How to Craft the Perfect Pre-Meeting Email to Prospects
As salespeople, we‘ve all experienced the challenge of trying to break through the noise and actually get prospects to open and read our emails. With flooded inboxes and busy schedules, it‘s no wonder that many of our painstakingly crafted messages go unopened or ignored.
However, there‘s one type of sales email that tends to get much higher engagement – the pre-meeting email. When you have a meeting scheduled with a prospect, they are much more likely to open and read your email in preparation for the appointment.
A pre-meeting email is your opportunity to not only confirm important meeting details, but also to set the stage for a productive conversation and keep your product or service top-of-mind. By crafting your pre-meeting email strategically, you can significantly increase your chances of a successful meeting and ultimately closing the deal.
In this guide, we‘ll cover:
- Why pre-meeting emails are important
- What to include in a pre-meeting email
- Pre-meeting email templates and examples
- Tips for personalizing your pre-meeting emails
The Importance of Sending a Pre-Meeting Email
Some salespeople make the mistake of thinking that once a meeting is scheduled, their work is done until the meeting itself. However, by neglecting to send a pre-meeting email, you‘re missing a valuable touchpoint with your prospect. Here are a few key reasons why pre-meeting emails are so important:
Confirms Meeting Details
First and foremost, a pre-meeting email serves to confirm the date, time, location, and attendees for your upcoming meeting. This prevents any miscommunication or missed meetings due to scheduling mix-ups. It also puts the meeting on your prospect‘s radar and decreases the likelihood of them forgetting or double-booking over it.
Sets Expectations
Your pre-meeting email is the perfect place to set expectations and share an agenda for your meeting. By giving your prospect a clear idea of what will be discussed, you help them come to the meeting prepared and ready to engage. It also shows that you value their time and want to make the meeting as productive as possible.
Shares Relevant Information
Including relevant content and resources in your pre-meeting email, such as case studies, product overviews, or blog articles, is a great way to educate your prospect and get them thinking about your solution before the meeting. This helps lay the groundwork for your conversation and speeds up the sales process.
Keeps You Top-of-Mind
With a pre-meeting email, your company and product will be fresh in your prospect‘s mind going into the meeting. Rather than trying to remember past conversations, they can quickly refer back to your email and attached resources. This positions you as a helpful, knowledgeable resource and sets a positive tone for the meeting.
What to Include in Your Pre-Meeting Email
Now that we‘ve covered why you should be sending pre-meeting emails, let‘s dive into exactly what to include to make them as impactful as possible. While your pre-meeting email should be concise, here are the key components you‘ll want to cover:
1. Personalized Greeting
Always start your pre-meeting email with a friendly, personalized greeting using your prospect‘s name. Personalization helps your email feel more conversational and build rapport before your meeting.
2. Meeting Details Confirmation
After your greeting, your first order of business is to confirm the date, time and location of the meeting. If you‘ll be meeting via phone or video conference, include the dial-in information or meeting link. If you‘re meeting in person, confirm the address and any special instructions for parking or checking in.
3. Meeting Agenda and Objectives
Next, lay out a clear agenda and objectives for your meeting. What will you be discussing? What are you hoping to accomplish? Giving your prospect a roadmap for the conversation helps them mentally prepare and makes for a more focused, productive meeting. Keep your agenda concise with 3-5 key bullet points.
4. Pre-Meeting Requests
If there is anything you need your prospect to do or prepare before the meeting, your pre-meeting email is the perfect place to ask. This could include reviewing a proposal or contract, pulling metrics or reports to discuss, inviting additional stakeholders to the meeting, etc. Be specific with your requests and provide any necessary resources or instructions.
5. Relevant Content and Resources
One of the most impactful things you can include in a pre-meeting email is relevant content and resources that educate your prospect and get them thinking about your product or service. This could include case studies of similar companies you‘ve helped, product overviews or demo videos, blog articles or white papers related to their pain points and goals, or competitive battle cards. Choose content that is highly relevant to their specific situation and that positions your company as uniquely suited to help.
6. Friendly Closing and Contact Information
Wrap up your pre-meeting email with a friendly, conversational closing expressing your excitement for the upcoming meeting. Remind them that you‘re available if they have any questions or concerns before the meeting and include your contact information. A warm sign-off will continue building rapport and make your prospect feel comfortable coming to you with any pre-meeting needs.
Pre-Meeting Email Templates and Examples
Crafting the perfect pre-meeting email may seem daunting, but it doesn‘t have to be. Here are a couple plug-and-play templates you can use as a starting point, along with real examples of pre-meeting emails optimized for different scenarios.
General Pre-Meeting Email Template
Subject Line: Looking forward to our meeting on [DAY, DATE]
Hi [Prospect name],
I‘m looking forward to our meeting on [DAY, DATE] at [TIME] [LOCATION/DIAL-IN INFO].
To make our time together as productive as possible, here‘s a quick agenda of what I‘m hoping we can cover:
- [Agenda item 1]
- [Agenda item 2]
- [Agenda item 3]
In the meantime, I thought you might find this [CONTENT TYPE – case study, product overview, blog post, etc.] helpful as it covers [CONTENT TOPIC RELATED TO PROSPECT‘S NEEDS]. You can check it out here: [LINK TO CONTENT]
Please let me know if you have any other questions or topics you‘d like to discuss as I‘m building out the agenda. I‘m really excited to learn more about [PROSPECT‘S COMPANY] and explore how [YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE] can help you [ACHIEVE XYZ GOAL].
