How do you follow up with your prospects? Do you have a specific system to track how people are referred to you and what your next action is for follow up?
I’ll tell you this: most entrepreneurs don’t have a system in place. Those same business owners are leaving valuable clients and opportunities on the table.
And I don’t want you to be one of them.
In the increasingly crowded online marketplace, I’m often asked how a business can stand out above the crowd. What can be done differently? One very, very easy way to do something above and beyond what everyone else is doing is to follow up with your warm leads, the people that expressed interest in you and then asked for “more time” or to “think about it” after the initial consult. This helps you to stand out in a crowded marketplace because only about 10% of sales people follow up with prospective clients.
Only 10%.
You’ll find different statistics for the exact percentage of people that follow up but no matter what number you land on, it makes the same point: very few people do this. Less than half. And for the business owners that do take the time to follow up, there are more clients to work with and more income in the bank account.
Hallelujah!
I want you to be one of the few that stands apart from the crowd and reaches out to follow up with a prospect after the initial sales conversation.
I want you to work with more ideal clients.
I want you to have more deposits in your bank account.
I want you to make your mark on client’s lives in a very big and very important way.
The only question is…do you want it? If you do, then please continue to read.
I’ll share with you my very simple tracking process that I revisit first thing each Monday morning. It looks like this:
It’s a simple Excel spreadsheet that I update each week. [Download your copy here.]
SPOILER ALERT: If you think all of your client conversations and leads stay in your head, think again. As a responsible and PROACTIVE business owner, I don’t want you to miss one single opportunity. So, listen carefully: WRITE IT DOWN. Put it on a piece of paper in your office, on your dry erase board, or save it on your desktop in an Excel file. I don’t care how you store and track this information but you must keep a record.
So, here’s my system plain and simple:
- Have initial sales conversation with client. Ask the client if it is OK to follow up with them on Wednesday of next week by email. It’s that simple. Be specific with the method of follow up and the date you will do it.
- Client says, “sure, sounds great.”
- Put the information in your handy-dandy tracking sheet
- Follow up on the day and by the method that you agreed upon.
- Review tracking sheet each week (I do it first thing on Monday).
By asking the client if it’s OK to follow up on a certain day, you are going to breathe easy and realize that you won’t be stalking them. They are expecting it.
Clients won’t buy from you until they know, like, and trust you. For some people, that’ll take many “touches” (email newsletters, phone conversations, etc.) and for others, it’ll be sooner. Very rarely does a purchase occur on the initial meeting. That’s OK, though, because you are going to follow up and not only earn the business from your ideal clients but also build the KL&T factor by following through on a promise.
Take Action Now! Put together your tracking tool and start recording every single lead that you come across. An email, an initial sales conversation, you name it.
AND please share in the comments below – What methods for follow up have you established in your business or do you plan to put in place in the very near future (i.e. this week)?
As promised, here is the very first random parking lot video for your viewing pleasure.
Learn 3 easy steps to more clients,
more impact + more cash!
Great video and advice. I am putting this system into effect today!!! Thanks for the example spreadsheet.
Holly, thank you! Glad that the spreadsheet helps. Also, I am excited to work with you and learn how I can make video looks profesh when I do me inside my house (I may run out of random parking lots!!).
Fantastic tip. After watching the video, I realize I only have a partial system in place. I do track them in a spreadsheet, but I’ve never set up a follow up time so specifically. LOVE this simple formula. USING today! thanks.
Great news, Helene! Adding just a few details/notes makes follow up much easier for me and it sounds like it may do the same thing for you. Can’t wait to see how your follow up systems grows your biz!
Systems will save you, that’s for sure. Love the video, and the figure about 10% is scary (if you’re in the 90%) but great if you’re in 10% that actually does follow up! Thanks!
Wendy, it sounds like you are a member of the 10% club! Hooray!
Loved this post! And LOVED the info that only 10% of people follow up – if I feel any resistance on following up, I’m going to think of that. I will not be one of the 10%!
Thanks Marsha! You are already creative in your biz and following up with just help you stand out MORE and reach more of your ideal peeps! Woot!
Great advice Krista! I didn’t have a tracking sheet before but I do now! 🙂
AWESOME, Amanda! So excited to hear about the difference you notice in your biz as you move forward and track away! 🙂
Krista, this is a great reminder. Why? Because I know this system and I’ve used this system in my last job…but just because I know about it DOES NOT MEAN I’M DOING IT!!
