How and when you follow up with prospects will make or break your sales pipeline. So get the timing down and say the right things and you’re golden. Easy as pie, yeah?
Are you doing effective follow-up in each of these scenarios? As inconsequential as some of these situations might seem, putting in the effort at these points in the sale process helps you get to closing more easily.
After They Fill Out a Form or Request a Demo
Basically any time someone requests information from your company, which generally happens via your website, start the conversation as quickly as possible.
These are people coming to you directly to ask questions and get help! Don’t neglect them. That includes putting them in a generic email sequence.
Follow up about the specific products or solutions they’re asking about. And do that communication in the ways they’re most likely to see/hear the message AND reply. That might be an email or a phone call. But it’s more likely a text message combined with other efforts.
Even better, make that request for information the literal start of a conversation. Add a web2chat texting widget to every page on your site and take advantage of the fastest, most convenient communication tool available.
Before a Scheduled Meeting
Appointment reminders come in clutch time and time again. But it’s not just about reminding people of the when/where. (Though that’s huge for accountability.)
Use these reminders to nail down agendas and attendees so that the meeting itself is actually worth it. Every person interested in what you sell is interested for a slightly different reason. Every meeting needs to be slightly different. Get those particulars out the way beforehand so your meetings are actually productive.
After a Meeting or Appointment
Every meeting or appointment should lead to additional follow-up. Do as much of the “busywork” as possible for your prospects and clearly outline how you’ll make this process as seamless as possible.
Your follow-up may focus on reviewing what was discussed, potential pricing, and next steps for proceeding with service.
Post-meeting follow-up is especially helpful when you’re getting to the end phase of the sales cycle. Use your follow-up messages to tie up all the loose ends and make sure things are set to get a contract signed.
When Someone No-Shows
Don’t let no-shows drag you down. Your CRM shouldn’t be a dumping ground for people who never moved along in their customer journey.
Automate your outreach after someone no-shows. That way you don’t have to put in extra effort to track them down, but it’s going to make getting appointments back on the calendar so much easier.
This isn’t about guilting them into rescheduling or making them feel bad for potentially wasting your time. (Even if it did waste your time…) Life happens. People miss appointments. Be a human about it and create some understanding. That’s how you get people to agree to meet again.
Krista Mashore Coaching uses Skipio to follow up with no-shows and in 30 days they closed almost $50,000 in sales that never would have otherwise happened.
After They Were Supposed to Talk With Their Team
When one of the action items for your “champion” is to talk with their team or show them something, don’t count on them to report back.
Set clear expectations in the meeting for when your buyer is communicating with their team and when you’ll reach out again to hear about it. Then do it! The easiest way to make sure you do is to schedule that follow-up message right then.
Whether it’s an email or text message is up to you and the buyer in question — communicate with them in the way they prefer or that you’ve agreed on.
After Sending an Email or Leaving a Voicemail
A quick text message is the perfect follow-up for when you send an email or leave a voicemail.
Let’s say you just emailed a key document or maybe even the contract. Let people know it’s there. Since a lot of people now turn off email notifications or only check their inbox at set times, a message letting them know that there’s something worthwhile in their inbox will be much appreciated.
Sequences That Don’t Suck
I’ve been put into follow-up sequences that don’t go anywhere and you probably have been too. It feels frustrating and even like a chore to be on the receiving end of messages that don’t address the specific things you need.
Do follow-up that directly relates to what your buyers want/need and keep it timely. By keeping tabs on each other, you optimize your lead nurturing and sales go through more often.
To improve follow-up with prospects and encourage higher engagement, add text messaging to your team’s sales communication with Skipio’s multi-user options.
