Interesting Ways to Follow Up With Your Prospects

Business expert C.J. Hayden recently compiled a fantastic list of interesting, fun ways you can follow up with your prospects so you don't have to call to "check-in." Her list has 44 examples, which we will break down over several posts, so you can try a few at a time. I think her advice will definitely help to get the creative juices flowing and jump-start your relationships with your prospects.

You know you need to follow up with prospective clients, but you often find yourself putting it off. "I already called them three times," you think. Or, "They never answer the phone anyway." Or, "I hate hearing no." Or, "I don't want to bug them." Or, "What do I say that's new?"

It's only natural to resist placing phone calls to prospects who didn't return your last call, never seem to be there, may not be ready to buy, or might say they're not interested. But here's the good news. Calling prospects on the phone and asking them to hire you is not the only way to follow up!

Yes, you can call your prospects on the phone, but you can also email them, send a letter or note by postal mail, fax them, overnight them a package, send a text message, or instant message them online. And those are just the different communication channels you might use. The type of messages you deliver can be much more varied than simply asking prospects to do business.

Consider the following ways that you can follow up with your prospects via any communication channel you choose, in order to build a relationship, remind them of what you do, and present yourself as a valuable resource and expert in your field. Many of these follow-up approaches can also be used with potential referral
sources and networking contacts.

1. Ask if they have new questions about what you last discussed.
2. Tell them about a book, article, or website that might help with what you talked about.
3. Send a personal note with a copy of your brochure.
4. Point them to a vendor who can solve one of their issues you don't address.
5. Prepare a personalized marketing kit for them focused on their unique issues.
6. Tell them about an upcoming event that addresses an issue you think they have.
7. Invite them to an event where you are a speaker, organizer, or sponsor.
8. Attend an event where you are likely to run into them.
9. Send a nice-to-meet-you or good-to-see-you note with your business card.
10. Call or email to ask what's new in their world.
11. Leave a brief benefits-oriented commercial on their voice mail.
12. Ask them to meet you for coffee, a drink, or lunch.
13. Invite them for golf, tennis, a bike ride, or a walk in the park.

Have you tried some of these ideas? Which ones might you try in the upcoming week? Do you have your own fun way of keeping in touch? Let us know!

C.J. Hayden is the author of Get Clients Now! Thousands of business owners and independent professionals have used her simple sales and marketing system to double or triple their income. For more information, please visit www.GetClientsNow.com

A Few More Compelling Reasons Why You Should Be Politely Persistent and Follow Up With Your Prospects

I liked sales trainer Jim Domanski's follow-up reasons so much, I thought we should end our week with just a few more! If this list doesn't convince you of the importance of persistent follow-up, I'm not sure what will. Just take my advice - be convinced, and see your sales soar!

1. Your prospect has put the project on the back burner or has gone with another vendor and you need to find out to have closure and stop fretting
2. Your prospect figures the ball is in your court and is wondering why YOU haven't made a further follow up.
3. You did not include a signature file with your contact information on it - and the client did not have it handy to make a quick call back
4. Your voice mail (and phone number) was delivered so rapid fire or slurred that the prospect gave up trying to decipher it
5. You accidentally sent your e-mail NOT to Brian Basanda but to Brian Adams when you used your Contact info in Outlook
6. Most of the other vendors calling your prospect fail to follow up ... which gives you the competitive edge
7. Your contact may have a gatekeeper who erased your message
8. Your prospect has a wicked sense of humor and is waiting to see how many times you will call
9.Your voice mail script needs a re-write; it simply lacked 'umph'
10. This could be the deal of your career - you'll never know unless you call
11. Your prospect deleted you e-mail on their Blackberry by accident and there's no "undo" feature
12. A poor, hungry and driven competitor will make the persistent follow up call that you didn't make ...and will get the business you should have got.
13.What do you have to lose?
14.What do you have to win?

So there you have it: Between yesterday and today, 28 compelling reasons to pick up that phone and make a few follow up calls. Print this list on a bright yellow sheet of paper. Post it at your desk and refer to it whenever you hesitate about making that follow up call. Do it now. And close more sales!