Regards,
[Your name]
[CONTACT INFORMATION]
Example: Sending Agenda and Content for Discovery Call
Subject Line: Agenda for Our Discovery Call on Thursday
Hi Sarah,
I‘m looking forward to our discovery call this Thursday, 8/15 at 2:00pm CST. We‘ll plan to meet via Zoom – I‘ll send out a meeting invitation with the conference details shortly.
To make sure our time is well spent, here‘s a quick agenda of what I‘d like to cover in our 30 minutes together:
- Hear about your team‘s goals and challenges around [XYZ PAIN POINT/GOAL]
- Share a brief overview of how our solution helps similar companies [ACHIEVE XYZ]
- Discuss potential next steps, if it seems like a good fit
If there are any other critical topics you‘d like to cover, just let me know and I‘ll work them into the agenda.
In preparation for our call, I‘m attaching a couple resources that provide helpful background information:
- [CASE STUDY LINK]: See how [SIMILAR COMPANY] used our solution to [ACHIEVE XYZ RESULTS]
- [PRODUCT OVERVIEW LINK]: Get a high-level overview of our product and key benefits
Please take a look and jot down any initial questions that come to mind. I‘m excited to discuss further on our call!
Best,
[YOUR NAME]
[TITLE, COMPANY]
[PHONE NUMBER]
In this example, the salesperson lays out a clear, concise agenda covering the key items to be discussed in an initial discovery call. They‘ve also attached two highly relevant pieces of content to help educate the prospect before the meeting. Along with the friendly tone, this email shows the salesperson‘s commitment to making the meeting valuable for the prospect and positions them as a knowledgeable, trusted resource.
Example: Confirming Onsite Meeting with Stakeholders
Subject Line: See you on Tuesday – Onsite Meeting Details
Hi Tom,
I‘m really looking forward to our onsite meeting at [COMPANY] headquarters this Tuesday, 10/8 at 1:00pm to discuss our [XYZ] solution in more depth with your team.
To confirm, we will plan to meet in [SPECIFIC LOCATION – Front lobby, conference room #123, etc.]. I‘ve allotted 2 hours for our meeting – please let me know if you need me to adjust this timing.
We have an exciting agenda planned, including:
- Brief welcome and introductions with your team
- Live demo and deep dive of [YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE]
- Dedicated time for Q&A and discussing next steps
- [ADD ANY OTHER KEY AGENDA ITEMS]
Can you please confirm which team members will be joining our meeting? I want to make sure I‘m prepared to address each of their individual areas of interest or concern. If there is anyone else you recommend I follow up with directly before our meeting, I‘m happy to reach out.
In the meantime, I‘m attaching our [PROPOSAL, QUOTE, ETC.] for your team to review together before we meet. Please let me know if you have any initial feedback or questions!
Looking forward to a productive meeting and taking the next steps.
Cheers,
[YOUR NAME]
[CONTACT INFO]
This onsite meeting email example is all about confirming logistics and key details. The salesperson clearly lists out the meeting location, timing and agenda so there is no room for confusion or miscommunication. They‘ve also proactively asked for a list of meeting attendees, which is critical for a high-stakes onsite meeting with multiple stakeholders. By attaching a proposal as pre-meeting "homework" and offering to follow up with any additional stakeholders directly, the salesperson continues to be a proactive partner leading up to the meeting.
Tips for Personalizing Your Pre-Meeting Emails
The pre-meeting email templates above are a great starting point, but the most effective pre-meeting emails are highly personalized to your specific prospect and deal. Here are a few ways to tailor yours and take them to the next level:
Customize the Greeting and Opening Line
Forget "To Whom It May Concern" or "Dear Sir or Madam." Address your prospect by their first name, or even better, include a personalized opening line referencing a recent conversation or event in their world. For example: "I hope you had a great time at the [INDUSTRY CONFERENCE] last week!" or "I saw your company in the news for [RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT] – congratulations!"
Reference Their Specific Pain Points and Goals
Show your prospect that you‘ve done your research and understand their unique situation by referencing the specific challenges and objectives you‘ve discussed leading up to the meeting. For example: "I know reducing customer churn by X% this quarter is a top priority" or "As we discussed, efficiently managing your remote sales team is a key challenge right now."
Choose Content Specific to Their Needs
The content and resources you choose to share in your pre-meeting email should be tailored to your prospect‘s industry, role, and stage of the buying process. A broadly-applicable blog post may fall flat, but a case study featuring a similar company, a product video highlighting features that solve their specific pain points, or an ROI analysis customized to their business will be much more impactful.
Keep it Concise and Scannable
No matter how relevant your email content is, keep in mind that your prospects are busy and their attention span is limited. Keep your pre-meeting email as concise and scannable as possible, with short paragraphs, bullet points, and clear bolded headlines. If you have multiple resources to share, include hyperlinks rather than lengthy descriptions or attachments.
Don‘t Forget the Call-to-Action
What‘s the key action you need your prospect to take before the meeting? Make this clear with a direct call-to-action, whether that‘s confirming the meeting details, reviewing an agenda, completing a pre-meeting questionnaire, or blocking off time to review content you‘ve shared. Make your call-to-action specific and actionable, and consider using a bold color or larger text to make sure it stands out.
With these tips, you can craft highly-personalized pre-meeting emails that will not only get opened and read by your prospects, but also position you for more productive, impactful sales conversations.
While setting these meetings is a critical first step, preparing your prospects to make the most of your time together is how you‘ll ultimately win more deals. Use the templates and best practices above to optimize your pre-meeting emails, and you‘ll be well on your way to crushing your sales goals.
