One of the most crucial aspects of sales is following up with your prospects and customers. sales follow up is the process of contacting your leads or clients after an initial interaction, such as a phone call, email, meeting, or presentation. The purpose of sales follow up is to maintain the relationship, provide additional value, address any objections or concerns, and move them closer to a purchase decision. Sales follow up can also help you to upsell, cross-sell, or renew existing customers, as well as get referrals and testimonials from them.
Sales follow up is important and beneficial for several reasons. Here are some of the benefits of doing it well:
1. It shows your professionalism and interest. By following up with your prospects and customers, you demonstrate that you are attentive, reliable, and committed to helping them solve their problems or achieve their goals. You also show that you are genuinely interested in their needs and feedback, and that you value their time and trust. This can help you to build rapport and credibility with them, and differentiate yourself from your competitors who may not follow up or follow up poorly.
2. It increases your conversion and retention rates. According to a study by HubSpot, 80% of sales require five follow-up calls after the initial contact, but 44% of salespeople give up after one follow-up. This means that by following up consistently and effectively, you can increase your chances of closing more deals and retaining more customers. You can also reduce the risk of losing your leads or clients to your competitors who may be more persistent or responsive. Additionally, you can use sales follow up to overcome any objections or concerns that your prospects or customers may have, and persuade them to take the next step in the sales process.
3. It enhances your customer satisfaction and loyalty. By following up with your customers after they have made a purchase, you can ensure that they are satisfied with your product or service, and that they have received the expected value and benefits. You can also provide them with additional support, guidance, or resources to help them use your product or service more effectively. This can help you to increase your customer satisfaction and loyalty, and reduce the likelihood of churn or complaints. Moreover, you can use sales follow up to upsell, cross-sell, or renew your customers, and increase your customer lifetime value and revenue.
4. It generates more referrals and testimonials. By following up with your customers and asking for their feedback, you can also ask them for referrals and testimonials. Referrals and testimonials are powerful forms of social proof that can help you to attract more leads and customers, and boost your reputation and credibility. You can also reward your customers for giving you referrals and testimonials, and strengthen your relationship with them. For example, you can offer them discounts, freebies, or incentives for referring new customers or writing positive reviews.
To illustrate the benefits of sales follow up, here are some examples of how you can follow up with your prospects and customers in different scenarios:
- After a phone call or email: You can send a thank-you note, summarize the key points of the conversation, provide additional information or resources, and suggest the next steps or actions.
- After a meeting or presentation: You can send a recap of the meeting or presentation, highlight the value proposition and benefits of your product or service, address any questions or objections, and ask for a commitment or decision.
- After a purchase: You can send a confirmation of the purchase, thank them for their business, provide them with instructions or tips on how to use your product or service, and ask for their feedback or satisfaction.
- After a feedback or satisfaction survey: You can send a appreciation message, acknowledge their feedback or satisfaction, resolve any issues or complaints, and ask for referrals or testimonials.
- After a period of inactivity or silence: You can send a re-engagement message, remind them of the value and benefits of your product or service, offer them a special deal or incentive, and ask for a reason or update.
These are some of the ways that you can follow up with your prospects and customers in a timely and effective manner. By doing so, you can improve your sales performance, customer relationships, and business growth. Sales follow up is not a one-time event, but a continuous process that requires planning, strategy, and execution. You can use tools such as CRM software, email marketing, or automation to help you manage and optimize your sales follow up activities. Remember, the fortune is in the follow up!
FasterCapital builds your website and works on creating unique UI and UX to increase traffic and retain visitors!
The sales follow up process is a crucial part of any sales strategy. It involves communicating with your prospects and customers after an initial contact, a meeting, a presentation, a proposal, or a sale. The purpose of the follow up is to build trust, rapport, and value, as well as to move the prospect or customer closer to the next stage of the sales cycle or to repeat business. However, many salespeople struggle with following up effectively. They either don't follow up at all, follow up too late, follow up too often, or follow up without a clear goal or plan. In this section, we will discuss how to plan, execute, and track your follow up activities with your prospects and customers in a timely and effective manner. We will cover the following topics:
1. Why follow up is important and what are the benefits of following up. Following up is not just a courtesy, but a necessity in sales. It shows that you care about your prospects and customers, that you are professional and reliable, and that you have something valuable to offer them. Some of the benefits of following up are:
- It helps you stay on top of mind and stand out from the competition.
- It allows you to reinforce your value proposition and address any objections or concerns.
- It enables you to nurture the relationship and build trust and credibility.
- It creates opportunities for cross-selling, upselling, referrals, and testimonials.
- It increases the chances of closing the deal or getting repeat business.
2. How to plan your follow up activities and set follow up goals. Before you follow up with your prospects and customers, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you will measure your success. Some of the steps to plan your follow up activities are:
- identify your target audience and segment them based on their needs, interests, preferences, and behavior.
- Define your follow up objectives and align them with your sales goals. For example, your follow up objective could be to qualify a lead, schedule a meeting, send a proposal, ask for feedback, close a sale, or request a referral.
- Choose the best follow up method and channel for each segment and objective. For example, you could use email, phone, text, social media, or a combination of them.
- Determine the optimal follow up frequency and timing for each segment and objective. For example, you could follow up within 24 hours after an initial contact, within a week after a meeting, within a month after a proposal, or within a quarter after a sale.
