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One of the fundamental rules of business is that if you want yours to grow, you simply have to keep knocking on doors. You can’t let it drift and wait for things to happen. You have to take initiative to increase your chances of success. We all know how hard it is to find motivation from within to go that extra mile. Sales follow-ups are an excellent example of this. They have a stigma attached to them, which often makes reps avoid follow-ups to not come off as nagging. In this post, I’ll try to change your perception of the issue and thus achieve better business result. Let’s dive in!
Sales aren’t just about constantly trying to grow the prospect database. Working with the leads you already grabbed the attention of is hugely important as well.
A proper sales funnels does indeed include follow-ups. Many people don’t understand the importance of following up with clients, which makes them lose money.
Sometimes, you have to take a step aside toget a better perspective and figure out why you’re so afraid of following up. Often times, it’ll be the fear of being considered a nuisance, an unwanted intruder.
What may help you get over the fear is the realization that people are busy, and not necessarily unwilling to talk to you. They’ll simply have things more important to them at the top of their agendas. On the other hand, you need to understand there are negative consequences of not following up as well.
Follow-ups aren’t just important - they’reabsolutely crucial and necessary to closing deals. Leads will rarely make apurchase decision on a whim. Apparently, it may take up to 7, or even 13, according to some, touches, before a person will act upon your call to action
Admittedly, this looks a little daunting, however, the good thing about this principle is that it’s best for these touches to come in different forms. So, a follow-up email or a call may be just one or two of them. That’s less effort that you actually thought, right?
Not following up, in whatever form, on yourprevious sales efforts means letting them go to waste, or reducing theirefficiency in the very least.
Now that you understand the significance of following up, it’s time to lay down some rules and things to remember when engaging in the process.
● Never expect the lead to follow-up
It would be a mistake for a salesperson to expect a lead to get back to them to close the deal or make a purchase. Once you realize the crucial role of follow-ups and make them an integral part ofyour sales operations, they no longer become a strenuous feat. Now go back, read that again, and take it to your heart. Besides, keep in mind it’s nowhere near as important for the lead as it is for you tohave this touch.
● Choose the right channel
These days, many of us receive a ton of messages and notifications through different channels. Some of them are indeed important to us, others not so much, and are being treated accordingly. A successful follow-up has to come at the right time of the day and via a channel most convenient for the lead. Essentially, it doesn’t have to be the dreaded call after all.
● Reasons to call
This is an umbrella term for reasons to reach out to your leads. If you haven’t developed and expanded a list of these yet, here’s your chance to see some immediate improvement in your follow-up efficiency. RTC are basically new excuses or angles to be used when engaging leads or existing clients. You can get folks from outside the sales department involved in developing these to bring in some freshness and not necessarily include another product pitches.
● Post follow-up practices
Now, if the lead’s response was generally favorable, but you didn’t close the deal yet, you might want to consider an additional post follow-up action. For instance, you can pull the person you talked to into your company’s marketing automation cycle. This will ensure they’ll get that extra information that will either help them act and buy or make the final decision to abort. Either way, your conscious is clear, as you’ve done everything in your power to close the deal.
● Follow-up automation
Automation has been creeping into many walks of life and professions for some time now. No wonder, as it saves money andtime, and frees your mind of certain things, so you can focus on more important facets of your business. Still, with all the day-to-day hustle and bustle, you may forget about certain things. A solution like EDWARD has been designed to refresh your memory with follow-up reminders. Just set them in advance, act on them, and get the feeling of a job well done.
Frankly, having a follow-up strategy in placeis a must for any serious business. Unwillingness to engage with the leads on multiple occasions, for whatever reason, sets your business back, plain and simple.
Recognizing at least some of the issues I discussed in this post and implementing relevant changes will surely see yoursales results go up.
Persistence pays off. Regular follow-ups keepyou on your toes and prevent you from becoming complacent. Moreover, they helpyou develop meaningful relations with leads and clients by displaying interestin their issues.
Now pick up the phone or hop on your email andreach out. Good luck!
