If you sell something, work with clients, or have a business of any sort, there is one skill or system that is non-negotiable.
FOLLOW UP!!!
When you’ve been in sales for more than a day, you’ll have heard the phrase…
“The FU money comes from Follow Up.”
Many people say this line because, according to statistics, only 5% of the prospects you speak with will be ready to do business with you today, and the remaining 95% will potentially do business with you over the next six to twelve months. So the fortunes you seek will ultimately come from the latter group of prospectsβthe 95 out of 100 who do not buy from you on the first contact. With that being said, it’s incredible to me how many salespeople and business owners lack a true follow up process.
What is the best way to create a follow-up process?
Step #1 – Set up a database or CRM a.k.a Customer Relationship Management
CRM is the lifeblood of any good sales organization. This is where every piece of relevant information concerning your sales and follow up process starts. If your company is not already using a tool or system of this type, you need to channel your inner Karen and immediately speak with management. Your CRM will keep you organized, track your customer’s personal contact information, booked sales calls, and everything else you need to get your job done. As a salesperson, knowing all you have to do is show up, CALL THE DAMN LEADS, and the tools at your disposal will do the tedious day to day tasks is extremely powerful. Use this tool to automate as much of your sales and follow up process as possible, including text messages and emails. Think of the most commonly used messaging. These can typically be added as templates to save you time in the future.
Step #2 – Establish The Pipelines or Stages of Your Sales Process.
For the most part, sales can be broken down into about four to five categories.
NEW LEADS: These are fresh prospects that can come from any number of different sources. It’s important to track those sources as the conversation you have could be slightly different. Referrals, for example, would mention the referring person’s name or comments, while an internet sourced leads may ask what prompted the prospect to request more information. These NEW LEADS should be systematically followed up with for the first 30 days. If no contact is made during that time, set up some sort of recurring contact points via text/email/mailer with updated offers and value.
HOT LEADS: Prospects you’ve spoken to or presented an offer of some sort fall into the hot leads category. These are likely clients you should be following up with daily or every two to three days, depending on what they have specifically requested. This is the time to continue showing excess value and presenting the ease of moving forward with the transaction.
WARM LEADS: Some prospects may need time to “think about it” or be in a position where finances prevent them from moving forward. Remember, these are still precious leads. Remember to continue providing value and sharing tips and tricks they can implement on their own to start seeing small results. Typically you will follow up with these leads every couple of weeks or once a month depending on your industry sales cycle.
COLD/DEAD LEADS: You’re going to get some people who just outright do not want to do business with you. THAT’S OK! Do not discount these leads and throw them away. Put them in rotation to check in with every three to six months. Sometimes these prospects need more social proof or some sort of event to occur in their life, which shifts the way they think. When I sold insurance, I sent mailers to someone for over four years before he eventually went on to call me back and become a client.
CURRENT CUSTOMERS: This is probably the most crucial segment to follow up with because service sells! Someone who has already given you their money will be more likely to provide you with more money than someone who has zero relationships with you already. When you submit an excellent service to your clients, you can follow up to provide additional sales offers, ask for referrals, or have your team call to ask for a review. These reviews of your service are excellent training for new sales staff to understand what made your past clients purchase and how the sales team approaches a future potential client’s needs. Check-in with clients at official holidays, birthdays, and any other life events you can track, all of which are things you can track and automate inside of your CRM.
STEP #3: CALL THE DAMN LEADS!
This seems like the most simple step, but it is also the one people tend to miss the most. Do not give up on your leads after the first or second attempt at contact. Make sure you are reaching out at different times of the day and with various methods such as text, email, phone call, dm, and any other means you can utilize in a non stalkerish way. More and more clients are living a busy life and have their preferred method of contact. If you want to succeed in sales, be prepared to work with the customer where they feel most comfortable. This might mean working on your phone skills and your texting/typing skills simultaneously.
There you have it! Everything you need to create a dummy-proof follow-up system. The key is to remember; the system only works if you work the system. So once you’ve established your stages and implemented this routine, DO NOT STOP. This process will only continue to get better with time.
What you CAN do, however, is start working on your sales and closing process. Once you get a handle on your leads and contact points, you will need the skills to close them. You can grab those and more by picking up our ultimate sales closer bundle. It’s everything you need to show prospects value during the follow-up process and help them decide to move forward. Pick yours up by visiting https://connectwithdrewbie.phonesites.com/uscb