By Jim Domanski of Teleconcepts Consulting. Please visit Jim's web site at www.teleconceptsconsulting.com for additional articles and resources for tele-sales professionals.

Compelling Reasons Why You Should Be Politely Persistent and Follow Up With Your Prospects

Do you make phone calls and then sit wondering why no one calls you back? You may think you're being nice by not bothering your prospect, but not following up can seriously kill your sales. Need more inspiration to get back on the phone and try again? Today sales trainer Jim Domanski shares some very compelling reasons as to why you need to be persistent and follow up!

Has this ever happened to you?

You've made the call. You generate interest. Maybe you send a proposal or quote. You make a follow up call and leave a message and wait for reply. And wait...Maybe you make another follow up...no reply.

In a short while you are convinced the client was stringing you along. Frustration sets in. Anxiety. Uncertainty. 'Do I call again? Won't I look like I am stalking? He's not interested. If he were, he would have called right. Why waste my time? Forget about it. Let's move on."

This negative self-talk is repeated every day, every week by hundreds of reps. It gets easy to convince yourself not to make that extra follow up call.

The trouble is there can be any number of reasons why the prospect has yet to get back to you. You should follow up because:

1. The squeaky wheel often gets the oil
2. The contact lost your number
3. The contact inadvertently deleted your voice mail message
4. The prospect/client simply forgot to call you back
5. Your e-mail was sent to their SPAM folder and never seen
6. Your e-mail was lost "in space" and never made it to the client.
7. Your e-mail was lost, misplaced or forgotten in a pile of other e-mails received
8. Your client is swamped with work and has been too busy to call
9. The contact is putting out a major fire and her priorities, for the moment, have changed
10. Your prospect inverted a number or two when copying down your phone number and was not able to reach you
11. The client or prospect expects YOU to follow up and keep them on track
12. Your prospect or client is grotesquely disorganized and needs someone to keep them on track
13. Your contact figures if YOU don't show interest in following up, you and your product can't be all that important
14. Your prospect has had a minor delay and needs to someone (you) to get them on track

So what are you waiting for? Get back on the phone!

By Jim Domanski of Teleconcepts Consulting. Please visit Jim's web site at www.teleconceptsconsulting.com for additional articles and resources for tele-sales professionals.

Use This Question to Clean Up Your Follow-Up File

How many prospects do you have pending right now? How many of them will close in the next week? The next month? If you're like most salespeople, you're not entirely sure where you stand. Tele-sales expert Art Sobczak suggests you use "The Cleansing Question" to move prospects along and find out where you stand!

Ask the Cleansing Question
The main reason reps have too many leads working is that they don't ask the tough questions early enough. You need to find out if the person you're talking to is really a "player." It's always better to get a "no" early, than to waste time, effort, paper, and postage chasing shadows that never will materialize.

Here is what you need to do starting today. Begin cleaning up your "non-prospect" prospects now by asking this Cleansing Question:

"Mr./Ms. Prospect, we've been talking for awhile now, and have agreed that we'd be able to help you (fill in with how they would benefit.) I want to be sure I'm not bothering you, or wasting your time or mine. Tell me, what is the probability we'll be able to work together in the next month?"

Think of the possible results here.

1. They say, "Zero probability." Great, now at least you can find out the real problem, or move them out. Movement, forward or out, is progress.

2. They give some other probability. Good, but not great. You want to ask what you both need to do to move forward now. Get specifics. Commitments. Ask them to attach time frames to the commitments. Don't allow them to continue putting you off. Again, movement here is success.

3. You just might get the business right now. Perfect. Sometimes all it takes is the nudge to get the boulder rolling down the mountain.

Do some late-summer cleaning. Examine your follow-up files. Prepare you own strategy and ask the Cleansing Question.

Art Sobczak, President of Business by Phone, Inc., specializes in one area only: working with business-to-business salespeople - both inside and outside - designing and delivering content-rich programs that begin showing results from the very next time participants get on the phone. Learn more at www.businessbyphone.com

Getting Past the Emailed Quote

Sales trainer Joe Guertin often answers salespeople's questions on his blog, and I thought his most recent answer was very appropriate and advice we could all use. A recent reader asked "My customers are busy and can't take time to meet face-to-face. They want prices e-mailed. But then...NOTHING HAPPENS! Help! What can I do?"

