Meeting a potential new client is always an exciting and interesting use of your time. You find things in common, chat about their intentions, and start the first throes of a working relationship.

All seems to be going well, and you end on a positive note. But how do you take that next step post-meeting?

What you do next will have a big impact on how the relationship develops. Often, we send our contacts a ‘Nice to meet you email’, with a few next steps. However, it’s really important to get this right the first time.

Here are a few tips to create that email that will seriously impress:

Develop a core goal for the email

There’s no point in sending one just to be polite. Are you outlining your costs? Do you want to schedule another chat in a month’s time?

Whatever that goal is, just keep it to one - and make it incredibly focused.

Keep the email simple

You’ve just met the new contact, so there’s no need for lengthy prose. Keep it professional, polite and to the point. 

You don’t have to repeat what happened in the meeting, just write out in a clear and concise way what you’d expect to happen next.

Make it readable - and skimmable

That means break your email into segments. Lots of paragraphs. Tons of white space. Bullet points, and making the things you want them to remember marked in bold.

Your client no doubt has an overflowing inbox, so keep it just to the meat and bones of your message.

Use a friendly tone of voice

You’ve met them already - maybe just online, but you two have shared some common space together. The ice has been broken, so there’s no need for over-formality here.
Emphasise the connection you made, and reiterate how you feel you can help them. If you think as if you’re writing an email to a friend, it will be a lot easier to communicate.

Give the subject line some personality

Nobody likes to read a boring subject line like ‘Our Meeting’ or ‘Follow Up’. Yes, even in the world of tax and accountancy, it’s okay to have a little fun with your subject headline.
You want your new contact to be excited to read it, after all!  Stay professional, but don’t be afraid to get creative with your choice of email subject.

A simple formula that works

Putting it all together, your email should look something like this:

SUBJECT LINE: Nice to meet you earlier (I’m now full-on croissants and coffee)!

Hi <name>

Great to meet you <on date> and it was interesting to hear about <some common ground you found>.
It’d be great to find a way to work together and <accomplish their goal/meet their needs>
With that in mind, there’s a few options moving forward:

Option A
Option B
Option C

As a next step, I suggest that we <choose your preferred option>.
Thanks again for your time, and look forward to working with you!
<Your name>