3 Tactics to Obliterate Selfish "Just Checking In" Emails From Your Follow Up Routine

Chances are, your inbox is littered with them. Those cringe-worthy "just checking in" emails from sales reps and vendors fishing for a response.

You know the ones: "Hi [Name], I just wanted to check in and see if you had a chance to review the proposal I sent last week. Let me know if you have any questions!"

If you‘re like most people, these generic, self-serving messages make your eyes glaze over. In fact, a study by Boomerang found that emails containing the phrase "just checking in" receive a measly 2.1% response rate.

The harsh truth is, "just checking in" translates to "just thinking about myself." It‘s the digital equivalent of a telemarketer interrupting your dinner to ask if you‘re ready to buy yet. These messages convey zero value and only serve to satisfy the sender‘s own needs and priorities.

But as tempting as it is to fire off these one-liner follow ups when you‘re chasing down a quota or commission, resist the urge. Because they don‘t work. At best, you‘ll be ignored. At worst, you‘ll irritate your prospect and erode any shot at a real sales conversation.

So what should you send instead? Follow ups that are thoughtful, personalized, and focused on providing value to the recipient. In other words, emails that are the opposite of selfish.

In this post, we‘ll break down three actionable tactics to obliterate generic check ins from your follow up routine and send emails your prospects actually want to read.

Why "Just Checking In" Emails Are Ineffective and Self-Sabotaging

Before we dive into what to send instead, let‘s examine why these messages flop in the first place. There are a few key reasons:

1. They‘re inherently selfish. You‘re focused on your goal (making a sale), not helping the recipient achieve theirs.

2. They‘re vague and unclear. You haven‘t given the recipient any compelling reason to respond or take action.

3. They‘re generic and impersonal. There‘s zero attempt to understand the prospect‘s unique situation or needs.

4. They‘re redundant and lazy. If you already sent information, following up with "let me know if you have questions" puts all the burden on the prospect.

In short, "just checking in" emails are the lazy way out. They require minimal effort from the sender, and as a result, they get minimal response from recipients.

Think about it this way – when was the last time you eagerly replied to a "just checking in" email? Probably never. Because deep down, we all recognize these messages for what they are – a thinly veiled attempt to get something from us without providing any value in return.

If anything, these emails only serve to annoy people and make them even less likely to engage. A survey by Litmus found that 34% of people say they "frequently" receive sales emails that are irrelevant to their needs.

Not only do these constant check ins tank your chances of making a sale, they can damage your professional reputation and make people hesitant to work with you in the future.

So what‘s the alternative? Shifting the focus of your follow ups from "What can I get from this person?" to "How can I add value for this person?"

Here are three ways to do just that.

Tactic 1: Set Up Google Alerts to Track Relevant Trigger Events

If you want to send follow ups that are timely and relevant to your prospects, you need a systematic way to stay on top of what‘s happening in their world.

One of the easiest ways to do this is by setting up Google Alerts for your key accounts and dream clients. This free tool from Google allows you to specify keywords and phrases you want to monitor, and then receive email notifications anytime those terms appear in new web content.

For example, let‘s say you sell marketing automation software and one of your target accounts is Acme Inc. You‘d set up alerts for things like:

• "Acme Inc."
• "Acme Inc. + CMO"
• "Acme Inc. + product launch"
• "Acme Inc. + funding"
• "[Competitor] + Acme Inc."

Now, anytime a press release, news article, blog post, or other web page mentions your target account in the context of a relevant trigger event, you‘ll get an instant email notification linking to the source.

Some examples of noteworthy trigger events could be:

• New executive hires, especially in your buyer‘s department
• Funding rounds or acquisitions
• Product launches or major company announcements
• Expansions into new markets or verticals
• Winning industry awards or accolades
• Partnerships with other vendors
• Thought leadership or speaking engagements

By monitoring for these signals, you can quickly identify organic opportunities to reach out and add value. For instance, if Acme Inc. announces a new product, you could send a message like:

Hi [Name],

Congrats on launching [Product] – looks like an exciting move for Acme! I actually came across this research report on industry trends that might be helpful as you work on the go-to-market strategy. Would love to hear your thoughts if you have a few minutes to review it.