"I get asked that a lot," says Guertin. "And it's a chronic problem. Busy buyers just want quotes, and then make their decisions on their own criteria (which, for the most part, include who they feel the most comfortable buying from)."

I don't like e-mailed quotes. Unless it's going to a current customer with whom you have an on-going relationship, e-mailed quotes take the selling out of sales.

But, in those cases where you absolutely have no choice, add these two steps and you'll see those all-important 'connections' grow (and get a better closing ratio):

Call Ahead
"I'm about to send that quote and just wanted to confirm one thing."
Ask a question about one of the specifications, about their timetable, etc. Thank them again for the opportunity, tell them you'll "follow up shortly," and let 'er rip.

Follow Up
Did they say it'll take a week or two to get an answer? Did they say they'd let you know? Did I say stop there? Especially if this is a new customer, FOLLOW-UP. The key is to have a specific reason for following up...as you don't want to sound like a lap dog who says "didja getit...didja getit...didja getit?" (Of course they got it.)

Make a strategic call that includes these elements:

"I know it'll be a week before you make a decision" (set aside THAT debate)
"but I just wanted to make sure we've got everything covered."

This could elicit responses from "I haven't looked yet" to "looks good."

Now, reconfirm their next step, thank them for the opportunity. Be sure to fire out a brief thank you letter, too.

P.S...Personal visits should be proportionate to dollar amounts. Larger, more detailed quotations have "I need face time" written all over them!

Joe Guertin is an advertising sales trainer, speaker and coach. His programs have informed and entertained sales professionals nationwide. Visit his Sales Resource Center at www.StreetFighterSelling.com

If You Dread Follow-Up Calls, So Will Your Prospects

When marketing expert C.J. Hayden first started her business she was uncomfortable making follow-up calls, like many people. After all, you're basically saying, "So are you going to hire me?" and that can be an uncomfortable question for everyone involved. Hayden thought up a different approach to follow-up calls that made her and her clients feel comfortable. Read on for her tips!

"When I first started marketing my own business, one of the first things I noticed was how difficult it was for me to call people and ask if they were ready to hire me," says Hayden. "But I'm no recluse; I enjoy interacting with people. In fact, I even enjoy talking on the phone. So what was it about these particular calls I found so distasteful?"

Being the analytical sort, I decided to identify exactly what it was about these calls that I disliked and avoided. Here are the elements I identified:

1. Asking for a sale or referral.
2. Calling just to "say hello."
3. Making small talk about generic topics.
4. Fearing rejection.
5. Telling people how great I was.
6. Calling back someone who had already said no.
7. Feeling as if my call was an imposition.

"Reviewing this list, it seemed to me that the secret to enjoyable follow-up (that would actually get done) was to eliminate these elements that I didn't like and replace them with ones I did," continues Hayden. "This reverse engineering didn't happen overnight, but over time, I began to find more and more ways to follow up agreeably. Here are the alternative approaches I discovered to make follow-up a pleasure instead of a chore."

1. Offering something instead of asking for anything. Like many professional service providers, giving advice, making connections, and sharing resources comes naturally to me. Instead of focusing on what I wanted to get from the person I was calling, I switched my emphasis to what I could give them.

2. Calling with a specific, helpful purpose. I've had many salespeople call me just to "stay in touch," and it always feels like a waste of my time. Instead of calling people just to chat, I would call to invite them to a networking event, introduce them to a new contact, or let them know about a book, article, or workshop they might find valuable.

3. Having meaningful conversations about what's going on in peoples' lives. Making small talk about weather, sports, or entertainment news has never been one of my favorite pastimes. But hearing what's
going on in someone's life, career, or business fascinates me. Those were the topics I began introducing in my follow-up calls.

4. Avoiding rejection by staying away from selling. Phoning someone to ask whether they're ready to hire me feels awkward and pushy, and I'm sure my prospects often feel the same. I'd much rather help people than sell to them. Unless I was calling someone to follow up on a specific deal already in progress, I stopped asking for business and focused on having helpful, meaningful exchanges.

