The Waiting Game: 9 Moments When Delaying Your Sales Email Drives Better Results

As salespeople, we‘re always looking for an edge—that magic bullet that will help us connect with more prospects, book more meetings, and ultimately close more deals. While we can‘t control many factors in sales, it‘s easy to fall into the trap of believing that we need to constantly be sending emails, hopping on calls, and grinding away without rest.

However, there are moments when slowing down and holding your fire can actually be the smartest play. When it comes to sales emails, thoughtfully choosing when to press "send" can make all the difference between your message being ignored or driving real engagement and action.

In this post, we‘ll break down nine key situations when waiting to send your sales email can lead to dramatically better results. For each one, we‘ll unpack the psychology behind why a delay gives you an advantage and arm you with specific tactics and templates you can use to maximize your impact.

But don‘t just take my word for it. We‘ll dive into the latest research and experiments that support a more strategic approach to email timing. For example:

• Yesware‘s analysis of over 500,000 emails found that emails sent between 1-3pm get the highest response rates at just over 14%. Emails sent in the early morning or evening had response rates under 8%.

• A USC study discovered that the average employee spends almost 30% of their workday reading and responding to email. The sheer volume of messages means anything you can do to stand out is crucial.

• HubSpot‘s breakdown of 20 million emails sent by salespeople revealed that emails sent at 11am were most likely to be opened and responded to.

Armed with these insights, let‘s dive into the nine moments when your sales emails are primed for maximum impact.

1. Reaching Prospects in Different Time Zones

If you‘re selling to customers outside your time zone, you need to adapt your outreach to match their schedule, not yours. Blasting out emails at your 9am might land you at the bottom of their overflowing inbox by the time they get into the office.

Here‘s a template for how you might approach scheduling an email to a prospect a few hours behind you:

Subject: Following up on [Relevant Topic] — Reaching out at a convenient time

Hi [Prospect Name],

I know we‘re a few hours apart, so I wanted to send this to you at a time that works well for your schedule.

[Your concise and relevant message here.]

Let me know if you have any questions and I look forward to discussing this further at a convenient time for you. My calendar is flexible, so just send over some times that work best and I‘ll make it happen.

Best,
[Your Name]

2. Scheduling Emails When You‘re Heads Down Prospecting

Effective salespeople time block their outreach to maximize their productivity. When you‘re heads down prospecting and crafting emails, the worst thing you can do is break your flow by letting responses drag you down a rabbit hole.

Instead, schedule your emails to send after your prospecting blocks so you can give responses your full attention without losing momentum. You can even communicate this in your messages:

Subject: Hoping to get your thoughts on this

Hi [Prospect Name],

I‘m reaching out about [topic/pain point] and think there could be a great opportunity for us to work together on this.

I‘m sending this a bit later in the day because I‘ve blocked off the morning to do research and outreach. Wanted to give your response my full attention without making you wait days for a reply.

Looking forward to hearing your perspective on this. If you‘re interested, let‘s find a time to chat further.

Cheers,
[Your Name]

3. Sending High-Stakes Emails

Sometimes you need to send an important email to a high-value prospect or customer. In these situations, you can‘t afford even the slightest mistake.

Give yourself time to craft the message, step away, and review it again later with fresh eyes before scheduling it to send. This allows you to approach it more objectively and catch any errors or opportunities to strengthen your case before it hits their inbox.

4. Following Up After a Trigger Event

Savvy salespeople keep a close eye on their target accounts and jump on any relevant events, like funding rounds, product launches, or leadership changes. But timing your outreach is an art.

Pouncing immediately after news breaks can make you seem desperate or insensitive. Give the dust a day or two to settle, then reach out with a relevant angle that shows you‘re attuned to their world:

Subject: Congrats on the [Trigger Event]!

Hi [Prospect Name],

Just saw the news about [trigger event]. Congratulations to you and the team on this exciting milestone!

I can imagine things are hectic right now as you navigate this change. I wanted to reach out because we‘ve helped many [similar companies] successfully [handle relevant challenge related to the event] without missing a beat.

Would it be helpful to share a few pointers on what‘s worked well for others in your shoes? No worries if the timing isn‘t right – I know you have a lot on your plate. But if you‘re open to it, I‘d love to find a low-pressure way to support you and the team.

Let me know what you think,
[Your Name]

5. Engaging Prospects Who Have Gone Dark

We‘ve all been there – a once-responsive prospect suddenly goes silent and you‘re left wondering what went wrong. In these situations, restraint can work to your advantage.

Rather than barraging them with daily emails until they relent or block you, hold back and give them a longer leash. Wait a full week before a gentle follow-up. If that doesn‘t work, try again in two weeks. Then a month.

