12 Sales Follow-up SMS Templates to Engage Prospects

Sales is kind of like dating.

Okay, maybe that’s not a perfect comparison, but they both involve an important first contact followed (hopefully) by more meetings/conversations before a commitment gets made.

Do you hope that your prospect will fall head over heels for your brand at first sight? Of course. But since only 2% of sales happen during first contact, it’s unlikely.

That means you’ll need to follow up with your leads at least once to help move the sale along. There are countless ways to conduct these follow-ups, but as you may have guessed, I recommend texting.

I’ll explain why and how to follow up with sales leads using SMS and throw in some easy templates you can take and use in your own business.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Why Use SMS for Sales Follow Ups?
• Pre Sale Follow Up Templates
• Post Sale Follow Up Templates
• How to Automate Sales Follow Up SMS
• Sales Follow Up Text Best Practices

Why Use SMS for Sales Follow-ups?

Other than the fact that I work for an SMS marketing company, why on Earth would I recommend texting as the number-one way to follow up with your prospects? I could go on a tangent, but instead, I’ll give you a few of the most important reasons.

• It’s fast. First off, texts take only seconds to send, and statistically, over half of your prospects will open and reply to them within 1-2 minutes. 
• It’s reliable. Around 97% of Americans own a phone, meaning you’ll have a hard time finding a prospect who can’t receive texts.
• It’s personal. When you send an email, you show up alongside hundreds of other brands vying for your lead’s attention. When you send an email, you show up next to their friends and family. Texting can go a long way toward building trust with your prospects (as long as you have their permission to text them).
• It’s what your prospects want. Last, but definitely not least, your prospects want you to text them. In 2022, 70% of consumers signed up to receive texts from businesses.

Pre-sale Follow-up Templates

You came for templates, and templates you shall have. Use these example texts to follow up with prospects before a sale is made to help them decide on you and your business. 

After a Prospect Gives You Their Phone Number

So, your prospect has put their number into your web form or texted in your keyword. Use a text like this to get the conversation started.

Today 11:30 AM

Hi [PROSPECT NAME]! This is [YOUR NAME] from [YOUR BRAND NAME]. Thanks so much for reaching out about our [PRODUCT]. What kinds of [INDUSTRY] products are you most interested in trying out?

After a Product Demo

If you offer a demo as a precursor to buying your product, follow up with your lead after the demo is complete to answer any questions or help them get signed up.

Today 10:45 AM

Hey there, [PROSPECT NAME]! I’m so glad you got to see a little more of what our platform can do. Do you have any questions or thoughts as you move forward?

After a Consultation or Quote

Similar to the demo template, you’ll want to touch base about next steps after providing a quote or consultation to a potential prospect.

Today 11:00 AM

[PROSPECT NAME], I was so happy to speak with you this morning! I’d be glad to answer any questions, or we can go ahead and get your service on the books.

As a Free Trial Ends

If your product comes with a free trial before prospects commit to a purchase, don’t drop the ball as that trial comes to an end. Keep up the momentum by getting in touch as their trial is about to expire.

Today 2:30

[PROSPECT NAME], have you enjoyed exploring our [PRODUCT]? I wanted to reach out as your free trial comes to an end and see if there’s anything I can help you with as you decide how to move forward!

After a Prospect’s Success

Your prospects love to know that you’re invested in them as an individual, not just a number. If they’ve achieved something big recently, reach out to congratulate them.

Today 9:45 AM

Hi [PROSPECT NAME], I saw your article published in [PUBLICATION NAME] and loved it. Congratulations on your success!

Suggesting Relevant Content

Your conversations with prospects can also go beyond strictly driving the sale forward. You also want to show them that you have value to add aside from the product you’re offering. Do this by reaching out with a link to content that might help them.

Today 12:18 PM

Hey [PROSPECT NAME], we recently published a video on [RELEVANT TOPIC] and I thought you mind find it interesting. Check it out at [LINK]

After a Prospect Has Lost Touch

Sometimes prospects get busy or lose interest — it happens. That’s when you can follow up with a message to re-establish contact and get the conversation back on track.

Today 1:24 PM

Hi [PROSPECT NAME], it’s been a little while since we talked last. I’m just checking in to see if you have any other questions about [PRODUCT]!

Ahead of an Event

If you’ve got a webinar or conference coming up with information your prospects could use, be sure to send them a message with an invitation and a link to register.

Today 3:14 PM

Hey [PROSPECT NAME]! I wanted to drop you a note about our upcoming [EVENT]. We’ll be dropping some information I think you might be interested in, so I wanted to be sure you got an invite. Register at [LINK]. Can’t wait to see you there!

As You Run Out of Availability

There’s nothing like a little FOMO to motivate prospects who are on the fence to go on and buy. Let your prospect know that you’re reaching out to give them a limited-time opportunity.

Today 2:05 PM

Hi [PROSPECT NAME], I wanted to give you a heads-up that my calendar is almost full. Make sure you book your [TYPE OF APPOINTMENT] soon so you can get a spot!

