Stop sending follow-ups that ask for something and start sending ones that give something. "Just circling back" gets ignored because it has nothing in it. A message with a useful fact, a candidate who fits, or a fix for a problem gets read. Three messages over two weeks, each with something in it, then an honest question, then a kind close. If they are still silent, spend the hours on a client who answers.
The emails that get ignored
Here is an account manager's inbox, from the client's side, over three weeks.
- "Just circling back on this."
- "Bumping this up in case it got buried."
- "Following up on my follow-up."
- "Wanted to touch base."
- "Are you alive?"
Each one asks the client to do something and offers nothing. Each one makes the next one easier to ignore. The client is not rude. They are busy, and these emails are the easiest thing in their inbox to skip.
The three that get answered
1. The useful fact. "Pay rates for forklift operators in your area moved up about a dollar this quarter. Here's what we're seeing, in case it helps your budget." No ask.
2. The candidate who fits. "You had trouble filling the night lead role in August. I have someone with two years on nights and a current card, available in two weeks. Want the summary?" A small ask, attached to something they wanted.
3. The fix. "I re-read the last order we did for you and I think the invoice had the wrong overtime line. Corrected copy attached. Sorry about that." Clients always answer this one.
Then the honest question
"I'd rather hear it than guess: did something go wrong on the last order?" People answer honest questions. The answer is usually a must-have you missed or a morning that went badly. Both are fixable.
Then the kind close
"I'll stop chasing. If you need people, I'm one call away." Then stop. A client who was ignoring you because they were busy will come back. One who was ignoring you because of a bad order will come back when they have a bad morning with your competitor.
For account managers: look at the work first
Before the first follow-up, re-read the last three things the client got from you. A silence usually has a date, and the date usually matches a submittal that missed or a worker who did not show. If that is the cause, the first message is the fix, not the fact.
Where M-Tracker fits
Clients ignore agencies whose work made them a bad morning. M-Tracker checks each submittal and confirmation against the written order before the client sees it, so fewer bad mornings happen. And a client report, sent as a link they open without an account, gives the client something useful to read without an ask attached.
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Questions people ask
How many follow-ups before I stop?
Three with something in them, one honest question, one close. Five messages over about three weeks.
Should I call instead?
For the honest question, yes. For the rest, email they can read when they want.
What if the client's contact left?
Find out who replaced them and start again, with the useful fact. The silence may be an empty chair.
Work you can trust, without redoing it.
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