5. Telling people how great my clients were. While talking myself up feels uncomfortable, talking about my clients' successes comes easily. I began describing my work by sharing my clients' accomplishments instead of my own (honoring client confidentiality, of course). These success stories turned out to be much more effective than simply telling prospects what I could do.

6. Letting go of sales that were too hard to close. It's important to be persistent and follow up multiple times with prospects who don't respond or say they're not ready, but calling back someone who has actually said no can be pretty confronting. I realized that if I had a long enough follow-up list, I didn't really need to call those prospects at all. I could spend my time instead with people who were more likely to be interested.

7. Designing a call that anyone would welcome. If making a call just to push for business isn't a good experience for me OR to the person I'm calling, why make it? I'd much rather spend my time having conversations both sides can enjoy. I discovered that if I contacted people in a spirit of friendliness and generosity, instead of acting like a salesperson, plenty of sales and referrals resulted without asking for them directly.

"Now, I'm not talking about using these principles as a way to avoid answering direct questions or provide needed clarity, when those are called for," says Hayden. "If prospects ask about your ability to do the job, by all means, you should tell them about your skills and experience. If you've submitted a proposal, and are waiting for the prospect to tell you whether he or she has accepted it, asking whether you got the order is completely appropriate and usually necessary."

"But what I am suggesting is that you can design much more pleasurable, helpful, and relationship-oriented reasons to pick up the phone and call your prospects and referral sources, just once or many times throughout the year. And THAT can transform making follow-up calls from a dreaded task into a welcome activity -- for both you and the people you call."

C.J. Hayden is the author of Get Clients Now! Thousands of business owners and independent professionals have used her simple sales and marketing system to double or triple their income. For more information, please visit www.GetClientsNow.com

Diligent or Desperate?

Diligent follow-up is an important part of being successful in sales, but have you ever worried that your follow-up comes off as desperate to your prospects? It's easy to cross the line without realizing you're doing it. These tips from sales trainer and author Renee Walkup are a great way to make sure you're coming off as professional and dedicated - and not desperate!

Avoid pinning the customer into your time frame.
For example, telling the customer that you will call him in two days doesn't empower him to take the lead. What's so special about two days? Ask your customer when is the best time for him. You may find it's sooner than two days. Once you negotiate the day and time, then be diligent by following up when you promised.

Avoid the "end of month special" approach.
Whenever a salesperson tells a customer that they have to purchase by the last date of the month/quarter/year, it spells "desperate" to a customer. Let the customer know about the deals and be more relaxed about the end of month. You can follow up, and in fact, I encourage you to do so...just don't push for the end of the month. Customers are able to recognize a good deal and they buy on their time frames. Just keep in mind that if the customer misses the 31st deadline, they will end up paying more and you increase your commissions.

The same is true for price increases for those of you in commodity markets.
When you call and tell your customer the price is going up by the 6th, another reminder call, email, or note is perfectly in order. The customer has a calendar--give them the options of when to buy when there's an impending price increase on the horizon.

Always do what you say.
If you tell the customer you will call on Thursday at noon, it doesn't matter what has occurred, call the customer at that time! Even if an emergency has arisen, call before that time and let him/her know.

Follow up, follow up, and don't forget to follow up!
Remember the "diligence" part?

Renee Walkup is president of SalesPEAK Inc. and author of "Selling to Anyone Over the Phone."

Follow Up Sales Effectiveness

"Follow up in sales is critical. Particularly critical is the timing between a salesperson's follow-up and a prospect's pain point to want, not just need, what you sell," says sales trainer Patricia Weber. "Unless you have a crystal ball to bring that timeline into your view, then it is up to you to continue to be in front of a prospect about what might interest them."

Follow these tips from Weber on how to effectively follow up with your clients, and your timing will never be off!

Manage the process

If you do not plan to follow-up, the sale will likely not happen. Jeffery Moses says, "Sales is one part initial contact, four times follow-up." What is the average length of the sales cycle of your customers? Once you know this, then determine a series of different types of follow-up at different points in this cycle.

