Client Magnets Official Blog

There’s a fact that can’t be escaped if your business runs on sales: the majority of people won’t respond to your first contact. Instead of being discouraged by that fact, though, it’s time to start doing the one thing that’s sure to increase your sales. Developing an effective follow-up strategy will put you ahead of your competition and on the road to more income.

You may be saying, “Of course you should always follow up!” but are you doing that in your own business? It’s surprising how many sales-based businesses throw away income by failing to respond when someone raises their hand in response to marketing.

Consistent follow-up has always been a factor in sales success, but today, more than ever, people are hesitant to hand over their cash until they trust you. That’s why establishing a follow-up strategy is so crucial. If you don’t respond consistently when someone expresses interest, why would they trust you with their business later?

If you aren’t converting enough prospects to customers, it’s time to review your follow-up strategy. You may find that changing one thing about the way you respond to interested prospects is all it takes to get your business back on track.

For example, a business owner recently complained she was spending far too much on advertising, without seeing a lot of results. A quick look at her prospect database revealed she’d had quite a bit of initial interest to her marketing, but wasn’t following up consistently. Because of this, she was constantly in search of new clients.

To turn things around, she chose a few dozen prospects who had expressed some interest but had never bought. Simply by reconnecting with this group, she generated an impressive amount of income in just a few days. Is there potential income trapped within your own client database for lack of follow-up?

Once you’ve admitted you’re not following up as you should, there are four effective ways to enhance your strategy:

1. Set up a Process: You may keep telling yourself you’ll find time in the future to stop and do your backlogged follow-up. Guess what? That time never comes unless you map out a strategy for follow-up, and then automate the process as much as possible.

2. Lead Them to the Next Step: They’ve raised their hands to show their interested, so what happens next? They may be asking for more information, but your follow-up response should always lead them toward buying. Invite them to sign up for your call, hire your services or buy your product, but don’t simply tell them more about your products!

3. Vary Your Approach: If all you ever do is tell the customer you’re still in business and then ask if they’re ready to buy, you’re going to wear out your welcome. Increase the value of doing business with your company each time you follow up with a prospect, and you’re more likely to be on their minds when they’re ready to buy.

4. Design Marketing for the Customer: It might be more convenient to do one-size-fits-all marketing, but it won’t generate what you want in sales. Clients have different triggers, so map out your marketing follow-up plan so that includes several trigger points. For example, some people respond to the promise of results, while others need the pressure of an expiring offer before they’ll buy. Planning progressive follow-up that touches on several trigger points will improve your client conversions.

You’ve worked hard to create products, develop marketing and research your target audience. Don’t let the ball land at your feet by failing to follow-up with interested prospects. Keep that momentum going by developing an effective follow-up strategy. The payoff will be more sales, greater income and a lot less work to build your client base.

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

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