B2B sales and account management are basically a never-ending game of “Did they reply yet?” Miss a follow-up, and the deal goes cold. Rely on your memory? Good luck with that. If you’re on a team handling lots of clients, you need reminders that actually work. This guide is for salespeople, customer success teams, and anyone who needs to make sure important emails don’t fall through the cracks.
If you use Gmail or Outlook, Boomerang is one of the most popular tools for scheduling follow-up reminders. It’s not magic, but it does the job—if you set it up right. Here’s how to get started, what to avoid, and some practical tips that’ll save you from common mistakes.
Why Use Boomerang for Follow-Up Reminders?
Let’s cut to it. Most folks try to remember follow-ups, or they add sticky notes, or they dump everything in a basic calendar. It doesn’t scale. Boomerang plugs into Gmail or Outlook and lets you schedule reminders for yourself or your team—right from your inbox.
What it does well: - Reminds you if someone hasn’t replied by a certain date. - Returns emails to the top of your inbox so you won’t forget. - Lets you pause conversations or snooze stuff until you’re ready. - Works with both individual and shared inboxes (with a little setup).
What it doesn’t do: - It’s not a full-blown CRM. Don’t expect deal stages, notes, or team analytics. - Team coordination is manual—Boomerang isn’t built for group workflows out of the box. - You’ll need to pay for features like recurring reminders or advanced scheduling.
If you want reminders that actually get seen, Boomerang is a solid, no-nonsense option for small to midsize B2B teams.
Step 1: Install Boomerang and Set Up Your Account
Skip if you already have Boomerang installed.
For Gmail:
- Head to the Boomerang website and install the extension (Chrome, Firefox, or Edge).
- Sign in with your Google account and authorize permissions.
- You’ll see a Boomerang button in your Gmail compose window.
For Outlook:
- Visit the Boomerang site and download the Outlook add-in.
- Follow the installation prompts and restart Outlook.
- Look for the Boomerang tab or button in your ribbon.
Pro tip: Most teams use Chrome, but Firefox works just as well. Extensions are managed per person—you’ll need to help new teammates install it if you want everyone on the same page.
Step 2: Set Up Your First Follow-Up Reminder
Let’s walk through scheduling a basic reminder: you send a proposal, and want a nudge if there’s no reply in 3 days.
- Compose your email as usual.
- Click the Boomerang button (usually below the Send button).
- Choose “Remind Me” options. You’ll see choices like:
- “In 2 days”
- “Tomorrow morning”
- “If no reply”
- “Regardless”
- Pick your trigger. For most B2B follow-ups, choose “If no reply” and set your timeframe (e.g., 3 days).
- Send the email.
- If they don’t reply in time, the email pops back to your inbox.
Why this works: You can forget about it until it matters. If they reply, nothing happens. If they ghost you, you get a nudge.
Step 3: Use Advanced Options (But Don’t Overcomplicate)
Boomerang offers more than just “remind me if no one replies.” Here’s what’s actually useful—and what’s mostly noise:
Useful features:
- Remind if not opened: Can be handy for cold outreach, but don’t rely on it—email open tracking is hit-or-miss (hello, privacy blockers).
- Custom date and time: Set precise reminders for when you want to follow up, not just generic “in two days.”
- Recurring reminders: For ongoing check-ins (like “ping client every quarter”), but this is a paid feature.
Not-so-useful (for most B2B teams):
- “Regardless” reminders: You’ll just get spammed, even if the thread’s finished.
- Notes to self: You can add a little note to a reminder, but honestly, most people forget to read these.
Pro tip: Start with simple “if no reply” reminders. Add complexity only if you actually need it—don’t fall into the trap of scheduling 10 different reminders for every thread.
Step 4: Managing Follow-Ups Across a Team
Here’s where it gets tricky: Boomerang isn’t built for team-wide reminders or shared dashboards. But there are still ways B2B teams can use it effectively:
- Shared inboxes: If your team uses a shared Gmail account (like sales@yourcompany.com), everyone who logs into that inbox and has Boomerang installed can see reminders. It’s not perfect, but it works for small teams.
- Assigning follow-ups: Forward or CC teammates, and ask them to set their own Boomerang reminders.
- Tracking follow-ups: Use Gmail labels or color codes to flag “Waiting for reply” threads. Boomerang itself won’t organize these for you.
What doesn’t work: Don’t expect Boomerang to handle delegation or team accountability. If you need true team-based follow-up (with assignments, reporting, etc.), you’ll need a CRM or a shared project tracker.
Step 5: Reviewing and Managing Your Reminders
Reminders are only helpful if you actually pay attention to them. Here’s how to keep things from piling up:
- Check your Boomerang “Manage” page: There’s a dashboard (usually a “Manage” link in Gmail or the Boomerang tab in Outlook) where you can review all active reminders, pause, reschedule, or cancel them.
- Clear out old reminders: Don’t let your inbox fill up with ancient follow-ups. Archive or delete threads you’re done with.
- Use search: If you’re overwhelmed, search for “boomerang” in your inbox to see flagged emails.
Pro tip: Block 10 minutes each week to review all outstanding reminders. This small habit keeps you from flooding yourself with old to-dos.
Step 6: Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
- Over-reminding yourself: If everything is a “high priority” follow-up, nothing is. Only set reminders on emails that truly need action.
- Forgetting to change defaults: Boomerang remembers your last-used settings. If you always want “if no reply,” make it your default so you don’t mess up.
- Relying on open tracking: Some recipients block tracking pixels, so “remind me if not opened” isn’t foolproof.
- Team confusion: If everyone on your team sets reminders independently, wires get crossed. Use clear subject lines and maybe a shared label system.
Step 7: Bonus Tips for Power Users
- Keyboard shortcuts: You can enable Boomerang shortcuts in Gmail settings for faster scheduling.
- Templates: Pair Boomerang with canned responses for ultra-quick follow-ups.
- Mobile: Boomerang’s mobile support is limited. If you need reminders on the go, stick to desktop for scheduling.
- Integrate with tools: Boomerang isn’t built to plug into Slack or CRMs directly, but you can forward reminders to other tools if you like Frankenstein setups.
Keep It Simple: What Actually Works
The most effective B2B teams don’t turn follow-ups into a science project. Pick a small set of reminders (e.g., “if no reply in 3 days”), stick to them, and tune as you go. Don’t try to automate every edge case—just cover the basics so nothing big slips through.
If you’re managing a handful of deals or clients, Boomerang is enough. If you’re running a massive pipeline, you’ll eventually outgrow it and need a proper CRM.
For now, set up your reminders, review them regularly, and focus on conversations that move work forward. That’s it. Don’t let anyone tell you it needs to be more complicated than that.