Examples of real Closed Lost nurture emails I sent yesterday (that worked)
Yesterday I followed up with the founder a closed-lost account. He replied in 26 minutes saying it was perfect timing, they’re actively hiring AEs (what we do), and offering times to talk today.
Here’s the email I sent:
Things I’m doing intentionally in this email:
Refreshing his memory by name dropping the person who originally connected us in the subject line
Very casual from the first sentence, and the sort of choppy “exec-speak” writing style, to the emoji (I could prob go either way on this in hindsight lol). An easy reminder is to “write like you talk.”
Reminded him where we left off and asked a question (this is one of my classic nurture moves)
Also had the random idea to give an update on how WE’RE doing for credibility etc. In a way, I think this makes us more “equal” in the email.
Also, some people are allergic to phrases like “checking in” in the subject and “hope you’re well” at the end, but I use them because again, I think they’re how normal people communicate
Just a few minutes later, I got this reply:
Btw, a lot of execs and founders work on Sundays, getting ready for the week ahead, etc. Good time for notes like these.
And here’s one more (in a different style) I sent that got a super positive response…
In this case, instead of asking a more pointed question, I just sent him something I thought he might truly find valuable (he replied saying he’d invite his 15-person AE team).
This stuff has gotten a bit easier with AI (tracking, remembering context), but still requires you to be a good, thoughtful writer.
Sales training videos
Next free session: How to Use Repetition to Be More Persuasive
When: next Tues, 10/6 @ noon est
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And watch last week’s session on handling “no budget” objection on YouTube here.
Advice for candidates: How I approached negotiating my actual Founding AE offer
I started as the Founding AE at Tropic in January, 2021 with a much bigger equity grant than is typical for a Founding AE.
Tt required a HARD negotiation to get it. Here’s what I did (and you can copy) to try for a similar outcome:
I delayed the negotiation as long as possible
I connected price to value
I de-risked it for them
(1) Delaying negotiation
I knew all along I’d need to negotiate a ton to get to a place where it’d make sense to leave my Strat AE role… but I never said a word about it to them.
My strategy was to DELAY my negotiation as long as possible to maximize their intent BEFORE asking for anything.
Timing is everything in a negotiation (note how procurement people love to buy at the end of the quarter…).
Lots of candidates make the mistake of practically listing demands early in the interview process. If you have good intuition on a company AND you’re confident in your ability to sell yourself, IMO it’s better to delay.
(2) Connecting price to value
When I was holding firm and admittedly asking for a lot, I was saying things like
I’m fired up about this. I WANT to join you guys… And I’m gonna work my a** off if I come here.
But if I’m going to do that, it’s in our collective best interest to make sure the incentives are structured in a way that makes me super motivated.
Like realistically I think I’m gonna change the trajectory of your company… 😬
And you’ve talked a lot about how you’ve talked to a lot of sellers and I think we all feel like I’ll be able to come in and close deals pretty automatically…
(it does feel a bit cringe to write that out, but it’s the reality of what worked)
You obviously need to feel the vibe and personality of the person you’re negotiating with and calibrate your style accordingly. What’s universal is the relationship between “price” (comp) and “value” (what you’ll do)
(3) De-risking my ask
The main thing I was negotiating for was equity. I basically wanted VP/CRO-level equity despite joining as an IC.
The way most startup equity works is it vests monthly over 4 years, but there’s a 1-year cliff, meaning you get 12 months vested all at once on your 1-year anniversary, BUT if you leave (or get fired) before then, you get nothing, so I said something like:
Look, just realistically, you guys have basically a free trial on the equity. If it doesn’t work in the first year, none of the equity is gonna end up vesting anyway…
So you have basically a free second chance to re-decide if I’m driving enough value to justify it once you see my actual performance…
I haven’t seen a lot of sellers use this approach, but it’s really effective IF you’ve really sold yourself well. I think it made them want me more, tbh.
We kicked off our 50th search last week 👀
A really great remote role, btw. Details:
Remote
Comp: $200,000 to $300,000
Founder has had 1 serious exit already
10/10 product/market fit
The business case / ROI in the sale is black and white
They are a pipe gen machine
4x YoY ARR growth
If interesting to you or anyone you know, we’d love to discuss