You are my not-so-gentle nudge from the universe to keep track and always follow up. I’ve heard it a million times “the fortune is in the follow-up”. But you also reminded me that by following up, I’m delivering the kind of customer service that I would want to have if I were in their shoes. Thanks Krista!
Ha! I love being a not-so-gentle-nudge, Summer! I’ve found that so often we offering what the client really needs and really wants and we are actually doing a disservice to them by not following up. They truly want and NEED what we have to offer…but they get stuck in their heads if we don’t follow up and they don’t get answers to their problems! Thanks for your comment! 🙂
Krista this is really crucial advice for business owners. I have a routine, but it could use some major fine-tuning! She needs a schedule.
I’m going to share this with my FB fam tomorrow! xo
AWESOME! So glad that it helps, Melissa, and hopefully it’ll help your FB tribe to work with more of their ideal clients!
Oh, my goodness… this is totally clutch. My first job out of college I was being trained by the person I would replace and he gave me a neat and tidy spreadsheet so that, at a glance, I could work with any of the previous clients he had built a relationship with and know exactly where they were at….”Follow Up”, he told me, “Follow Up is my mantra.” Making the transition into my own business… I need to apply this more than ever! Thank you for this practical application of a very important aspect of business. Great insights and practical application. Thank you.
Court, it’s funny how we can know things and think about things but sometimes just getting into action can be where we stop. Glad it helps and I so agree with your previous co-workers statement. “Follow up is my mantra.” Such an often overlooked way to make more money and work with more perfect clients! Thanks for your comment!
Great advice. Simple concise yet powerful stuff. Plus, I love the parking lot vids. Keep ’em coming!
Shana, thank you. I have a lot of fun in parking lots..kind-of strange but it makes me smile and laugh so I hope it does the same for you, too! As long as I don’t get arrested or something…I’ll call you to bail me out! HA!
In my sales career, before my chef days, follow-up was a matter of course. No follow up = no sales. You’re so right Krista.
And I’m happy to agree with Shana. Love the parking lot as the common venue in your videos. I think you’re onto something big with this – I mean blue ocean strategy big! Yes, keep them coming.
Silvia, you just gave the goosebumps! Now I’m thinking more and more about the random parking lots that I visit…and the business advice that I can share when I’m in them. 🙂 Thank you. I also love you comment: “No follow up = no sales”.
Thanks for this video! Such simple advice, but something a lot of us forget to even think about–I’ll definitely be paying more attention to the follow-up process now. Great reminder! 🙂
Thanks Janine! I appreciate your comment. It’s so easy to find things that we KNOW we SHOULD do but for some reason we just don’t apply them in our own biz. That’s why I try to make it as easy as possible to implement these…so there isn’t an excuse that it’s “too hard” or “too time consuming”. I’d love to hear your strategies for good follow up, too. I’m always open to learning more ways of doing things that bring in more money for our businesses.
Krista, I so needed to see this. So far, I don’t have a system BUT I WILL MAKE SURE to start using one this week. And – I love the video! 🙂
Hey Krista, thanks for this valuable reminder. I agree! It is the responsibility of the sales person to keep our prospects vibrating at a resonant place so they are making conscious decisions. What better way than a sweet follow-up from someone who has their best interests at heart.
Recently, a women who’s an entrepreneur herself introduced me to http://www.fiitfu.com. It’s an online CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system for small businesses. It might be perfect for some of your clients so thought I’d pass along and share 🙂
Nicole, thank you for sharing that website! I’ll definitely check it out. I love your comment that it’s “the responsibility of the sales person to keep our prospects vibrating at a resonant place so they are making conscious decisions”. Too often we get caught making decisions with our heart, eyes, and mind CLOSED off.
Great advice! Love these videos, you go girl!! Thank you!!
Thanks April!
Hi Krista! I just love the practical tips you give! And I love the humor and ease in your video – makes me want to go and shoot a video on a random parking lot right now (but it’s too cold outside 🙂 ). Love it and I’m going to keep watching out for more valuable tips from you! Warm regards from Karin and Zurich, Switzerland 😉
Krista, this is so true about follow-up. This is my weakness, but I am glad to know I am not alone. I had a spreadsheet, although not as detailed but it wasn’t top of mind. So I am using yours now, and I will keep it active on my computer and maybe print one out so I can have on my desk. Thanks again for the valuable tools that you give us! 🙂