Even if a prospect has expressed interest, they don’t want to hear from you more than once the first couple of weeks. Hammering them with repeated contacts is the best way to kill the sale”, I was told by a sales coordinator from a company in Chicago.
Is he right? Is one follow-up a week or two after the first contact, and then an occasional contact during the next few months the best way to generate a sale?
No! No way, no how! I’ll explain how a successful follow-up strategy works, but first let’s look at why a smart salesperson would say something so unequivocally wrong.
Too many salespeople think of follow-up as a contact with a prospect in order to make the sale. And how many times does a prospect want to hear from you asking for the sale?
The answer is never, not even once, so contacting them repeatedly to try to sell them is not only annoying, but could kill the sale. So what do you do?
Remember that although prospects don’t like to have someone try to sell them, they like to buy. People love to buy the things they want, whether it’s a new car or the design services they need to grow their business.
The second thing to keep in mind is that your prospects will see you the way you see yourself. If you perceive repeated follow-up as annoying, your prospects will, too. What’s the best way, then, to follow-up a lead and generate a sale?
The way to generate more sales is to stop focusing on selling and focus on what your prospects and clients want.
Prospects want:
• To be assured that you understand their concerns.
• To get to know you and trust you before they’ll buy from you.
• To understand how you can help them.
• The value of your products and services relative to the results they provide.
• Proof that your products and services do what you say they do.
Give them the information they want; create opportunities for them to get to know and trust you; show them that you understand their concerns; prove to them the value you provide and the results they can expect, and they’ll ask to buy from you.
Follow up!
• What are your sales conversion rates?
• What percentage of leads do you convert into sales?
• Are you satisfied with that number?
If not, then you need to improve your follow-up strategy.
Eighty percent of sales are lost due to lack of follow-up.
I hope your company isn’t contributing to this sad statistic, but the fact of the matter is that most companies don’t give their prospects the information they want and need in order to buy. You could increase your sales by a factor of five simply by improving your follow-up.
Here’s how:
1. When a prospect asks for information, give it to them instantly.
2. Follow-up an initial contact by feeding prospects a steady diet of helpful ideas and tips that they can use right away. You’re demonstrating your expertise and the value of your products and services. Give them a reason to buy today.
3. Follow-up frequently, as often as every day during the first week or at a minimum 3 times within the first 10 days. Remember; you’re not trying to sell them, you’re giving them the information that makes you and your products the logical choice.
4. If you are running a time-limited offer on a product or service, remind your prospects. Most people will wait until the last day and want to hear from you. Send them one last friendly reminder and see your sales soar.
Are you afraid that if you follow-up too frequently, you’ll scare prospects away? Always provide a way for them to remove themselves from the conversation (virtual or other) you’ve started with them.
If your follow-up isn’t working, you’re not giving your prospects the information they want. Don’t worry about giving them too much information. If they’re not interested, they weren’t going to buy from you in the first place.
Your prospects are hungry for ideas and information. They want to get to know you in the hope that you can help them. Use your follow-up emails, calls, mailings, audio and videos, to engage your prospects, build a relationship and give then what they want. Do this and your sales will soar.
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