Five Ways Hustlers Follow-Up

Follow-up: What you do after a sales presentation until you either make the sale or irritate the prospect enough that they block your calls.

Let’s listen in on a real-life, follow-up sales call happening right now, somewhere in the world…

Pat: Hi Kris, it’s Pat with Acme Widgets. Just checking in to make sure you got the pen I sent you in the mail, which I hope you’ll use to sign the contract I just texted over. Oh, and can you take a pic of you signing it, so I can post it on social media?

Kris: Pat, how many ways can I say this? I’m not interested and please stop calling me.

Pat: Sounds good Kris. I’ll check back again next month. 

So, what just happened there? Well, clueless Pat can now check off the boxes in the company’s CRM saying they called, texted the contract, and sent a direct mail piece with a follow-up call set for next month. Meanwhile, Kris has no intention of ever buying a single widget from this befuddled salesperson. 

Follow-up is so important for hustlers, and yet it’s an area where many of us falter, letting the ball drop. Studies show 80% of sales require five follow-up calls after an initial meeting and yet 48% of salespeople don’t follow up even once. Of those who do, 44% give up after one follow-up attempt, while only 10% reach out three or more times. 

People buy from people they trust, so building a relationship with prospects and customers is imperative for success. Fortunately, there are a variety of ways to stay connected these days and if used wisely, will build trust without your becoming a Pat as in our conversation above.

Always Add Value: A foot in the door doesn’t mean you’ve earned the sale, but it does provide you with an opportunity. No matter how you follow up, make sure you’re adding value in some way. If every touchpoint delivers something useful then you become a resource, not a pest. Whether it’s an article, a book or podcast you think they might like, or industry news that’s relevant, share meaningful information they can relate to. Make it personal, but professional to keep them engaged and to keep you top-of-mind.

Email: Decision makers are busy, so make sure to keep your emails brief and to the point. Executives and decision makers have dozens if not hundreds of emails in their inbox, so craft a compelling subject line. Subject lines are the gatekeepers for busy execs, so make sure to personalize it, avoid spammy words like “free” or “act now”, and keep it to nine or 10 words. Offer them value, like a link to an article or a relevant case history, while keeping it brief, positive and to the point. If you use a CRM, you can often automate emails and test them with A/B versions to see what gets the best response.

Phone Calls: These can be the least effective or the most effective, depending on the person you’re contacting. As with emails, be sure you’re offering some sort of value to the prospect. Personally, I would never say things like “touching base”, “just following up”, “checking in” or any other rhetoric that drips of sales sleaze. Have a goal in mind for the call like setting up the next meeting, addressing concerns, answering questions, etc. Use their name, listen more than you talk, and position yourself as an expert they can rely on. Oh, and thank them for their time.

Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn and other social media outlets are another touchpoint to use in your follow-up campaign. If you’re already friends on any social platforms, you can like their content, share content with them, and even send direct messages if you know them well enough. Focus on the platforms where your clients are likely to be and remember, many people prefer not to mix their personal and business lives on these sites. Be respectful and know you’re not likely to close sales on social media, but you can build relationships that lead to sales. 

Snail Mail: Another way to get in front of clients and prospects is to mail them something. This “something” could be as simple as a thank you note for taking the time to meet or it could be a useful promotional product. And make it “lumpy”, meaning you can tell there is something in there other than just paper. People like getting mail and even more so when it’s something out of the ordinary. Yes, snail mail is old school, but remember, what’s old is new again. 

The key in following up is to always, always, always to provide value or something of interest to your customer or prospect. A link to an article you thought would interest them, a video link, newsletter, a case study, or information that addresses their pain points and offers a solution. These types of follow up shows you’re professional, dedicated, and genuinely interested in helping your clients. Michelle Moore, founder of Groundswell notes, “Not following up with your prospects is the same as filling up your bathtub without first putting the stopper in the drain.” In other words, by setting up a pattern of following up you’ll put yourself in the 10% of salespeople who follow up three or more times. 

Some people hate speaking on the phone, some hate email, others despise text.  And heck, some may even prefer snail-mail! Whatever the case, learn your prospects and customers’ preferences and use it to your advantage.

You won’t have success 100% of the time. And that’s okay. As humans, rejection is a tough pill to swallow, and sometimes it can get the best of you. Whether you’re given a straight “no” or ignored after various communication attempts, it’s important to remember that it’s nothing personal. Ironically, when you make it your goal to build relationships, the sales will surely follow. So keep on hustling!