- Create a follow up calendar and schedule your follow up activities in advance. Use reminders and notifications to stay on track and avoid missing any follow up opportunities.
3. How to execute your follow up activities and deliver value in every interaction. Once you have planned your follow up activities, you need to execute them in a way that is relevant, personalized, and engaging. You want to provide value in every interaction and move the prospect or customer to the next stage of the sales cycle or to repeat business. Some of the tips to execute your follow up activities are:
- Prepare your follow up message and script in advance and tailor it to the specific segment and objective. Use a clear and catchy subject line, a friendly and professional tone, and a concise and compelling content.
- Include a clear and specific call to action in your follow up message and script. Tell the prospect or customer what you want them to do next and why they should do it. For example, you could ask them to reply to your email, book a meeting, sign a contract, or refer a friend.
- Follow up with value and not just with a check-in. Provide something useful or interesting to the prospect or customer, such as a relevant article, a case study, a testimonial, a discount, or a free trial.
- Follow up with consistency and persistence, but not with annoyance. Follow the follow up frequency and timing that you have planned and respect the prospect or customer's preferences and boundaries. Don't spam them with too many messages or calls or pressure them to make a decision.
4. How to track your follow up activities and measure your follow up performance. After you have executed your follow up activities, you need to track them and measure their effectiveness. You want to know how your follow up activities are impacting your sales results and how you can improve them. Some of the steps to track your follow up activities and measure your follow up performance are:
- Use a CRM system or a spreadsheet to record and organize your follow up activities and outcomes. Keep track of the date, time, method, channel, message, script, objective, and result of each follow up activity.
- Analyze your follow up data and identify the patterns and trends. For example, you could look at the open rate, response rate, conversion rate, retention rate, and referral rate of your follow up activities.
- Evaluate your follow up performance and compare it with your follow up goals. For example, you could look at the number, quality, and value of the leads, meetings, proposals, sales, and referrals that you have generated or influenced by your follow up activities.
- Optimize your follow up strategy and tactics based on your follow up insights and feedback. For example, you could test different follow up methods, channels, frequencies, timings, messages, scripts, objectives, and calls to action and see what works best for your prospects and customers.
The sales follow up process is a vital part of your sales success. By planning, executing, and tracking your follow up activities with your prospects and customers, you can increase your sales efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction. Remember, the fortune is in the follow up!
FasterCapital's team includes highly experienced and skilled professional programmers and designers who work with you on building your product!
You have reached the end of this blog post on sales follow up. In this post, you have learned how to follow up with your prospects and customers in a timely and effective manner. You have also discovered some best practices, tips, and tools to help you improve your sales follow up process and increase your conversion rates. Now, it's time to summarize the main points of this blog and provide a clear call to action for you, the reader.
Here are the key takeaways from this blog post:
1. Sales follow up is the process of contacting your leads or customers after an initial interaction, such as a phone call, email, meeting, or presentation. It is an essential part of the sales cycle, as it helps you build trust, rapport, and value with your prospects and customers.
2. The purpose of sales follow up is to move your prospects and customers along the sales funnel, from awareness to interest, to decision, to action. It is also a way to provide additional information, answer questions, address objections, and overcome challenges that may prevent them from buying your product or service.
3. The timing of sales follow up is crucial, as it can affect the outcome of your sales efforts. You should follow up with your prospects and customers as soon as possible after the initial interaction, and then maintain a consistent and appropriate frequency of communication until they are ready to buy or repeat their purchase.
4. The content of sales follow up is equally important, as it can influence the perception and behavior of your prospects and customers. You should tailor your sales follow up messages to the specific needs, preferences, and goals of each prospect and customer. You should also use different channels and formats, such as phone calls, emails, texts, social media, videos, and webinars, to deliver your sales follow up messages.
5. The quality of sales follow up is the key to success, as it can determine the level of satisfaction and loyalty of your prospects and customers. You should follow up with your prospects and customers in a professional, courteous, and respectful manner. You should also provide value, relevance, and personalization in your sales follow up messages. You should also track and measure the results of your sales follow up activities, and use feedback and data to improve your sales follow up process and performance.
Now that you have learned the basics of sales follow up, it's time to take action. Here are some steps you can take right now to improve your sales follow up skills and results:
- Review your current sales follow up process and identify the areas that need improvement. For example, you may need to update your CRM system, create a sales follow up calendar, or automate some of your sales follow up tasks.
- Implement some of the best practices, tips, and tools that you have learned from this blog post. For example, you may want to use a sales follow up template, a sales follow up script, or a sales follow up email subject line generator to craft your sales follow up messages.
- test and optimize your sales follow up strategy and tactics. For example, you may want to experiment with different sales follow up timings, contents, and channels, and see which ones generate the best response and conversion rates.
- Keep learning and improving your sales follow up skills and knowledge. For example, you may want to read more books, blogs, articles, and podcasts on sales follow up, or enroll in a sales follow up course, workshop, or coaching program.
If you are interested in learning more about sales follow up, or if you need help with your sales follow up process, please visit my website and book a free consultation with me. I am a sales follow up expert and coach, and I can help you design and implement a sales follow up system that works for you and your business.
Don't miss this opportunity to take your sales follow up to the next level. Click the button below and schedule your free consultation with me today. I look forward to hearing from you and working with you soon.
[button: Book your free consultation]
Read Other Blogs