The Importance of Effective Follow-up

by Kate Smalley

Published on this site: January 16th, 2007 - See more articles from this month

Marketing experts say that following up with clients is crucial to successful selling because most prospects do not buy the first time, according to Aweber, a leading autoresponder company. People must encounter a marketing message multiple times before making a purchasing decision.

The frequency and amount of follow-up needed depends on the complexity of what is being sold to the customer and its "life span." "You should check in probably once a quarter or once a month if the product or service is more complicated.

Types of Follow-up

Sales follow-up is one of the most common and important types of follow-up situations. This type of follow-up positions you away from the competition, so you can generate more business from your existing customers. It shows that your company has its act together and really cares about satisfying customers.

Sales follow-up can result in a positive experience-even if customers were slightly displeased with your product or service. It also makes good sense, financially speaking. Getting business from existing customers cost a fraction of what it takes to obtain new business.

Another typical follow-up method involves placing call-backs to prospects after submitting a bid or proposal. During follow-up, it's important to ask open-ended questions and then shut up and listen.

To make an open-ended question, just put an adverb at the beginning of the sentence-but don't ever ask 'why' because it's antagonistic. You could ask: "What did you think of the quote?" or "How did you feel about what was included?" Asking open-ended questions gives you an opportunity to gather more information from the prospect to accurately pinpoint their needs.

Using eNewsletters can greatly enhance your follow-up efforts with prospects and customers. Because of their inherent tracking technology, eNewsletters can tell you which topics and what part of your Website are most interesting to your readers.

Tips for Following Up

Follow-up isn't just about selling; it's about building relationships that can ultimately lead to increased sales.

Here's some important follow-up advice to keep in mind:

1. Do what you can. Don't take an all-or-nothing approach to following up. Doing something is better than nothing, so follow-up as frequently and as best as you can.
   
   
2. Don't ever ask yes-or-no questions. Ask who, what, when, how many, etc. to get prospects talking. Before you pick up the phone to make that follow-up call, write down three open-ended questions to ask prospects. If you start your call with an open-ended question, you'll be amazed at how easily the rest of the conversation flows.
   
   
3. Make sure the right person follows up. The person making the follow-up call should be the person who has worked with that company. Also keep in mind that there are certain calls that are more appropriate coming from inside customer service, an outside salesperson or the boss.
   
   
4. Space out your phone calls. Don't slot a long, uninterrupted time to make calls because your approach can become dull. Instead, place a call here and there to keep things fresh.

Kate Smalley- Connecticut Secretary Transcription Services and Secretarial Support http://www.connecticutsecretary.com [email protected]