Guides › Wholesale follow-up emails
Wholesale follow-up emails: when to send and what to say
You pitched a store and heard nothing. That's normal. Here's when to follow up, how many times, what to say, and a prompt that drafts your follow-ups for you (you still hit send).
- How many follow-ups, and when
- Two short templates
- Let AI draft them
- The rules that keep it friendly
How many follow-ups, and when
Buyers are busy, and silence usually means "not yet," not "no." Faire says following up "is expected, not pushy," and that two or three follow-ups spaced about a week apart "signal that you're serious about the relationship and often prompt a response from buyers who simply got busy" (Faire).
A simple rhythm that works:
| When | What | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Day 0 | Your first pitch | Short and personal |
| About day 7 | Follow-up 1: one new, true thing | 3 sentences or fewer |
| About day 14 | Follow-up 2: a friendly last note | 2 sentences or fewer |
| Then | Stop. Mark it in your tracker and check back next season. |
Two short follow-up templates
Send each one as a reply in the same email thread, so the buyer sees your first note right below it.
Hi [Name], quick follow-up on my note last week. [One new, true thing: a restock, a new color, a press mention.] Line sheet is here if useful: [link]. Thanks, [Your name]
Hi [Name], last note from me. If [your category] isn't a fit this season, no worries at all. Happy to check back in [next season]. Thanks, [Your name]
The second one makes it easy to say no. That's on purpose. A clear "not this season" is useful, and buyers remember brands that were easy to deal with.
Let AI draft your follow-ups
Keep a simple tracker (store, date pitched, follow-up 1 sent, follow-up 2 sent, reply). Once a week, upload it to ChatGPT, Claude or Grok Bot and paste:
Today is [date]. List stores where follow-up 1 is due (pitched 7+ days ago, no reply, no follow-up sent) or follow-up 2 is due (follow-up 1 sent 7+ days ago, no reply). Skip anyone who replied or said no.
Then write each follow-up in my style. Facts you may use (nothing else): [what's new, line sheet link]. Follow-up 1: 3 sentences max, add one new thing from my facts. Follow-up 2: 2 sentences max, friendly and easy to say no. Greetings and sign-offs don't count toward the limit. No selling claims I didn't give you ("best seller", "selling fast", "customers love"). If I gave no new fact, write "MISSING: new fact" instead of inventing one.
Always include "Today is [date]." Without it, AI gets the date math wrong.
"Tidewren Knits," an invented sweater brand, pitched 12 stores. The only new fact it had was a restock, so follow-up 1 said: "Our Ridge Crew in Moss is back in stock as of Oct 14. Line sheet's here if useful." Three stores replied after follow-up 1 and one after follow-up 2. (Numbers are invented for the example.)
The rules that keep it friendly
- You send every email yourself. Never turn on auto-send for buyer email. The AI drafts, you read, you send.
- Only true facts. Delete anything you didn't tell the AI, like "it's been flying off shelves."
- Stop after two follow-ups. Then wait for next season.
- Follow the email basics. In the US, the CAN-SPAM Act "makes no exception for business-to-business email." Use your real name and business address, and if someone asks you to stop, stop (FTC).
- Update your tracker the same day, so nobody gets a third nudge by mistake.
Get the free Founder's Wholesale Checklist
Eight parts of selling into stores on four pages, each with one AI prompt you can copy. Plus The Sell-In, one short wholesale email every Tuesday.