Sometimes following up on prospective customers can be as nerve
racking as making that initial first cold call. You know that you need
to ask prospects to make a decision, but you don’t want to appear to be a
pushy sales person.
Most businesses do not follow up enough and the results are that many customers slip through their fingers. Finding the right medium is sometimes difficult. How do you follow up in a way that encourages prospects to buy from you?
The Art of Following Up with Prospects
Remember that at the beginning of the buying process you will have spent some time qualifying your prospects. During this time you should try get an understanding of their buying habits. Are they someone who is likely to make a decision quickly? Or will they need lots of information and encouragement? This will help you to plan your follow up tactics with each particular customer. Traditionally most follow ups are done manually. Following a presentation you may ask prospects if they are ready to make a decision.
A week or two later you may give them a call and ask them the same question. What many business people don’t realise is that you need to follow up more than once or twice. In fact sometimes you may need to follow up as many as 20 or 30 times. But not every one of these follow ups needs to be a manual call asking for the sale. It could be a reminder about a fast action discount expiring, a newsletter with some client testimonials, an information sheet demonstrating the value that you offer. You can get creative in the way that you keep in contact with prospective customers and get them used to you contacting them. In the process you will be building a relationship with them and demonstrating the value of your business to them.
How to follow up to increase your Conversion Rate
- Realize that each prospect will react differently to your follow up process. Some customers will be ready to buy sooner than others. Use your discernment to match your follow up techniques to their buying behaviour.
- Don’t limit the number or types of follow up methods you use. Marketing studies show that often people need to receive information at least seven times before they may act on it. Don’t give up just because you get a no on the first follow up call, it may be that the prospect just needs a little more encouragement or information to make their decision.
- Provide prospects something of value each time that you follow up with them. It could be a special offer or incentive to get them to make a decision now. It could be copies of customer testimonials that demonstrate the value of your business. With each follow up you should show them ways in which they can benefit from working with your company.
- Have a schedule with reminders that prompt you to follow up, don’t rely on your own memory. When follow up’s are less strategic they are often less effective.
- Focus on building a genuine relationship with your prospective customers. When people trust you they will be more inclined to buy from you. Even if they don’t buy today, because they have a relationship with you when they are ready to buy you will naturally be their first choice.
You need to be creative and flexible in your follow up process. But you should still have a follow up plan carefully mapped out. By being deliberate in your follow up efforts you can make sure that each time you contact prospects you are offering them something of value. Even if it takes some time, the process will lead the clients through the buying process and show them how they can benefit from working with you. You can also then track your progress and know which prospects you should be investing the most time and effort with.
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