Prove that you‘re not going to pester them and you‘ll stand out from other reps blowing up their inbox. You might even directly address the silence in a respectful way:

Subject: Permission to close your file?

Hi [Prospect Name],

I know how busy you must be and completely understand that [Our Product/Service] may not be a top priority for you right now. I don‘t want to be that sales rep who clutters your inbox with self-serving emails if you‘re not interested.

So I‘m going to go ahead and pause outreach for now. If I don‘t hear back from you, I‘ll assume the timing isn‘t right and that you‘ll reach out if and when you‘re ready to revisit this.

If I‘ve made the wrong assumption, just let me know and we can pick up our conversation. Otherwise, I‘m happy to give you the space you need.

Thanks for your time and consideration,
[Your Name]

6. Maximizing Holiday Outreach

Whether it‘s Thanksgiving, the December holidays, or the dog days of summer, there are natural lulls and distractions throughout the year that impact your prospects‘ availability and responsiveness.

You can use these to your advantage by thoughtfully timing holiday outreach to land at the optimal moment. For example:

• Rather than getting lost in the flood of generic holiday emails, wait until a few days after a major holiday to reach out with a relevant message. Your prospects will be more likely to see and appreciate your outreach once they‘re digging out from vacation.

• If you sell B2B software, don‘t bother reaching out during the summer when decision-makers are often out of office. Wait until a week or two before Labor Day when they‘re gearing up for big Q4 initiatives and purchases.

• For time-sensitive offers and promotions, test sending a few days earlier than you normally would to give prospects a chance to respond and take action before they mentally check out.

The key is to empathize with your prospects‘ schedule and adjust your timing to match when they‘ll be most receptive.

7. Sending Bad News

No one likes delivering bad news to a customer. Whether you‘re communicating an unexpected delay, a price increase, or an unpleasant policy change, it‘s tempting to rip the bandaid off quickly and move on.

But a little extra thought and care can go a long way towards blunting a negative reaction. Rather than dashing off a cold email and hoping for the best, take time to craft a considerate message that clearly explains the situation, the rationale, and how you‘ll support them through it.

Then schedule it to send early in the morning before they come into the office. This gives them time to process the news and collect their thoughts before responding. It can lead to a much more constructive dialogue than blindsiding them mid-day.

8. Re-Engaging Old Prospects

As time passes and priorities evolve, even the most red-hot prospects can fall off your radar. Circumstances change, new challenges emerge, and initiatives get reprioritized. Just because they weren‘t ready to buy six months or a year ago doesn‘t mean they‘re a lost cause.

One of the best moments to slow-play an email is when you‘re trying to revive a past sales conversation and bring an old prospect back from the dead. The key is to avoid applying pressure or guilt. Approach them with empathy, value, and an invitation to re-engage on their terms:

Subject: Fresh perspective on [Relevant Challenge]

Hi [Prospect Name],

I hope you‘re well! I know it‘s been a while since we last connected, but you‘ve been on my mind recently.

I was reflecting on our past conversations about [Specific Challenge] and some new developments I think you‘d find really valuable. We‘ve been working with many companies like yours on [Key Initiative] and I had a few ideas for how you could approach this that I wanted to share.

No pressure to jump on a call – I know priorities may have shifted since we last spoke. If you‘re open to it, I‘d love to shoot over a few quick bullet points for you to review and get your initial thoughts. And if you‘d rather table this for now, no worries at all.

Let me know what you prefer and I‘ll follow your lead!

All the best,
[Your Name]

9. Building Rapport Over Email

Finally, one of the most underrated benefits of mastering delayed email sends is the ability to add small personal touches that build real rapport with prospects and customers.

Did they mention an upcoming vacation in your last call? Schedule a friendly bon voyage email to send the day before they leave.

Did they close a big deal that you know they were sweating over? Queue up a congratulatory note to fire off as soon as you see the news go live.

Taking a few minutes to schedule these thoughtful reach outs can be the difference between being just another vendor and becoming a trusted and appreciated partner.

Bringing It All Together

At the end of the day, sales is a blend of art and science. While you need to put in the hard work of consistently reaching out and following up, blindly blasting out emails is rarely the best approach.

The savviest salespeople craft the right message and deliver it at the right moment to maximize its impact. They understand the power of timing and wield it carefully to cut through the noise.

So next time you‘re about to hit send, pause and consider if a delay could make your message even more powerful. Your prospects (and your quota!) will thank you.

Now if you‘ll excuse me, I need to go schedule this article to publish at the optimal time for you to read it. Happy selling!