If we had a nickel for every time someone said to us, “My salesperson never got back to me”, or “The salesperson’s follow up was terrible”, or “I can’t find or get in touch with my salesperson”, we’d have a stack up to the ceiling. It’s pretty sad.
Scenario: You’ve got a prospect or current client (& the hardest part of selling is getting the prospect or client). Why in the world would you squander the opportunity by getting lazy with your follow up? Why would you miss out on the opportunity to build a relationship & impress someone with your attention to detail? You know it’s all in the detail.
Do you know how excited your competition would be if they learned that your follow up skills were lacking? They’d be drooling. They can’t wait to snatch up your business right from under your nose. When you slack in the follow up you are practically pushing your clients to your competition. They don’t need the help.
You may need to “trick” or “trap” yourself into doing the follow up. The best mechanism for this is your tasks or calendar. Everybody has these tools on the desktop, laptop &/or phone. These are great tools – especially if you use them. Don’t tell us you don’t need to use tasks. Don’t say the calendar is just for appointments. You won’t remember everything & calendars are great for reminding you what to do – even if it’s a follow up phone call.
Think of your calendar on your laptop or desktop (if you aren’t using one & synching it to your phone you are screwing up). A calendar is a funny thing – it gets “paid attention to”. When items are on your calendar they get completed. You wouldn’t think of missing a doctor’s appointment. You would never skip out & miss your golf league. You damn sure would never forget a happy hour meeting with your buddies. When these hit the calendar, they are important & they get done. Same goes for sales activities – the little tasks. So why don’t you use them? How hard is it to type in “Call Jenny to determine next steps – 248.867.5309? Not hard at all.
Sales follow up takes a discipline. It takes a commitment. It takes time. But it’s not hard.
Most of the time Sales Winners win deals it’s because of their follow up. Take note.
