ken. Campaigns finds and qualifies leads, writes personalized email and LinkedIn sequences, and sends them from your outbound inboxes. AI personalization, priced below, can fill the personal lines for each contact.

Create a campaign and paste template 1 as the first email step.
Add the next steps from this page on the days in the timing table.
Replace every [bracketed] part, and add a fallback such as {firstName|there} where a field can be empty.
Add your contacts and launch.

Module: Campaigns
Open in Ken: /waitlist
Cost: AI personalization: 300 credits per 1,000 contacts

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Cold email skills for AI agents
The open-source skills these templates are written from.
Ken pricing

Sources

Every source, with the date we checked it
Source	URL	Checked
Google Workspace Admin Help, Email sender guidelines	support.google.com/a/answer/81126	2026-10-17
FTC, CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business	www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business	2026-10-17
Ken cold email skills (MIT), email-copywriting and campaign-strategy	github.com/Ken-Technology/cold-email-skills	2026-10-17

Changelog

Oct 17, 2026Page published.