Scheduling An Interview: Best Follow-Up Templates

Have you ever lost temper when another follow-up email went nowhere? I’m sure you have. That’s one of the most stressful things in the sales rep’s work — contact, wait, contact again, and often get disappointed.

Not a surprise lots of salespeople give up: 70% stop following up at once, robbing themselves of an opportunity to shine with their offer during the personal meeting. Meanwhile, if you go on sending follow-ups, you’ll have a 25% chance to hear back and schedule an interview with your prospect.

In this post, we will provide you with the top follow-up email templates for scheduling an interview with your potential customer and prove followßups are the core of a successful sales process.

Why do follow-ups for scheduling an interview matter?

There are several reasons you shouldn’t stop following up with your prospect before you schedule an interview with them:

• An interview is a top mechanism to hear the voice of your potential customer. This is your opportunity to get in-depth information about a prospect right from them.
• Looking at a potential customer in front of you, you can better understand their buyer persona and thus find proper leverage to influence their purchase decision.
• Interviews are a great way to show a demo of your product or service in real-time and answer all prospect’s questions, demonstrating your high level of expertise.

Best follow-up email templates for scheduling an interview with a prospect

Now that you know why you should follow up with a potential client, let’s talk about how to schedule an interview via email. We’ve prepared eight follow-up email templates for scheduling an interview that will help you look impressive and persuasive.

1. Follow-up email after leaving a voicemail

Cold calling isn’t easy. An average salesperson gets roughly one appointment from every 209 cold calls. The common way out in such a situation is leaving a voicemail, which, unluckily, doesn’t guarantee the prospect’s response either.

Good news! If you accompany your voicemail with a good follow-up email, you may get an 80% response rate within 24 hours. Here’s a scheduling interview email you are free to use in such a case:

Template 1: Interview scheduling email after a voicemail

Hi [Name], I just called to [Purpose]. In my voicemail, I mentioned that I’m going to offer you something you’ll be interested in. We’ve made an in-depth analysis of your company and are ready to provide you with solutions to cater to your actual needs. Don’t hesitate to take a look at a very short demo showing you exactly how [Prospect’s company] can benefit from [Your offer]. Are you free on [Date] for a quick chat? Thanks! [Your name]

Why is it a good follow-up email to schedule interview?

• It’s highly personalized and value-bringing. You show that your company has done its homework — researched about your prospect and detected their current needs.
• You use an opportunity to demonstrate your product or service even before an interview by attaching a brief demo.

2. Follow-up email after the first discussion

Only 2% of sales happen at the first meeting. So, even if you seem to have had a very successful one, don’t wait until your prospect contacts you back with the decision to make a purchase. The fishing rod is always in your hands. Act!

Send a follow-up message where you can thank a prospect for a previous discussion, express your interest in further cooperation, and, what’s super-important, stretch a helping hand.

Consider the respective email follow-up template:

Template 2: Scheduling an interview after the first discussion

Hi [Name], Thank you for your time! I enjoyed our conversation and was excited to learn more about your company’s goals and processes. I understand the current issues you’re facing [Challenges discussed in the previous conversation] and how they [Negative impact on a prospect’s company]. As promised, here’s more information about how you can [Positive expectation about using your solution] with our help and [What you can do to solve their business problem]. I’d be very happy to chat again on [Date and time] to answer all your questions and discuss what else we can offer to help you meet your goals for 2024. Best regards, [Your name]

Why is this template good?

• You start the email on a friendly note, sum up your previous discussion, and carefully refer to the prospect’s pain points as if reminding them that their problem exists and you can solve it.
• You describe how you can help by starting with a positive statement and speaking about what a potential client may gain from the cooperation with you.

3. Following up after the first follow-up email

While most reps give up after the second contact, don’t stop following up. Remember that 50% of all sales happen after the 5th contact. So, if you have already sent your followup message to the prospect, send them another one, scheduling an interview.

Try the following template:

Template 3: Scheduling an interview after a follow-up

Hi [Name], In the previous email, I sent you some information on how you may increase your productivity with sales automation software [Details of the previous email]. It would be interesting to know whether you are using any tools at the moment. If not, I’d love to share some working tips on how to choose the platform that would fit your business goals.  Are you available for a 15-minute chat on [Date and time]? Let me know what works best for you. I look forward to hearing from you, [Your name]

Why is it a good follow-up email to set up interview?

• It’s short and simple, but you are clever to provide additional value to the one you’ve already offered in the previous follow-up.
• You state how much time the interview will take (quite short!), so that the prospect will be less reluctant to resist your invitation.

But what if this email also goes nowhere? There’s still ground for a battle. In such a scenario, I would advise you to let a prospect schedule an interview on their own.

For example:

Template 4: Scheduling an interview after a few follow-ups

Hi [Name], I tried to contact you a few times to go over suggestions on increasing your productivity with sales automation tools. I haven’t heard back from you, which tells me you may not be ready to speak about it right at the moment. That’s okay. I don’t mean to bother you.  We can have a brief talk whenever it’s most convenient for you. Please, inform me when is the perfect time for you to have a conversation with me and how many minutes you have at your disposal? I look forward to hearing from you, [Your name]

Why consider sending follow-up email to schedule interview based on this template?

• It isn’t annoying as you mention you are ready to play according to the prospect’s rules.
• You don’t ask for a long interview (the potential client needs to dedicate some “minutes” of their time).

4. Follow-up email after a trigger event

If you haven’t started tracking your emails yet, it’s high time you do. Snov.io offers an unlimited Email Tracker you’ll wish to start using today. Tracking emails, for example, you’ll find out how many times your message was opened. And if you notice the prospect has reopened your proposal, send your follow-up and schedule an interview with them.

