49. What percent of sales people follow up?
Every now and then you will hear a sales manager enthusiastically talk about a new sales person.
"If I had ten people like him out in the field we could double our business - in the first two weeks he brought in one of the largest orders we've ever had!"
Whenever I hear stories like this I wonder how successful they will be six months down the road. In today's business the most profitable sales person is the one who "wears well". The sales person who can call on prospects, close sales, make recalls, close more sales, and each year build a greater volume of business from each customer with a greater amount of confidence and respect from the customer.
There are many sales people who can be sent over a territory once, but not twice. They make a good first impression, a good presentation, close the first order, and then they are off for the next challenge. They don't like to go back to the same customer twice and are usually not welcome because of the lack of follow up.
The majority of sales people follow up to some degree, but only 10% fall into the category that do it like a true professional.
The satisfaction that comes from doing one thing absolutely right and putting the trade-mark of your character on it, far outweighs the value of a thousand half done jobs. As a professional sales person, your follow up and attention to detail is your trade-mark.
The quality that you put into your work effects everything else in your life. Your entire personality takes on the characteristics of the way you do things. The habit of following up and taking care of the details not only strengthens your selling ability, but improves your whole personality.
On the other hand, doing things in a careless manner also effect every other part of your life. Every half-done job that goes out of your hands leaves its trace behind. After slighting your work, after doing a poor job, you are not quite the same person you were before. You are not so likely to try and keep up the standard of your work.
The moral effect of carelessly doing things has the power to drag you down. You cannot respect yourself if you habitually leave dozens of things undone. When self-respect drops, confidence goes with it, and when confidence and self-respect have gone, excellence in your selling skills is impossible.
Your work habits need constant watching in order to keep up your standards. This is even more important for you, a sales person, because most of your time is spent working alone. Many sales people let their ideals drop when they are not under constant supervision and suffer because of it.
There is an old saying that sums up the importance of good follow up: "The secret of success is to do the common job uncommonly well."
Comments:
I have always heard that the follow up was the hardest part of selling. Sometimes I can see where some people may feel that way, but the follow up is going to be based off of how well the initial call went. If you made a good first impression then obviously it will make the follow up much more enjoyable. Now if you went in unprepared and did not make a good impression then it may make a sales person not want to make that follow up. Regardless, following up is a part of selling, something everyone should take very seriously, and something you should not be shy about doing.
Jason Kirouac
Follow up to an initial visit or order is simple. At this point it takes no work, you have already gotten the order or the initial visits, all you have to do now is show up and say hi. When I talk to my clients and prospective clients I always tell them that I am not looking to fill one order for you but I want to develop a long term relationship where you will call me when you have a need. I want to be the go to person for their needs.
Brandon Sanchez
Follow up is the “holy grail” of sales, great to speak about but few that actively seek it. Following up after a sale or even after a presentation shows persistence. Even if you don’t get the sale, following up could lead to future sales. If they buy from someone else and then just never hear from them again they may realize they should have gone with you in the first place. You never know what present no may turn into a future yes.
Matthew Thacker
The number one ingredient to become successful in sales is to keep in touch with people and build relationships. Everyone wants to feel special, remembered and valued. Sometimes our busy schedules leave little time to think about appreciate or thank anyone in our lives. Going the extra mile, which might only take an extra few minutes a day, to appreciate your clients and prospective clients is a must to reach your goals. Building relationships takes time, but it is well worth it at the end. Think of how nice it feels for you when you receive a follow-up call, email, note or card. The same is true for everyone else as well.
Yessenia Narvaez
If I say it once a day, I say it a million times, do it right the first time, don’t take shortcuts in life or your life will be cut short. Following up shows that we care about our clients. Whether we take a box of donuts, or just stop in to say hi, it’s very important to let them know that when we promised them that they would get “us”, we meant it. The people who get the business, and don’t follow up on the business, lose the business. It’s just a matter of time.
Kimberly Burgess
Following up with clients, new and old is not a difficult task. Following up with prospects is more of a challenge. I feel like I pretty much know where I stand with my clients and I do everything in my power to make them feel important. A prospect is not as clearly defined. If I tell them I am going to do something I certainly follow through with it though.
Lisa Lloyd
My uncle once told me a salesperson came by his office and was ecstatic that a prospect said no for the fourth time in a row. The salesperson knew the fifth time he called the prospect, there was a high probability he would then get a chance to earn the business. I try to document every time I call a prospect and make the return phone calls when I say I will call. People will remember a consistent person and refer other friends to you for business.
Gregg Nixon
It seems so simple to say, but truer words have never been spoken. I like to think that I’m pretty thorough with my follow up, but deep down I know there is room for improvement. We can’t afford to be lazy when it comes to this area.
Jonathan Kendig
To me, follow-up is the easiest part. I don’t want my customers to feel like I just “sold” them anything – I want them to feel like we entered a relationship and the only way to do that is to keep in contact and follow-up. Lack of follow-up, in my opinion, makes the customer feel like they were just sold something, and now that the sale is complete their value has declined – when in reality the opposite should be true. The sale is just the beginning.
Danielle Antonacci
"Follow up is the key to the kingdom!!"
I completely agree with this statement. And I will admit that I am not perfect. But I see every current client I have at least once every week. I deliver payroll and I don’t leave it with a secretary. I see the plant manager, the shift supervisor, the owner or whomever I possibly can. I want them to know that whether I have one employee with them or 50 they are important to me. I take gifts, ie….pens, tablets, candy, coffee, doughnuts or whatever I can to let them know they are #1.
Every client is #1 to me because they all make up my business and I don’t want to loose a single one. Granted some will not need me for very long, but if they feel appreciated they will remember and when someone they know is looking for an employee they will recount what a good experience they had working with me and that is a pay off you can’t afford to loose. I once read or heard that if someone has a negative experience they will tell about 20 people. When someone has a good experience they will tell about 5 people. I sincerely believe that.
So I have to make 4 people happy to get that 20 people to hear about a good experience. So I focus everyday on making at least 4 people happy. That works out to 100 people a week. Follow up is the key to the kingdom!!
Kathie Luttrell
A Financial Consultant of mine about 10 years ago told me something that I will never forget. He was over at my place to go over my ( believe me ) very small portfolio. He always had coffee, sat with me and discussed many things. This particular evening he was a little late because the previous client took a little longer - they were working on a large deal. It was no problem for me but I told him that he could have rescheduled the meeting, after all, my account was not very big. He told me the area that he came from and it is a very wealthy area of town. I assumed that it was a very lucrative deal so I asked him why he spends so much time with me.
His answer was that many sales reps go after the quick fix , the adrenaline high / rush of the sale of the moment and move on to the next challenge. They forget the follow up and as a result are always running after the big one because someone is eating up their business from behind due to lack of follow up. They last for maybe 2 years and move on, always running , always gaining in the short term and then running out of steam. My consultant figured that by ensuring solid follow up on all accounts he was building future business (clients children, friends, etc. ) and guess what ….today he owns the company …….and by the way he only runs to the bank today.
Alex McQueen
"The satisfaction that comes from doing one thing absolutely right and putting the trade-mark of your character on it, far outweighs the value of a thousand half done jobs. Only 10% follow up to a customers complete satisifaction."