Follow Through for Successful Sales
Follow Through for Successful Sales
One part of sales that most sales people forget is follow-up. How effective is your sales follow-up? All successful people develop some type of tracking system or use some form of CRM software to keep them on top of their game.
There is nothing worse than to put together a great marketing program, make initial sales calls, send out corresponding information, and then lose the sale due to lack of follow- through. Here are tips for successful follow-up:
Adopt a sales program and stick to it. Just like a new exercise program, once you make it a habit, it becomes successful. Develop your sales program to be something like this:
- Initial contact – notate in your tracking software.
- Second reach via email, fax or direct mail – once again, notate in CRM.
- Lastly, follow-up again – Decide the timeframe for keeping contacts in your pipeline that works best for you. 1-2 weeks is a good timeframe since this will allow the contact to remember your last conversation or email.
Prioritize follow-up. Develop a system for business follow-up.
- Fresh leads/New Contacts. Since your newest leads are going to be the most fragile, it is best to reach out to them first to keep your name fresh in their minds. Make it a point to follow-up with these contacts within 1-2 business days after initial contact.
- Current Clients. Your present customers are going to be your bread and butter and it is imperative to reach out to them weekly in some form whether this is via email, phone or dropping by just to see how things are going for them.
- Past Clients. Schedule time in your tracking system to reach out to past prospects monthly. This will give you ideal time to give previous customers company updates, specials or just let them know you are thinking about them.
Differentiate your business from the competition by sending hand written thank you notes after every sale. Everyone likes to feel important. By taking the time to follow up, you are letting your contacts know that you appreciate their business and want to maintain a long-term working relationship.
