Jemicah Marasigan
Content Marketing Manager
In client work, most relationships don’t end with a dramatic goodbye. They just… fizzle.
A proposal gets left on read. A past client says “Let’s circle back soon” and then vanishes into the void. Someone who was this close to signing never quite makes it over the line. Not because anything went wrong — but because life (and work and never-ending inboxes) got in the way.
That’s where rekindling comes in.
Rekindling isn’t about chasing or nagging. It’s about re-opening the conversation with purpose and rebuilding that rapport. It’s a low-pressure check-in. A thoughtful nudge. A reminder that you’re still here, still valuable, and still the right fit for whenever they’re ready.
Having a system for those follow-ups makes it easier to stay consistent, even when your to-do list is overflowing. Because staying top of mind shouldn’t mean starting from scratch every time.
Why rekindling should be part of your agency’s growth strategy
New leads are exciting. They bring momentum, fresh ideas, and the thrill of possibility. But if you’re running an agency or consultancy, some of your best opportunities aren’t new at all. They’re already in your orbit.
Think: the client who said they’d be back next quarter. Or the warm lead who asked for a quote and then ghosted (probably unintentionally). Or the project that wrapped six months ago with promises to “touch base soon.”
These aren’t cold contacts—they’re familiar faces who already know what you’re capable of.
Because reconnecting with someone who’s worked with you before is usually way easier than starting from zero. The trust is already there. The context is already there. Sometimes all that’s missing is a well-timed nudge. In comparison, it also saves you more in the long run because it costs 6x to 7x more to acquire new customers than to retain existing ones.
But, the hard part? Keeping track of all those people, like who went quiet or figuring out when you last followed up, or what they were interested in. Without a system — or a lot of mental gymnastics — those warm leads fall through the cracks, and you’re back to chasing brand-new business all over again.
Rekindling isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s a low-effort, high-reward way to build momentum with less hustle. And for busy client service teams? That kind of consistency is just as crucial as creativity.
Why rekindling feels harder than it should—and how a system can change everything
It’s not that you don’t care about following up. It’s that without a system, it’s almost impossible to do it well.
Some teams try to stay on top of it with CRM tags and sticky notes. Others fire up a spreadsheet and hope for the best. A few just scroll back through their inboxes, crossing their fingers they didn’t miss anyone important.
Spoiler alert: none of these methods scale when your client list (and your to-do list) keeps growing.
And when you finally do get around to sending that follow-up? It’s often rushed, generic, and lands too late to make an impact.
That’s why having a real system for rekindling matters. When you can segment your contacts by how long it’s been, tailor your outreach based on where the relationship stands, and automate the timing without losing the personal touch, that’s when follow-ups stop feeling random and start actually working.
How to tailor your outreach based on relationship warmth
Not every contact needs the same kind of follow-up. The longer it’s been since your last conversation, the more thoughtful and value-packed your message needs to be. It’s all about meeting people where they are and making sure your outreach feels natural, and not out of the blue.
Here’s a simple way to think about it:
Hot (0–14 days): You’re still top of mind. Keep it casual, keep it moving.
Warm (15–30 days): A little distance, but still recent enough for a friendly nudge.
Tepid (31–60 days): The memory’s fading. Remind them who you are and why you connected.
Cooling (61–180 days): It’s been a while. Personalize your outreach and rebuild the connection.
Cold (180+ days): Time to reintroduce yourself and offer something fresh and valuable.
For contacts you’ve spoken with recently (like within the last month or so) a light touch works best. A quick reminder, a relevant update, or a casual offer to reconnect might be all it takes to get the conversation rolling again.
As the relationship cools, your outreach should shift: offering more context, leading with value, and showing that you remember where you left off. It’s about re-opening the door, without making it feel like you’re forcing it.
Best practices for making your rekindle messages work
Automation is a beautiful thing. It saves time, cuts down on the manual grind, and helps you keep conversations alive even when you're juggling a million other things. In fact, automated emails can pull in over three times more revenue than the ones you send manually.
But when it comes to rekindling relationships, you can't just fire off a batch of generic emails and hope for the best.
Rekindling email automations work best when they’re thoughtful, timely, and still sound like an actual human is behind them—not just a system checking a box. Your contacts should feel like you remembered them, not like they landed on a generic email list.