Start sooner than later

The first thing could be a handwritten note or even a voice mail saying how you appreciate their interest and maybe a reminder that you plan to stay in touch. This does two things: you've communicated your regards, and you let a prospect know you are going to talk with them again. Then, get your plan out of your head and on to your calendar.

Scheduling versus planned

A week after you've sent the first handwritten note, contact your prospect with an email containing pertinent information about something that interests them. After that you could send something seasonal, even a "just thinking of you" card, or if appropriate, a small gift. You can intermix real cards, emails, telephone calls and if appropriate, in-person visits.

Collaborate

Ask for help with the follow-up process. If you were referred to the prospect, ask the referrer something that might be important to the prospect for your follow-up. If you meet someone who knows the prospect, they may have some insights to add to your follow-up plan.

Have something pertinent

If "Are you ready?" is the first, last or only question you have on the scheduled plan, than you're probably seen as just a bother. An update on pricing, or a new product, or that you are on holiday for a week are valid reasons for a follow-up. How many valid business reasons can you think of to put in your plan?

"How much is a new customer worth to you?" asks Weber. "Is that worth more than putting all your effort only into that initial contact? Or is it worth you staying committed to a systematic follow-up? If you say yes to both these statements, then with your sales skills and timing, the outcome will likely be, "Okay. What do I have to do to get started with you?" or "How soon can you ship that to me?"

Sign up to receive a free report, ezine and teleclasses from Pat Weber – America’s Sales Accelerator Coach, specializing in Introverts and Shy people at http://www.prostrategies.com

Good Prospecting is Boring

I came across this blog post written by Nigel Edelshain over at Sales 2.0 and thought it was a great reminder to all salespeople that success is in the details. It may not be glamorous, but the best way to earn more money (and reach that glamorous lifestyle!) is to spend time scheduling follow-up calls, taking notes, and making lists.

"We had been on quite a 'roll' securing new business and leads all over the place for our clients for a few months," says Edelshain. "Then we relaxed a bit, got a bit less detail-focused and 'voila' things slowed up in the pipeline. So we spent the last couple of weeks looking into what was causing this slow down - what we have found was details. It turned out small differences in how 'type A' we were being really impacted our results."

Some specific areas that we found:

• Scheduling Follow-Up Calls: Some of our sales team got into the habit of scheduling follow-up calls one or several weeks out. But deals have their own tempo and when leads are warm that tempo needs to increase. Follow-up should be sooner for warm leads. We started to shorten our follow-up time, especially on warm leads, and right away our sales pipeline improved. A pretty boring detail.

• Note-taking: CRM systems are pretty boring. But taking good notes on your interactions with prospects is very important if you "team sell." Team selling can be extremely powerful - it lets others come up with ideas you may have missed. But team members can only help you if you take enough notes for them to know what's going on with that contact/account. We started getting "type A" on our notes again and came up with new ideas that caused deals to flow.

• Documenting Best Practices: Another boring one. Who wants to put information into an Intranet when you could be selling? Understood. But we found that some of our sales people were missing details of the sales process for specific products we are selling. They had definitely known the details at some point but had simply forgotten one particular point on one particular project. Big deal? Well it can be because sales is a "real time game," if you don't say the right thing on a prospecting call, you lose your chance. Knowing the details of the sales process is key.

• Lists: Yet another boring one. I believe target lists for prospecting may be the #1 factor in determining sales success. If you call the wrong people, you won't sell anything. We started to lose one name here and one name there, whether from an outside list or a referral that was not well documented in our CRM system (not truly lost but not in the right place). A name here or there does not seem like a "biggie" right? But all this adds up. It's that one missing name that might be a prospect with a burning need.

"I've said before 'sales is just like accounting,'" continues Edelshain. "In prospecting this is so true. The details count a lot. The cliche of salespeople is loud backslappers buying drinks at the gold club. Great characters but lousy at administration...and details. The reality in a 'Sales 2.0 world' is that salespeople need to be 'boring' and not miss a detail - or they will miss a deal."

