Sales Fundamentals 4: Follow-ups Close Sales
Sales Fundamentals
By Thomas Jensen
# 4: Follow-ups Close Sales
I ended my last post, Making Sales Meetings Work For You, by encouraging you to walk out of meetings with written, mutually agreed-on outcomes so that both sides are on the same page.
The next step may seem obvious. But you’d be shocked by how many salespeople let it slide: Following up after the meeting.
One of the leading causes
Lack of follow-up is one of the leading causes of not closing business. Will every follow-up call be easy? Pleasant? Lead directly to a sale? Of course not. But following up demonstrates that you’re on top of things and trustworthy. That you do what you say you will do, that you deliver on agreements.
And one thing is certain: without follow-ups you reduce—by a lot—your outlook for closing business over the long haul. Because when you establish your reputation as someone who delivers on promises, you transform yourself from just another sales rep into a trusted business partner.
What exactly do I mean by following up?
Since you’ve read Making Sales Meetings Work For You, you walk out of your meetings with a short list of mutually agreed-upon next steps. Here’s a good reason for a quick follow-up call or note.
Nothing complicated. “I just wanted to follow up on our meeting. I’ve completed one, two, and three of the six deliverables I promised. To complete number four I’ll need that report from your team we discussed.”
Following up is also a leading cause of unintended opportunities.
You can’t force these opportunities. But the only way you can capitalize on them is by following up in an organized, structured way. Make it a habit, like brushing your teeth in the morning. It’s fundamental to your success.
Remember, these aren’t pushy sales calls. They’re check-ins. Ask for opinions and thoughts. Or ask for help. Use your customer as a sounding board. Everyone likes to give their perspective and most won’t refuse a request for help. But they certainly might say “no” to yet another sales call.
I once had a large potential customer using a competitor’s product. Rather than go at the situation head-on trying to sell, I instead asked “why?” I asked for feedback. The VP I was dealing with opened up. “What would you like to know?”
“You need strong players to choose from and if your choice isn’t us, it will help to know why so we can improve our offerings, improving the overall market for you to choose from.”
As he explained their reasoning I realized our products and services were as strong as those of our competitors—and in many cases, stronger. This gave me the opportunity to ask leading questions. But I was honest about what we could and couldn’t do. Over time these conversations led this senior VP to view me as a trusted business resource. In fact, he called me in to discuss some of his company’s RFPs in our market sector, even when our chance to win the business was small because of the entrenched competition.
Because he trusted me to tell him the truth.
And in these discussions he learned a lot more about our capabilities. Much more than if he’d been scanning his emails on his phone while a ‘salesperson’ droned on about how great they were.
When the opportunity finally came, we got the business. We’d built a strong foundation prior to that RFP.
We went on to win bigger deals and substantially expand our footprint with this customer.
Does this make me particularly gifted? Special?
Not really.
All I did was add follow-ups to my calendar. The emails and calls took a few minutes. When I offered this VP advice, I was honest. I helped them out with things that didn’t directly lead to a sale and I did not push hard to present our offerings.
Long-term success starts with a solid foundation. Make this and the other Sales Fundamentals part of your daily routine. They’ll become as automatic and habitual as taking a shower and brushing your teeth in the morning.
You and your commission statements will like the results.
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© Thomas Jensen 2020