How do you follow up with your sales prospects?

1 Choose the right frequency and channel

The first step to follow up with your sales prospects is to determine how often and how to communicate with them. This depends on several factors, such as their stage in the buying cycle, their preferred mode of contact, their level of interest and urgency, and their response to your previous interactions. A good rule of thumb is to follow up at least once a week, but you may need to adjust this based on the feedback you receive. You should also use the channel that works best for them, whether it's email, phone, text, social media, or video call. Try to mix up your channels to keep your prospects engaged and avoid spamming them with the same message.

2 Provide value and insight

The second step to follow up with your sales prospects is to provide value and insight in every communication. You don't want to just check in or remind them of your offer. You want to educate them, solve their problems, answer their questions, share relevant content, offer testimonials, demonstrate your expertise, and show them how your solution can help them achieve their goals. You should also tailor your message to their specific needs, challenges, and objections, and use stories and examples to illustrate your points. The more value and insight you provide, the more likely you are to build trust and credibility with your prospects.

3 Ask for feedback and commitment

The third step to follow up with your sales prospects is to ask for feedback and commitment in every communication. You want to know how they feel about your solution, what concerns they have, what obstacles they face, and what steps they need to take to make a decision. You should also ask for their permission to move forward, set clear expectations and next steps, and confirm their agreement and commitment. This way, you can gauge their level of interest and urgency, address any issues or objections, and move them along the sales pipeline.

4 Use a CRM system

The fourth step to follow up with your sales prospects is to use a CRM (customer relationship management) system to track and manage your follow-up activities and outcomes. A CRM system is a software tool that helps you store and organize your prospect data, record and monitor your interactions, schedule and automate your tasks and reminders, measure and analyze your performance, and optimize your sales process. A CRM system can help you save time, stay organized, avoid mistakes, and improve your follow-up effectiveness and efficiency.

5 Follow up until you get a clear answer

The fifth step to follow up with your sales prospects is to follow up until you get a clear answer from them. You don't want to give up too soon or too late. You want to persist until you get a yes or a no from your prospects. A yes means you have closed the deal and you can move on to the delivery and retention stage. A no means you have lost the opportunity and you can move on to the learning and improvement stage. Either way, you should thank your prospects for their time and attention, ask for feedback and referrals, and maintain a positive and professional relationship.

6 Test and improve your follow-up strategy

The sixth and final step to follow up with your sales prospects is to test and improve your follow-up strategy. You should always monitor and evaluate your follow-up results, such as your response rate, conversion rate, deal size, deal cycle, and customer satisfaction. You should also experiment with different follow-up techniques, such as changing your frequency, channel, message, tone, timing, or call to action. You should also seek feedback from your prospects, customers, colleagues, and managers, and learn from your successes and failures. The more you test and improve your follow-up strategy, the more you can increase your sales effectiveness and efficiency.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?