That’s why having a customer relationship management (CRM) platform in your corner makes all the difference. A good CRM helps you keep track of the small but important details—like when you last connected, what you talked about, and where you left off—so your rekindling automations can feel more personal, less robotic. It gives you the visibility to segment, personalize, and follow up in a way that actually fits where the relationship stands, not where you wish it did.
Here’s how to make sure your rekindling automations feel like a natural extension of your client relationships—not a cold outreach campaign you set and forgot.
1. Keep your messaging tailored
Blanket emails don’t win hearts or clients. Especially when you’re trying to rekindle a relationship, relevance is everything. If someone hasn’t heard from you in a while, they’re not going to remember why you mattered to them unless you remind them in a meaningful way.
Before you hit send, segment your contacts:
Were they a past client?
A prospect who loved your pitch but had bad timing?
Someone who almost signed but disappeared?
Build your rekindling automations around these groups, and personalize the message. Reference the last project you worked on together. Mention the service they were interested in. Include their name, company, or even a small detail from your last conversation if you can.
Small touches make a big difference — and your rekindle emails will feel way less "mass blast" and way more "hey, I’ve been thinking of you."
2. Time it right
Even the best rekindling email can flop if it shows up at the wrong moment. Dropping a check-in email on a Friday afternoon or first thing Monday morning means it’s competing with weekend brain or a flood of Monday fires.
Plan your rekindling automations to hit inboxes mid-morning or mid-week — when people actually have the time to read and respond. And if you’re building a sequence (and you should), space your emails out. A good rule of thumb for rekindling automations is 2 to 5 days between messages. You want to stay top of mind without coming across like you’re chasing them down.
3. Don’t overdo it
More emails don’t equal more engagement. In fact, too many follow-ups can push a once-warm relationship straight into the “unsubscribe” pile.
For rekindling automations, two or three messages are usually enough. If they’re not ready or interested after that, your final email should give them an easy exit or a simple path back if the timing becomes right later.
A lot of CRM tools and automation platforms let you build "stop" rules into your rekindling sequences. If someone replies, clicks a link, or schedules a call, the automation stops. Use those features. Rekindling works when it feels like a conversation, not a campaign.
4. Track and improve
Rekindling automations aren’t "set it and forget it." The best strategies are living, breathing processes that get better with every send.
Keep an eye on your open rates, click-throughs, and replies. Pay attention to where people engage and where they fall off. Maybe your second email in the sequence is doing all the heavy lifting—or maybe your subject lines need a refresh.
If your CRM or automation platform gives you performance insights (and it should), use them. Small tweaks, like adjusting your timing, reworking your opening lines, or tightening up your call-to-action, can make a huge difference over time.
Consistent connection beats perfect timing
Relationships don’t fade because you did something wrong. They fade because you got busy. They fade because they did too. And in business, when conversations go quiet, opportunities quietly slip away right along with them.
If you’ve ever thought, "I should really follow up with them," but didn't because a dozen more urgent things landed on your plate—you’re not alone. You don’t need more hours in the day to fix that. You just need a better system.
That’s where Copper comes in. This customer relationship management (CRM) platform gives you the structure to stay in touch without overthinking every follow-up. You can segment your contacts by relationship warmth, past activity, or deal stage, so you're always reaching out to the right people, at the right time, with the right kind of message.
Rekindle automations let you build smart, thoughtful sequences based on how long it’s been since you last connected. Dynamic fields like first name or company name make it easy to keep the tone personal, so even automated emails feel like real conversations.
You control when messages go out, space them naturally, and set simple rules to stop the automation if someone re-engages. Once you’re up and running, Copper shows you exactly what’s working: who’s opening, who’s replying, and where you can keep fine-tuning your approach.
It's a smarter, easier way to keep good relationships warm — and make sure none of them quietly fade away.
Rekindle and bring old conversations back to life
Whether you’re following up with leads who went cold, clients who haven’t returned, or contacts who could benefit from a reminder — you can do it all by rekindling.
Start your free trial of Copper today and build your first Rekindle automation in minutes. No spreadsheets. No guesswork. Just better follow-ups, done right.
