Now that you’ve sold yourself on your excellent customer service with your client onboarding emails, it’s time to consider how you engage with your clients post lessons. My favorite tool? The follow up email.

(Wondering why emails are such a great tool? Here’s some more info.)

A follow up email can achieve a couple of things:

• Provide next steps — including selling the client on another service or product
• Give your client a chance to give you feedback
• Serve as a valuable customer service touchpoint to create authentic connections (and win you their loyalty)

So what do you need for a successful email? Let’s look at some ideas.

Follow Up Email Template

This template from HubSpot was written for business meetings. I love the way they recapped goals, the points that came up during the meeting, and next steps:

Here’s how I’d reword it for dog trainers:

—

Hi [client name],

It was so great getting to work with you and [dog name] earlier this week! I wanted to check in on how you’re doing — how has working on [skill or game include in homework] been going?

I’m also sending a quick recap of what we talked about during your lessons, recommendations, and next steps you can take to help you achieve [goal client had when hiring you].

Goals:

[List client’s reasons for joining your class/hiring your services]

Recommendations:

[List any pain points that came up during your session and things they can work on to improve them. You can also include additional resources or handouts here.]

Next steps:

If you’d like to schedule an additional follow-up session to work on [client pain point], or if something else has come up since our last lesson you can easily do so here [link]/by replying to this email. We’ve also got upcoming classes on [client pain point] — learn more about them here [link]!

Thanks again for allowing us to work with you and [dog name]. It was a pleasure for us, and we hope it was for you, too. If you have time, we’d love to know how we did. Please take a moment to reply to this email with any feedback/fill out our post-class survey here [link].

And please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any additional questions.

We hope to see you again soon!

[your name]

—

Note that in this follow up email I hit all three objectives I listed earlier: I provided next steps. I outlined a way for them to give feedback (and encourage further conversation — no matter what they write, you’ll likely have some info you can follow up on later!). I’m also establishing a connection with the client by using their dog’s name, providing details from our session, and outlining information from the client. I’m also giving feedback that’s specific and helpful to them — in no way is this email about me!

Want to take a stab at writing your own? Here are a few more tips.

How to Write a Follow Up Email

As you modify this template (or write from scratch), here are some things to keep in mind.

Be prompt. It’s never too late to follow up with a client… But if you’re not reaching out while your lessons together are still fresh on their minds, you’re missing out on an opportunity to show warmth and competence. Wait too long, and it’s possible the follow up won’t have the intended effect; the excitement of having worked with you will be long gone. Take advantage of that post-lesson high.

Show your appreciation. Don’t be a kiss-up — folks can tell the difference. But show them that you appreciate them hiring you and taking the time to follow up. A simple ‘thank you’ goes a long way.

Encourage continuing the conversation. Whether that’s by checking in on how they’re doing, asking for feedback, or something else — make sure they know you’re available for them to reach out to (and encourage them to do so!).

Take note of what clients are responding to. What questions are they answering in their replies? What CTAs (calls to action) are they following through on? Are they mainly signing up for additional sessions, or downloading your resources? Are they asking for more in-depth information on resolving their pain points?

Use this data to keep improving your emails and follow up processes — Your customers will be glad you did.