Follow-Up Techniques That Work for You

The cost of not following up on a sales lead is a lost order. If a prospect is interested enough to call or write for information, or if a customer suggests that you contact a colleague and you do nothing about it, you lose twice -- first, by not getting an order and second, by alienating both your customer and the prospect.

The owner of a small paging business ran a newspaper ad with a clip-out coupon, inviting the reader to request a pager demonstration. The owner received dozens of coupons, divided them among his small sales staff and waited for the orders to roll in. Several weeks later he began to get phone calls, asking when the salesperson would appear. When he questioned his staff, they admitted following up on only a few of the better leads and discarding the rest. This is a common follow-up problem. Many salespeople are likely to pick the raisins out of the cake, call the sweetest looking deals, and let the rest of the cake stand out on the counter until it's too dry and hard to eat.

Many salespeople --especially commissioned salespeople -- live for the next sale. Once they've written an order, as far as they're concerned, it's all over. Such an attitude disregards the rich vein of opportunity waiting to be tapped.

Sales Managers Must Follow Up Too

If you're not sure what's happening with your salespeople, find out. Establishing a follow-up program and a reporting procedure will help, but your people must buy into its value. Let them know how important it is to you and to their sales.

To begin, ask each of your salespeople to review with you, customer by customer, the results of their follow-up calls. Do this daily or weekly. Encourage them to use phone calls, rather than personal calls, particularly for existing accounts.

Once your program is rolling, recognize those individuals who do a good job. You may also want to provide some sales incentives -- money or prizes.

More and more companies are awarding "favored vendor" status to suppliers who work closely with them on a day-to-day basis. There's no better way to protect your business than to achieve such status. This arrangement requires careful attention to detail, constant follow-up and a concern for the customer that goes beyond anything we've seen in traditional buyer/seller relationships in the past.

Go After New Business

Why do so many salespeople prefer to work with existing accounts, while avoiding prospects at all costs? There are many reasons, but the most common are:

1. Don't know how.
2. Fear of being turned down.
3. No incentive from management.
4. Not enough time.
5. Haven't done well in the past.

A lack of know-how can be solved with training. The fear of turn-down will disappear when success is achieved. By providing incentives for making cold calls, most people will find the time. One tactic is to increase commissions on the first order, or simply pay a small fee for each prospect contacted.

You shouldn't expect your salespeople to go it alone. Provide customer incentives, too, and warm up cold calls with letters and phone calls to prospects in advance of the personal visit.

Don't Give Up Quickly

There is no hard and fast rule as to the number of calls you should make on a prospect before giving up. Many companies keep accurate records on this. They've found that chances for success increase dramatically starting with the fourth or fifth call. The problem is that almost half of all salespeople give up after the first call and only a handful get beyond the second call.

Giving up quickly is hard to understand, given the fact that most customers are happy with their current suppliers and do not switch easily or quickly. A prospect needs compelling reasons to switch, not the least of which is a trusting relationship. Such relationships are seldom established on a single call.

Increasing Chances Of Success

Here are eight time-tested tips that will increase chances of success with prospective customers:

1. Follow up immediately on all leads.
2. Qualify the prospect early to determine volume and profit potential.
3. Establish your and your company's reputation during the first visit.
4. Do more information-gathering than selling on the first call.
5. Identify at least two customer needs that your company can fill which are not being satisfied by current supplier(s).
6. Don't make the first call a "do or die" situation. Leave the door open for a return visit.
7. Always have a good reason to return.
8. Schedule a new appointment right away.

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