Written By Pamela Meister
The Art of Follow Up in 5 Simple Steps
As remote professionals, we should all know by now that the first rule of sales is to be authentic. After all, people can sense the difference between working to make a sale and working to serve needs and solve problems. But to close business, you need more than “just” great services and great clients. You need a strong sales process. And, if you practice the art of the follow-up, you’ll set yourself apart from the competition.
Picture this. Your dream client finds you - whether through referral, through your sales funnel, or because you pitch them directly - and you get the opportunity to connect with them on a call. Let’s say that the call goes well, and you’re picking up on all sorts of signals that tell you this will be a fantastic client relationship. You hang up feeling great about things and you send out a great proposal.
But what happens next? Ideally, you want to book them while you’re on the call, but we all know that it’s not always possible for a variety of reasons.
When I work with clients on their sales process, one of the big things we talk about is the art of follow-up. I use a 5-step process that will ensure you build strong relationships and an even stronger business.
5 Steps of Follow Up to Revolutionize Sales
1. Say thank you.
The very first thing you should do after a sales call is show gratitude. Your prospective client is sharing their time with you and allowing you to connect with them. Let them know that you appreciate it. This step demonstrates to them that you are excited to work with them and it also serves to remind them of your conversation. You want to be timely here. If you meet in person you can send a handwritten note. Otherwise, a quick email is excellent. Or, if you’re great verbally, record a short Loom video for them.
2. Follow up.
Wait a day or two and then send a follow-up email. There are two fundamental rules here: Be brief and be confident. You can say something like:
“Thanks again for your time the other day. I just wanted to follow up to see if you have any questions about my proposal or what we discussed on the call. I enjoyed speaking with you and I look forward to the opportunity to work with you. If you’d like to have a short call or Zoom to chat, I’d be happy to connect with you again.”
There are a few key things to note:
First, your thank you email may have led to a short reply, but if they haven’t said yes yet, they probably haven’t had time to digest or process the information.
Second, you are not annoying them by following up, merely reminding them of your call, offering assistance, and creating the opportunity to continue the conversation.
Third, maintain your confidence that you WILL be working together. After all, they reached out to you and see value in what you offer. Just because they haven’t said yes yet, doesn’t mean that it’s a no.
Fourth, be persistent. Don’t hound them by any means, but don’t stop following up until you get a no or a no thank you.
3. Solve the problem.
Again, they came to you for a reason, so take the opportunity to remind them how you can solve their problem and why you’re the right fit.
For example, if you’re a course developer you might say, “I can create a course that’s going to give you residual income because you build it once and sell it over and over.”
Change that sentence to reflect whatever it is that you do. Maybe you have an amazing idea that will help your clients say yes. Reiterate the problem you’re solving for them to show that you hear them and can help them.
When they say yes now, you can take that issue out of their life and they are going to have the result that they want.
Once they see that, they’ll ask, “When can we start?”
4. Plant the seed.
After a while, if you’re not getting traction, follow up with another email or video that lets them know that you won’t be checking in again, but that you’d still love to work together.
You might say, “It’s been great talking with you and getting to know you. Get back to me when you have the time or are ready. Remember, my proposals are good for X number of days. If you have questions, I look forward to connecting.”
Ultimately, you want to be clear that the ball is in their court and that you’re ready, waiting, and willing once they’re all set!
It’s also important to remember that they may not be signing yet because they aren’t ready. Maybe after your conversation, they realized that they need a few other services first or details buttoned up before they can work with you.
For example, if you’re a web designer, maybe they realized they needed to work with a business coach, a copywriter, and a graphic designer first. By letting them know the expiration of your proposal, they’ll understand that your rates may change if they come back to you after that time.
The bottom line here is that you’re planting a seed to let the relationship grow. You never know where it will end up.
5. Let it grow.
Just because you’ve stopped touching base on your initial proposal doesn’t mean that you should go dark. Send out a newsletter from time to time. Check-in with your prospects occasionally to see how things are coming along. Send an email to say hi. I know that it can sometimes feel like you are planting seed after seed and nothing is growing. If this is the case, then you may need to re-evaluate your packages. But I’ll tell you that something is almost always growing no matter how slow.
A good metaphor is blowing dandelion seeds. No matter how many dandelions you blow on, the seeds don’t turn into plants right away. But with a little sun, a little rain, and time - all of a sudden you have millions of dandelions.
The same thing goes for business opportunities.
You don’t always get the yes right away, but if you take the time to follow up, you’ll often get the business or referrals down the road.
Don’t worry about stressing about every sale right now. But, put your energy into following up. If you just met people and never sent out an email, imagine the opportunities that you would miss.
Not all of your seeds will grow. Moreover, some of them will come back and you discover that they aren’t the best fit for you or your current services.
If this is the case, be honest with them. Let them know what you can or can’t do. Offer to help them find the right person. They’ll appreciate it and will come back to you when the time is right.
Learn the Art of Follow Up
What I do is help you figure out this process, find your joy, find out what really clicks with you, and then build a list of clients that funnel. Follow joy and do what you do best. Then automate, delegate, and eliminate the rest. That’s my formula for success.
So, if you find that one of these steps doesn’t work with your business model or doesn’t resonate with you for whatever reason, then re-evaluate and make a version of this work for you.
And if you’re ready to take this on and get big results, think about scheduling a chat so we can get you on the road to building a profitable business and living your best life.
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sales | marketing
Pamela Meister