Because you don't properly handle follow-ups, deals that you are already 80% of the way to closing are lost.

How did you find out? Are too many of your transactions failing to materialize? Do you meet a lot of new potential clients but lose interest after the initial encounter? Are you unsure of how to effectively follow up and keep the conversation going without being obnoxious?

You're not alone, after all. The most difficult aspects of the sales process, according to thousands of salespeople, are following up and managing their deals through the sales cycle.

Now for the field sales statistic of the week: 80% of deals require at least 5 follow-ups. Consider this: After the initial sales contact, it typically takes at least 5 follow-up attempts before a consumer says yes.

This is challenging since being bothersome goes against the grain of salespeople's social intelligence. Because of this, many salespeople give up too quickly and don't follow up adequately. After all, they are being advised not to by their instincts.

However, one extra call frequently determines whether a sale is won or lost, and winning or losing a deal frequently determines whether you crush your quota or have your quota crush you.

You will discover the techniques for handling sales call follow-ups in this manual, enabling you to stop losing opportunities that you were already 80% likely to close.

The main competencies we'll discuss today are:

1. What time to follow up
2. How to proceed next
3. Follow-up advice and techniques

Part 1: When to follow up

What time of day is ideal for following up? soon after the conference. The prospect's feelings and interest in your products spike the moment you leave the room. But as time goes on, feelings fade and your worst enemy—procrastination—comes into play.

Deals are frequently lost to the status quo rather than a rival. Your potential customer would think that your product is not as urgent if you put it off. Deals falter when they are allowed to wait.

How do we proceed? Send a thank-you email immediately following the meeting:

1. You start by thanking them for their time. They will remember when you met and who you were after hearing this.
2. Then you discuss the main points of the conversation. This demonstrates that you paid attention.
3. The most crucial component is to discuss both your own and their own subsequent actions. This is your responsibility, and it moves the needle. This is the standard give to receive strategy in sales.

Part 2: How to proceed after

Following up on a sales meeting can be done in a variety of ways. You need to vary your customer interactions and have a multi-step follow-up sequence if you want to increase your chances of closing a transaction. Invitations to webinars, conferences, and other events may be sent via email, phone, text, or voice.

The goal is to be at the forefront of your prospects' minds.

Remember that your prospect is merely one individual. In this hectic world, they can only handle a small number of tasks at once, and only top priority gets completed.

Let's imagine you tried to reach your prospect via phone but they didn't pick up. What can you do to ensure that your voicemail is truly returned?

1. You must first enter your contact details, such as your name and phone number.
2. Then, and this is important, say something alluring to encourage them to give you a call.

Part 3: Advice for following up

There are a few techniques you might employ when you follow up:

First off, if every email you send out is a request, the potential customer will despise the appearance of your correspondence and avoid it like the plague. You want them to connect your phone calls and emails to something worthwhile. Share articles about the industry that you find fascinating and that might be useful to them. They believe they owe you a favor if you give them something, thus they will respond if you do.

My two favorite follow-up techniques, which I usually use to advance the deal:

The first is to get to know your prospects on a personal level. You probably discovered during the encounter things you have in common and may continue to build on. Perhaps you questioned them about the pictures of their children or the one of them skydiving that were on their desk.

Whatever it was, you can bring it up to strengthen your connection with them. You should be able to connect with someone or discover something in common throughout the meeting.

Repetition is the second step in reinforcing your value. People need to hear something more than once before it truly registers with them, which is a known fact. Your buyers might not understand your message the first time they hear it, even though you are aware of the benefits of your product. Don't assume that a prospect understands your pitch just because they've heard it once. Most likely, they didn't. Continue telling them over and over!