The Crucial Function of Follow-Up
Let’s start with a straightforward but profound query. How much time and effort, if any, do you devote to following up on leads after they’ve been submitted?
Why Are You Inquiring?
This is merely a rhetorical query designed to get you to consider your current follow-up procedures. Although constant communication is an essential part of the sales process, it is also an aspect to which few people devote much, if any, thought or time.
According to research, only 2% of transactions are made on the first touch between a salesperson and a lead. Even then, the small percentage of those who eventually close a deal do so just because the leads have done their homework and know exactly what they want. Basically, the agent just had to turn up.
After the initial sales touch, several studies have shown that it takes at least five ongoing follow-up attempts before a customer says yes. FIVE STARS! From the fifth to the twelfth touch, nearly 80% (yes, 80%!) of all sales are made!
Take a look at the following figures:
After receiving one “no,” 44% of salespeople give up.
After two “no’s,” 22% of people give up.
After three “no’s,” 14% of people give up.
After four “no’s,” 12% of people give up.
As a result, after hearing ‘no,’ ‘not yet,’ or ‘not now,’ up to four times, 92 percent of salespeople give up. That is to say:
Just 8% of salespeople are responsible for 80% of all sales!
Does it make you wish you had been more enthusiastic about maintaining a constant conversation with your leads? It certainly does for me. Persistence, my friend, is the key to making it into the top 10%!
Wooden sign that says “Go Further” with a picture of a paradise in the background.
7 Effortless Follow-Up Techniques
So, how do you make sure you’re following up in a timely and effective manner? The seven techniques mentioned below will help you shift follow-up from the back burner to the top of your priority list!
1. Make a schedule for follow-up.
Clearly, follow-up isn’t something that happens by accident. Make a schedule that shows when you can make calls and send emails. Leads won’t fall right between your fingertips any longer.
You’ll only need two types of contact schedules at first:
Active Leads: These are attentive leads who are willing to purchase in the near future.
Passive Leads: These are qualified leads with a long-term purchase horizon.
These schedules are often planned out for up to a year. But, depending on the level of interest shown and the prospect’s current needs, the frequency and purpose of communications can change over time.
2. Use a variety of follow-up methods.
The aim is to contact prospects in a variety of ways in order to avoid getting lost in the shuffle of competition and to remain on the prospect’s mind. Snail mail, emails, phone calls, messages, tweets, Facebook and LinkedIn posts, or any other suitable social contact tool may be used to reach out.
3. It’s All About Timing
Certain days of the week, and even times of the day, are busier than others for us. When trying to make a link with a prospect, these are the moments to avoid because anything you say is likely to go totally unnoticed, and not on purpose.
Graph 1
The highest email open rates and phone contact rates tend to be on Wednesday and Thursday. According to study, the best email weekday is Thursday, which has a 26 percent higher open rate than the worst email weekday, Monday. Thursday is also 49% higher for phone touch rates than Tuesday, which is the worst day for phone contacts.
2nd graph
The bottom line is that if you time your method of interaction within the confines of these communication sweet spots, you’ll have a better chance of making contact or getting a response from a prospect. While this may be useful in some cases, research shows that consumers who are approached within five minutes of sending an interest form, regardless of the time of day, are more likely to turn into a transaction. Giving immediate attention demonstrates how much you appreciate their time and emphasizes your excellent customer service.
4. Build email template designs
Create templates to help you with the follow-up process, starting with your most popular and repetitive emails. Keep in mind that these aren’t intended to take the place of your work; rather, they’re meant to help you with it. It’s also important to personalize the message so that it doesn’t come across as impersonal.
This will reduce the amount of creative work required at each stage of the follow-up process, leaving you with no reason not to contact your prospect as soon as possible. What could be better than improved email efficiency and accuracy with less effort?
5. Obtain permission to go on with your follow-up.
I hope it’s self-evident that if anyone really asks you to avoid contacting them in some way, you should. However, it’s not always clear whether or not the prospect wants to keep in touch.
This is where obtaining permission to proceed comes into play.
By requesting their permission to continue following up, you reduce the chances of being a bother and losing whatever goodwill you’ve built up so far. “Do you mind if I check in with you in two months to see how things are going?” for example. or “Would it be okay if I sent you an email in a week or so with more information?”
Ending each discussion by asking permission to proceed would build an environment of mutual respect and consideration, regardless of how motivated a prospect appears to be. If the answer is no, at the very least you’ll know where you stand with them. If the answer is yes, it would be easier to follow up understanding that it is desired on the other end.
6. It’s Important to Use Relevant Content
I’ve already discussed the importance of varying your communication methods, but it’s also important to vary the quality of your messages in order to establish more meaningful interactions. What is the reason for this? And no matter how many times you ask, “Are you ready to buy?” you can only ask it so many times until it irritates your prospect, which is particularly true if they are already dealing with many other businesses. The reality is that people buy when they’re ready to buy, not when you’re ready to sell.
So, how do you go about it?
Send them a range of valuable content that will help you stay in touch while also adding value to their lives or businesses. While creating good content requires a significant amount of time on your part, it is an investment that will pay off in the long run. Such interactions will show them that you’ve been thinking about their company and will remind them of how you can assist them in succeeding.
When a customer is ready to spend money, they would most likely choose the business that is at the top of their mind – that is, the one with which they have had the most recent, regular, or meaningful interaction.
7. Keep track of how many people open and click on your emails.
Knowing whether and when an email has been opened, as well as the click-through rates it has created, gives you a lot more information about what your prospects are interested in.
Any potential explanations for low open rates include your subject line not being important or interesting enough to your prospect, or you sending too many or too few emails, causing your email to be overlooked. It’s important to strike a balance!
Creating relevant content and increasing click-through rates go hand in hand. The more useful and engaging the material, the more likely your prospect will continue reading. It’s also a good idea to avoid phrases like “press here” because they leave the reader unsure about where the link will take them. To get them there, they must first understand where you want to take them. You could also get more click-throughs if you provide several links to the same material in a single email, giving the reader several chances to click.
With sketched heavy and muscled muscles, a young businessman wonders.
Continue to be brave.
In the business world, agents do not hope to close significant transactions in a single conversation. Humans like to hear something several times before it really sinks in, and the business world is no exception. There has long been a limiting assumption that following up with a lead isn’t worth the time. This belief is absolutely false, as shown by the statistics! Follow up on leads with tenacity. For those who persevere, there are offers to be had!
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