Also, I have some ideas about how [Your Company] could support the launch from a marketing automation perspective. If you‘re open to it, I‘d be happy to share a few quick suggestions. Let me know if you have 15 minutes to chat next week.

Cheers,
[Your Name]

See how much more relevant and valuable this follow up is than "just checking in"? You‘ve demonstrated that you‘re keeping tabs on their company, provided a useful resource tied to their goals, and offered your expertise in a helpful way. Even if they don‘t take you up on the offer to connect, you‘ve still positioned yourself as a trusted advisor rather than a pushy salesperson.

The key is to act on these trigger events in a timely manner – ideally within 24 hours of the news breaking. You can even set up real-time alerts so you‘re notified as soon as a new story is posted.

Of course, this requires some upfront work to determine which keywords and events are most relevant to track for each account. But it‘s well worth the effort to ensure your follow ups are rooted in a legitimate, value-added reason to reach out.

Tactic 2: Mine LinkedIn Groups for Intel and Engagement Opportunities

Another gold mine for surfacing relevant follow up fodder is LinkedIn Groups. Chances are, your prospects belong to a handful of groups related to their industry, job function, or business challenges. And these groups are often hotbeds for timely discussions and content sharing.

The goal is to identify a few key groups where your prospects are active, and then dedicate some time each week to scanning the conversations and identifying opportunities to jump in and add value.

For example, let‘s say you sell sales enablement solutions and notice that one of your target accounts has been participating heavily in a group discussion about onboarding new sales reps. You could chime in with a comment like:

Completely agree with your point about the importance of having a standardized onboarding process! I actually just published a blog post covering 5 key elements of a winning sales onboarding program, based on a study of 50 high-growth companies. Would love to get your thoughts – I‘ll message you the link.

Then, follow up with a personalized email sharing the post and inviting them to discuss the topic further:

Hi [Name],

I really enjoyed your insights in the [Group Name] discussion on sales onboarding best practices. Definitely agree that having a repeatable process is key for ramping reps quickly and effectively.

On that note, I thought you might be interested in a blog post I just published on the 5 essential elements of a sales onboarding program. It‘s based on a study we did of 50 of the fastest-growing B2B companies:
[Blog post URL]

Would love to hear your thoughts on how this compares to your own experience with onboarding. If you‘re open to it, I‘d be happy to walk you through how [Your Company] helps companies systematize their sales enablement processes. Do you have 20 minutes to connect next week?

Best,
[Your Name]

Again, the key is to lead with relevance and value. By referencing a discussion they‘re already engaged in and sharing a tailored resource, you‘ve demonstrated that you‘ve done your homework and aren‘t just reaching out with a generic pitch.

Even if they don‘t respond right away, you‘ve laid the groundwork for a more meaningful relationship. And you can continue to nurture the conversation by sharing other relevant content or insights as you come across them.

Tactic 3: Use Email Tracking to Time Your Follow Ups Based on Engagement

One of the biggest mistakes sales reps make with follow ups is reaching out at arbitrary intervals based on their own agenda. Just because it‘s been a week since you sent a proposal doesn‘t mean the prospect is ready to talk.

Instead, base your follow up timing and content on the other person‘s actual engagement with your previous outreach. And one of the best ways to gain those insights is by using an email tracking tool like HubSpot Sales, Yesware, or Mixmax.

These tools can tell you:

• When a prospect opens your email (and how many times)
• What links they click on
• What attachments they view or download
• How long they spend reading your content

Armed with this info, you can tailor your follow ups based on what the prospect seems interested in and when they‘re engaging with your materials.

For example, say you sent a prospect a case study two weeks ago and just noticed that they opened it for the first time this morning. Now would be the perfect opportunity to reach back out and offer to walk them through the details:

Hi [Name],

I noticed you checked out the [Company Name] case study I sent a couple weeks back – I‘m glad it caught your eye! Let me know if you have any questions. I‘d be happy to walk you through the specifics of how they used our solution to [achieve X result].

If you‘re interested, I can also share a few other customer examples that are similar to your company in terms of [size, industry, use case]. Do you have 15 minutes to connect this week? Let me know what works best for you.

