Follow up Communication

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.

Know Your Leads

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.

• Track what the leads look at on your website
• Make notes after contact 
• Send online surveys
• Ask questions
• Use social media to understand what the lead likes

Move Quickly

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.

Know How to Respond

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. 

Set Future Meetings

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:

• Offer value: I know this is repetitive, but you need to offer a reason for the meeting, such as information, a free estimate, etc.
• Be accommodating: Agree to the time and venue that your lead prefers. The meeting does not have to be immediate or in person. The point is to set the time and date.
• Keep trying: If a lead refuses to set a meeting, revisit the question when following up.

Case Study

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.