Many times it happens that you have been followed up for umpteen number of times and finally you ended up buying that product/service ? Yes, that’s the power of consistent follow up.
On a daily basis an entrepreneur meets many people around. Obviously he has huge business cards collection with him. But not everyone is converted into leads. This is due to lack of proper follow up. Your business is your asset. When you set your target audience, you need to have follow ups with them to reach your ultimate goals of selling your product/services.
An entrepreneur may feel Follow up as a weak task to complete and sometimes quite demotivating. But remember that it’s an art to convince people with your constant perseverance, positive attitude, and with right approach.
Research shows that only 20% of sales leads are ever followed up and 80% of potential opportunities are lost merely due to lack of follow-up after the first meet.
Some observed statistics on this are :
44% of sales people give up after one “NO";
22% give up after two "NOs";
14% give up after three "NOs";
12% give up after four "NOs".
Means that 92% of sales people give up after four "NOs", and only 8 % of sales people go for the fifth follow-up. So now when you consider that 80% of prospects say "NO” four times before they say "YES", the ultimate conclusion is that 8% of sales people are getting 80% of the sales.
So Follow-up is absolutely important to get the potential leads. Perform this art of following) quite consistently without losing hope and become one of those 8% sales people.
At the end of your first meeting with prospect, set up the next meeting on a specific time. Ideally, get back to the prospects at the earliest, preferably within a few days, while idea is still fresh on their minds. Following up is really just another exposure. Your frequent exposures with the prospect will lessen the probability of him approaching your competitors. Your job is to educate them about your product. Remember that Out of sight is out of mind. So fix up the next follow up and the next, until the prospect comes to a decision.
Once you meet your prospect, start asking appropriate questions to him to understand his needs/ expectations. Then steer the conversation in right direction so as to focus his attention on what is important.
Also, follow up by sending emails. Don’t forget to ask for the permission from prospects to send them an email. You can set up auto-responders.
Sometimes you may find that the prospect is disinterested in talking. Try to develop the friendship by sincerely taking interest in their needs, their daily life. A successful entrepreneur knows that it is important to cultivate relationship with prospects before converting them into customers. Then, you can gradually highlight the need and the benefits of your product or services in their life.
Have faith in yourself and your abilities. For follow up, call the prospect at scheduled time, if not answered, leave a message and re-call. Don’t get discouraged if he does not pick your call. Not to follow up is more of a psychological, due to lack of confidence. Don’t just sit around cooking your possibilities of him not taking your call. Be positive that he must be busy. And you can then call him after some time. But never look desperate and creepy. Instead, if they don’t pick your call, show your concern by leaving a message or a voicemail that “ Hope everything is fine “ or “ Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you”. It definitely results in positive comeback.
Follow up with every prospect is a learning. Some are open to the new experiences and challenges to new opportunities. Then it makes easier to sell the product. But sometimes, prospects have quite narrow focus. Try not to get perplexed by such rigid people. Be patient. Win them by your placidity and help them reach their decision by your persistency. Follow up is a commitment. Do it virtuously.
Lastly, don’t get stuck to the wrong prospects. Move on. There are billions trillions people on this planet. Optimize your energies to the right ones. Be confident. You can always set next prospects.