Cheers,
[Your Name]

The beauty of this approach is that your follow up is both timely and relevant. You‘re striking while the iron is hot, so to speak, and offering value that‘s aligned with what they‘ve already shown interest in.

Of course, email tracking does require a bit of setup work and explicit opt-in from recipients in some cases. But used ethically, it can be a powerful way to bring a more human, helpful touch to your follow up process.

Putting It All Together: An Annotated Follow Up Email Example

Let‘s take a look at how you might combine all three of these tactics into a single, ultra-relevant follow up email:

Subject: Congrats on the new role! Thoughts on [pain point]?

Hi [Name],

[Personalized opening referencing a trigger event]
I saw the press release announcing your promotion to [job title] – congrats on the new role! I can imagine [strategic initiative] is top of mind as you settle in.

[Relevant content tie-in from LinkedIn Group discussion]
Actually, your comment in the [Group Name] discussion last week about [topic] really resonated with me. I‘ve been thinking a lot about how [challenge related to their goals] lately.

[Value-add resource based on email engagement]
I noticed you downloaded the [content asset] I shared a while back – did you find it helpful? I ask because I recently published a follow up piece on [related topic]. It covers [key points] and provides some actionable tips for [solving pain point]. Thought it might be useful as you [work on strategic initiative]:
[URL to content asset]

[Clear CTA]
If you‘re open to it, I‘d love to chat more about how [Your Company] is helping other [industry/role] leaders tackle [pain point]. Would you have 20 minutes next week for a quick call? Let me know what works best for your schedule.

Cheers,
[Your Name]

Let‘s break this down:

• The subject line leads with a personalized congratulations and teases the value prop
• The opening line references a highly relevant trigger event (their job change)
• The second paragraph demonstrates you‘ve been listening to their insights in a relevant LinkedIn Group and positions the follow up around a topic they care about
• The third paragraph proves you‘ve been tracking their content engagement and uses that to share a hyper-relevant resource
• The call-to-action clearly states the value of connecting and makes it easy for them to say yes
• The signoff is friendly and conversational

See how much more effective this is than a generic "just checking in" email? You‘ve taken the time to understand their world, added value at every turn, and made a clear case for why they should respond.

To be fair, not every follow up will fit this exact framework. The point is to be intentional about referencing trigger events, engagement signals, and other personalized details that show you‘ve done your homework. Even one or two of these elements can be enough to elevate your message above the noise.

A Few More Follow-Up Best Practices to Keep in Mind

In addition to the three core tactics we‘ve covered, here are a few more best practices to follow to ensure your follow ups hit the mark:

1. Keep it concise. Aim for 100-200 words max. Any longer and you risk losing their attention.

2. Personalize everything. Never send a generic template. Always tailor your message to the specific person and situation.

3. Add value in every touch. Share a relevant article, offer a quick tip, or extend an invitation to an upcoming event. Never reach out empty-handed.

4. Provide a clear call-to-action. Make it easy for them to take the next step, whether that‘s scheduling a call, downloading a resource, or making an introduction.

5. Experiment with timing. Test sending your follow ups on different days and times to see when you get the best response rates. Generally, mid-morning on weekdays tends to work well.

6. Don‘t go overboard. Studies show it takes an average of 8 touches to get an initial meeting. But space your follow ups out every 3-4 business days at minimum. Any more than that and you‘ll likely come across as annoying.

7. Know when to walk away. If you‘ve followed up 4-5 times with no response, it‘s probably best to move on. Send a polite breakup email letting them know you‘ll stop reaching out, but that your door is always open if they want to reconnect in the future.

Remember, the key to sending follow ups that actually get responses is to make them about the other person, not about you. Do your research, personalize your messaging, and always strive to add value.

If you can master this approach, you‘ll quickly differentiate yourself from all the other reps clogging up your prospects‘ inboxes. Not only will you start to generate more replies and meetings, you‘ll build your reputation as someone who‘s thoughtful, helpful, and worth talking to.

So give these tactics a try and see how they transform your follow up game. Because life‘s too short to spend crafting "just checking in" emails that go nowhere.