Consider the following template to help you in this case:

Template 5: Scheduling an interview after a prospect reopened your email

Hi [Name], Two weeks ago I sent you an email with a brief video about how our sales and marketing tool works. You haven’t responded, being busy, I assume, with the month closing procedures. Now that a new month has started, I would like to clarify whether you have watched our demo and talk about our offering in detail. What about having a quick chat on [Date and time]? We may look through this demo together, and I’ll be glad to answer all your questions that may arise. Best regards, [Your name]

Why is this template good?

• As you are sending a follow-up after the prospect has reopened your email, you share your offer at the right time.
• You demonstrate your understanding of your potential client’s business (you know how hectic it is for a sales team to deal with a month closing).

Let’s consider another situation: you’ve noticed the prospect has looked at your product and pricing pages. Rush to get in touch with them while they are hot with this template in a pocket:

Template 6: Scheduling an interview after a prospect looked through your product page

Hi [Name], I’ve noticed your teammates have visited our [Your product] page and pricing plans this week.  Our [Your product] helps companies like you [Your product description and advantages]. Do you have 10 minutes on [Date and time] to speak more about our tools your teammates have been researching? Besides, I’ll be glad to clarify our pricing plans and freemium. Looking forward to hearing from you, [Your name]

Why is this a good follow-up email to schedule interview?

• As 19% of buyers want to talk to a sales rep when first learning about a product, you’ll be up to the point with this follow-up.
• You don’t miss a chance to speak about the value your solution will bring to your prospect.
• You mention there is a compelling possibility to use your service for free. Customers appreciate free trials. That’s why if your company offers its tools for free as Snov.io does, speak it out.

5. Follow-up email after a business event

Attending business occasions such as a marketing or sales conference, trade show, and other events related to your product or service, you may build important business connections. Maintain these new relationships as soon as you are back in the office by sending a well-elaborated follow-up email.

Here’s a template you can use to get in touch with a new prospective customer you’ve got acquainted with at the business event:

Template 7: Scheduling an interview after a business event

Hi [Name], It was a pleasure for me to get acquainted with you at [Business event]. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did and got some new portion of information about sales automation tools to improve your [Prospect’s current problem]. Boosting your sales team’s productivity must be a top priority for you. That’s why I thought you’d be interested in learning more about [Your product], which companies like yours use to [Your advantage]. I’d love to have a brief conversation with you about your expectations of an effective sales automation tool. What about [Date and time]? Meanwhile, let me send you some insights on how to choose the fitting sales software for your business [Piece of content]. Regards, [Your Name]

What is good about this follow-up email template to schedule interview?

• It’s highly personalized as you refer to the personal communication with the prospect at the last business event.
• You mention the potential client’s competitors. Companies often pay more attention to solutions their competitors are already using.
• You underline the prospect’s challenges and provide value (insights on how to choose the sales automation tool).

6. Follow-up email after an objection

A prospect’s silence shouldn’t prevent you from making another go at following up with them. But what if the potential client is objecting to your offer?

Do.Follow.Up.

Say, if a prospect responds to your cold email with something like ‘Your solution is not a top priority for us right now,’ it’s a good reason to schedule an interview on a later date.

Consider the respective template:

Template 8: Scheduling an interview after a sales objection

Hi [Name], Thank you for sharing this information with me. I see that it’s not the right moment for you to consider my offer. What if we arrange an interview after a while, and I will show you what we are doing and how our service may help. When is a good time for us to chat? Best regards, [Your name]

Why is this a good template?

• You put yourself in their shoes and don’t try to persuade them to consider your solution at the moment.
• You are still speaking about an appointment, but a bit later.

How to write a follow-up email to schedule an interview

Inviting a prospective customer to have a short conversation with you is not a simple sales task, it’s a real art. To be sure you are doing it right, consider the following tips:

Know what you are offering

You may roll your eyes at me now with a kind of silent question, “How come that I don’t know what I am offering? I am a sales professional.” Well, without a doubt a sales rep must know their product. But you should remember that you are not selling it, you are selling its merits. Focus on benefits relevant to your prospect’s needs.

Additionally, preparing for your next sales meeting should also include anticipating and practicing responses to the most common interview questions.

Bring value

The key sales postulate is to offer a potential client something of value, something that will sound like a good reason for them to have a conversation with you.

Try to concentrate on quantity rather than quality while describing how your product or service may be helpful. For example, if you mention that implementing your tool may save a prospect $2,000, this statement will have better power than something vague like “Our tool will save your budget.”

Analyze prospect’s reactions

People may have all sorts of reactions to your sales message. Some of them may be skeptical about the offer; others might seem quite enthusiastic. Yet, a good deal of them will stay indifferent. Try to understand their feelings starting from the initial interaction and build your follow-up emails corresponding to their attitude.

Let’s consider examples:

If you noticed that the prospect is skeptical, figure out what makes them feel so and show you are ready to address those issues. Here’s what you can say:

If the prospect looks enthusiastic, you are free to ask for the meeting in a straightforward way:

If the prospect seems indifferent, the situation is harder to deal with, yet you can. Continue conversation to find out whether there is enough interest for them to continue:

Wrapping up

Scheduling an interview with a prospective customer should be part of your sales outreach strategy. Interviews are more personalized; hence they can increase your chances of driving a would-be customer to the purchase stage.

We hope the above mentioned follow-up email templates will help you build a bridge to a successful interview and make its scheduling far easier than before. And if you need a perfect solution for automating your sales process, rely on Snov.io as the best power engine for your business growth.