Is your sales process costing you clients?
Here’s why follow-up should be a standard part of your business processes.
Research suggests that 4 out of 5 sales are only closed after 5 follow-up calls. Yet less than half of sales professionals follow up with a lead more than once. Follow-up with prospective leads is an integral part of sales and could be responsible for as much as 80% of your revenue stream. This article is going to look at the impact of follow-up in the sales process.
A Missed Opportunity
A follow-up call with a prospective lead is so much more than just a potential sale. It helps you gauge their customer satisfaction, or discover if anything was missed since your previous call. It gives you the opportunity to gather feedback and generally improve your sales and marketing for future customers. A follow-up should be a standard part of your sales process. It helps you convert leads to genuine customers. A follow-up call with a lead can help you to establish if they are genuinely interested in working with you in future.
Follow-Ups Are Not Harassment
A follow-up call is not harassment. People are busy and forgetful creatures, and may simply forget to follow up with you after an initial meeting. In a standard interaction, either you or someone else will speak first, and a follow-up call is a way of showing how much you want their business. The fact that 80% of business happens after 5 follow-up calls shows that prospective clients do not mind being called more than once regarding potential business.
It Is Financially Worth It
Statistics show that in 2021, only 3% of business leads were active buyers looking to make a purchase in the next 3 months. Over half of marketers cite their biggest expense as lead generation, meaning that every single lead counts. A follow-up email or call costs virtually nothing but a few minutes of time, but missing that opportunity could cost you as much as 80% of your future customer base and 50% of your marketing expenditure. Automating your follow-up processes will also save you time and money, ensuring you can make it a standard part of your workflows without incurring extra costs.
Find Out What Works For Your Business
Follow-up processes will look different for every business. For B2B companies which rely on a smaller client base, physical phone calls might be more appropriate for converting a lead to a customer. By contrast an ecommerce business might benefit more from a follow-up email to a potential customer that didn’t finalize their purchase, or who signed up to their newsletter. A business coach can help you identify the best place for follow-up in your sales process.
If you’re looking for a business coach to help you implement follow-up, then Call Chris today for first hand advice on how to convert your lead into a client with a follow-up sales process.