"I'm just calling to follow up"

There's nothing more annoying than a sales rep who's "just calling to follow up." What a time waster. Follow the expert tip below from telesales guru Art Sobczak to avoid this call killer and give your client something of value.

"Have a primary objective for every call," says Sobczak. Before each call plan out "What do I want them to DO as a result of this call, and what do I want to do?"

If you do this, you'll be giving your client something of value, and they'll be much more likely to give you the response you're looking for. If not, at least you'll know to stop wasting your time and move on to better prospects.

Telesales expert Art Sobczak is president of Business By Phone. Visit his site at www.BusinessByPhone.com.

Fill the pipeline with real prospects - not information seekers

Here's a helpful quick tip from Chris Lytle, CSP:

Here's the scenario: The meeting ends. The person across the desk tells you, "I'm interested. Call me next Thursday and we can discuss this further."

Many salespeople dutifully note on their calendars to follow up next Thursday. However, top producers know that a real prospect will be willing to schedule the next step. An information seeker will gladly let you take the initiative for chasing him down.

Find out early in the relationship whether you're dealing with a real prospect or an information seeker with the following words: "Since you're interested, I want to ask you to work with me on a calendar basis. That way I'm not chasing you and we're not playing phone tag. Let's get this follow-up call on both of our calendars."

The people who are willing to engage with you - to put you on their calendars - have passed the acid test. They're your real prospects.

"Let's work on a calendar basis." Make this your mantra and you're going to close more sales.

Chris Lytle, CSP, time releases immediately applicable sales advice via the MAX-ATM Automatic Training Machine website. Check it out at www.max-atm.com.

"I'm just calling to check in ..."

This is surely one of the most ineffective (translate: lame) openers you could use. But does that stop most salespeople? Unfortunately, no.

"If you're like most people, you've used this opener at some point in your sales career," says Colleen Francis of Engage Selling. "What you may not realize is that this little sentence can quickly reduce your credibility with your prospect. Are you really calling just to check in or check up? If so, either you've got a lot more time on your hands than I do, or else it's time to seriously consider a career change!"

Francis gives this advice for creating a more effective opening:

First, start by removing the word 'just' - it makes you sound unimportant, and your call seem like an afterthought.

Replace it with something like: "The last time we spoke, you ..." By taking the customer back to the last time you spoke, you remind them of your relationship, and prove that you are carrying through on what you were asked or promised to do.

Nothing builds rapport better than a promise kept. Rapport leads to trust, and trust leads to loyal customers.

Give this tip a try this week and see the impact on your calls.

Sales trainer Colleen Francis is president of Engage Selling Solutions and a contributor to Top Dog Sales Secrets.

Rules to Keep Your Follow-Up Out of the "Stalker Zone"

In today's business world the sales process can take anywhere from a few days to a few months, maybe even a few years. This means that you, as the diligent salesperson keeping up contact, need to get a little creative to keep your relationship with your client out of the "stalker" zone.

Colleen Francis, contributor to Top Dog Sales Secrets and one of the "5 most effective sales trainers in the market today" (as ranked by Sales and Marketing Magazine), has drawn up rules and even a schedule to help keep you in your client's mind.

Mix up a phone call with an email, and then later maybe send them an individualized hard copy mail piece - not a generic corporate brochure, but something that's relevant to them, like an article you clipped from a magazine with a personal note, a celebration card recognizing their company anniversary or an invitation to your open house. To get you started, try the following schedule:
Week 1: Follow-up call with action items noted for the next direct contact.

Week 3: Company email newsletter, announcement or article. It doesn't really matter what, provided it is content-rich and NOT an advertisement. After all, this contact is intended to increase your credibility, not weaken it.

Week 4-5: Another indirect contact such as a birthday or anniversary card, a note in the mail with a newspaper clipping they might be interested in, or an email with a newsworthy article about their industry. This contact is designed to strengthen your personal relationship, and help you build rapport.

Week 6-7: Follow up again with another direct phone call.

Check out more of Colleen's advice at www.engageselling.com. You can also reach her by calling 877-364-2438 or e-mailing her at colleen@engageselling.com.