The real differentiator to closing more sales is Follow-Up. We all offer great service. Competitors say similar things too. We know the problems we solve and the markets we serve. We spend budgets on social media and often can’t tell results.
Unless what you sell is unique, your biggest differentiator is follow-up. Answer these 2 questions:
- How do you stay in front of the right people?
- How does someone get to know and trust you?
Relentless Follow-Up, strategic time allocation, and your CRM are keys to closing more sales with less Follow-Up Fatigue (FUF).
Follow Up is Impossible!
Most people agree that follow-up is impossible and often, they fail. According to Microsoft:
- 50% of salespeople stop following up after 1 call.
- 89% have stopped after 4 calls.
- After 9 calls, there is a 90% probability that you are chosen when the buyer is ready.
Can you differentiate yourself?
Most sales reps spend 50% of their time following up. Meet 10 new contacts per week and the follow-up piles up! How many times do you engage someone before they buy?
Very Intentional Prospects (VIP)
Your number of VIPs depends on what you sell. Once you have your list of VIPs, engaging with them more than 9 times is the goal. The ways in which you touch your VIPs depends upon what you sell and its sales cycle.
VIPs expect and respect relentless follow-up. VIPs need personal attention backed up by your CRM.
New Contacts from Networking
Many businesses network to generate new leads. When you meet new contacts, what happens next? Do you:
- Rate contacts as prospects, referrers, or friends?
- Rate prospects from A to F?
Use a rating method to allocate sales time. VIPs get the most personal time. Next are your “As & Bs” and referral sources.
Relentless Follow-Up
Relentless follow-up is subtle and aggressive depending on what you sell. Its focus is building buyer confidence and reducing buyer risk. Touch Consistency is paramount and regular communications based on your sales cycle keep you top of mind.
How can you follow up 6 to 12 times with 400 prospects per year? Here are a few ways.
Online store – Sells hair products and captures reorder frequency. Now, they send promotional discounts to their consumers 2 weeks prior to a typical reorder. By packaging a 2nd product as part of its promotion, sales have soared. The campaign includes emails and texts and is triggered automatically.
Remodeler – Residential remodeler sent 1 email to its prospects and customers including promotions. Customers who did not get the promotion were mad. Now, they segment their clients by completion date and service type.
Professional Services – Wanted Google and Yelp reviews. Now, they click a date and emails are sent asking for the review automatically.
CRM Power is Automation. Use your CRM to send targeted messaging by segment based on your criteria so you can touch your prospects 12 times over your sales cycle.
Not sure if you need a CRM or which one to get?
Set up a Meeting so we can share ideas.
