Never underestimate the importance of follow up communication. You should not allow too much time to pass between making contact with your prospects and moving them towards customer status. Communication will help you better understand you leads and respond to their questions appropriately. Correct follow-up communication is essential to success.
As we have already established, you need to understand your customer base to meet their needs. It is not enough to research a generic customer base; you need to get to know your individual leads. You need to gather information and then pay attention to it, and follow up communication is the perfect opportunity. Every time that you follow-up with a lead, take the opportunity to get better know him or her. There are steps that you can take to help you.
Whenever you follow up with leads, it is important that you move quickly. Do not allow time to lapse after making contact. If the customer makes first contact, respond as soon as possible. After the first discussion, you should follow up the relevant information within 48 hours by phone, email, or social media. You want to stay present in the minds of your leads. Set up a meeting as soon as possible, and establish a date. Make contact with your leads regularly. This does not have to be a long, personal meeting. Maintaining contact is necessary because the probability of making a sale decreases substantially 72 hours after the first meeting. It is important to help the relationship progress without making the prospect feel rushed.
The success of a sale increases greatly when initial response is made between 5 and 30 minutes of the initial communication. While it is important that you move quickly when responding to leads, you need to know what you are communicating. Some companies use auto responders to make the response immediate, but personal communication is always more effective. If you do implement auto responses, find a system that allows you to personalize it.
When responding to a lead, you should rely on your understanding of that person’s needs. You need for your call back to be relevant to the prospect. Many people choose to base their response on scripts that they tailor for individuals. Regardless of the method you use, make sure that you have the information that your lead needs.
Hopefully, a follow up will result in setting a meeting. A future meeting increases the chance of making a sale. There are a few things that you need to remember when setting appointments:
William is interested in hiring a caterer and contacts Leanne via email. An auto respond is sent back with the menu and prices that can be found in the website. His email asked about dietary restrictions. The first impression does not impress William. He decides not to pursue the company further. The next day, Leanne calls and leaves a message that answers all of William’s questions. After this follow up, he decides it will be worth meeting with Leanne.