Post-sale Follow-up Templates

Just because your new client made a purchase doesn’t mean you should lose touch with them. Use these templates to keep clients coming back for more after their initial buy.

After a Successful Sale

Hooray! You made a sale. Now’s the time to strengthen your reputation as an attentive, client-focused sales rep by reaching out again to stay top-of-mind.

Today 10:54 AM

Congrats on your new [PRODUCT], [CLIENT NAME]! We’re wishing you lots of good times. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us for help or thoughts on your experience!

Cross-selling Follow-up

After a prospect has made their initial purchase, it’s a good idea to call their attention to other products they might like related to that first item.

Today 1:28 PM

Hi [CLIENT NAME], we hope you’re loving your [PRODUCT]! We just got a new line of [RELATED PRODUCT] that we thought you might like — check them out at [LINK]

Feedback Follow-up

As a business owner, you’re always looking for ways to improve. The easiest and most efficient way to pinpoint what you can do better is to ask your clients. Send a follow-up text after each sale asking for thoughts and suggestions.

Today 2:34 PM

Hey there [CLIENT NAME], I hope you’re happy with our [PRODUCT]! If you have a minute, we’d love to hear your feedback at [LINK]

How to Automate Sales Follow-up SMS

If following up at several points in the sales cycle for each prospect sounds like a lot of work, the good news is that it doesn’t have to be. 

Provided you use an SMS platform, you have a few ways of automating these follow-up messages to get your texts out quickly and with very little effort on your end. 

The process will look a little different based on the software you use, but I’ll walk you through each automation method in SimpleTexting. 

Auto-confirmation Messages

If you use a keyword to bring contacts onto your list, you have the option to fill out an auto-confirmation text that will send automatically when they text your keyword to your number. 

This is a great opportunity to instantly start the sales conversation off on the right foot. 

1. Go to Keywords on the left-hand menu, click “New keyword,” and name your keyword.
2. Fill out your auto-confirmation message.
3. Decide which contact list contacts who use the keyword should be added to or create a new one.
4. Add any triggers you’d like to include (for instance, you could invite contacts to reply to the auto-confirmation message with DEMO to book a demo, at which point they would receive another automatic message with a booking link).
5. Save your keyword.

Autoresponders

Autoresponders are similar to auto-confirmation messages, except that you set them up to send at a designated time — which could be right after a contact texts in your keyword or hours, days, or weeks later.

1. In the Autoresponders tab, click “New autoresponder” and choose which keyword to attach it to.
2. Write out your autoresponder message.
3. Decide if it will send on a delay and set the delay if needed.
4. Add any other timing parameters you’d like with “Advanced scheduling options,” then hit “Save autoresponder.”

Integrations

Unlike the two automation methods I mentioned above, there are lots of ways to automate follow-up messages using software integrations. 

Be sure to check with your SMS provider to see which software they can integrate with, but SimpleTexting prospects often choose to integrate with platforms like Shopify or Salesforce to trigger sales follow-up texts based on prospect behavior.

Others choose to connect their account with an appointment scheduler to send messages before or after appointments or with Zapier for a wider range of text customization options. 

These are some of the software pieces that SimpleTexting integrates with (including the option to create your own custom integration).

Sales Follow-up Text Best Practices

You’re almost ready to start sending! Before you do, here are a few tips to help you start (and keep) your sales conversations on the right foot.

• Make sure to introduce yourself. No one wants to get a random text from an unidentified stranger. Make sure to tell your prospects both your name and your business’ name when you start the conversation.
  
• Consider your timing. It doesn’t matter how good your offer is, your prospects won’t like hearing it if your text wakes them up before their morning coffee. Aim for business hours when you send your message.
  
• Stay in touch (to a point). As I mentioned before, you won’t always make the sale on first contact (or even second). In fact, 60% of prospects say “no” four times before they say “yes,” so don’t give up.
  
  That said, use your common sense in deciding how many times you reach out. If you’re hearing, “No, I’m never going to buy from you” or, “Stop contacting me,” it’s time to cut your losses.
  
• Add a personal touch. 52% of consumers expect offers to be personalized every time (that’s up from 49% in 2019), so make personalizing your texts a priority. Include any details your prospects have voluntarily shared with you, like their names, locations, or birthdays.
  
  Pro tip: Make sure your SMS software offers things like Data Collection and Custom Fields to make personalization easy.

• Be clear about your call to action (CTA). You won’t make many sales if your prospects aren’t sure what you’re asking them to do. Include a clear CTA letting them know what steps to take, whether that’s clicking a link, replying to the text, or completing a purchase.

Meet Your New Favorite Sales Flow

When all you want to say is, “Buy this, it’s worth the investment,” it can be tough to find the perfect balance between persuasive and polite.

Thankfully, these templates will take some of the guesswork out of how to effectively communicate with your prospects to keep them engaged and motivated to buy.