Using Follow-Up to Create and Maintain Customer Engagement

The simple and effective way to engage with prospects and build relationships to win new business.

Key takeaways:

• Thoughtful follow-up can significantly grow your business
• Always offer something of value when following up
• Automation is a key tool in a successful follow-up

The long-term success of your business lies in every new customer lead that comes your way. But it’s just as important to cultivate the sales contacts you’ve already made – a strategy with the potential to generate significant new revenue. To do this effectively, you need a plan to follow up on your initial contact and maintain the prospect’s interest in your company.

It’s especially important to follow up with a potential customer while you’re still fresh in their mind and they’re still excited about your business. Proper messaging and timing are essential to establishing a positive rapport. Below, we dive into the most important follow-up plans to boost sales and revenue, as well as setting the tone for building a lasting customer relationship.

What follow-up can do for you

Quite simply, a well-executed follow-up will benefit your bottom line. It’s far cheaper to convert a current lead than to acquire a new one. Plus you have a 60%-70% chance of bringing an existing prospect into the fold, but only a 20% chance with someone brand new.

When done right, follow-up can:

• Increase sales and retention. Customers who feel seen will be more likely to stick with you.
• Develop word of mouth. Testimonials from satisfied clients go a long way toward wooing new prospects.
• Level-up operations. Regular communication with your audience creates a positive feedback loop that improves products and services.
• Make you stand out. Sadly, not many businesses do the work of following up, so your diligence will automatically set you apart from the competition.

The value of thoughtful follow-up is clear. The trick is executing it effectively.

Developing your follow-up strategy

Follow-up isn’t as simple as a single touchpoint. In fact, 80% of sales need five follow-ups to be successful. Despite that staggering statistic, nearly all companies give up by the fourth follow-up, and 44% of companies follow up only once.

One reason sales teams give up is that they think prospects aren’t interested. While some may not want what you’re offering, many are simply busy – and it’s up to you to attract (and keep) their attention.

So how best to get on their radar and capture their interest?

• Follow up on multiple channels. If you’ve sent multiple emails with no response, it’s time to try a phone call, or vice versa. If both phone and email have gone cold, try other options, such as getting in touch through LinkedIn. No two prospects are the same, and what connects with one won’t necessarily work with another. Just remember that if a potential customer tells you they prefer phone, email, or text, be sure to abide by that. You’ll start off on the wrong foot if you email or text a prospect who specifically asked to hear from you via phone.
• Spread out your communications. People tend to make purchasing decisions slowly, so peppering them with multiple follow-up communications can be counterproductive. Be sure to space out your follow-ups based on what works for your prospects. If they tell you they’ll present your idea to their full team in two weeks, don’t risk alienating them by sending a follow-up the day after you meet.
• Give them something of value. Yes, your goal is to make the sale. But that doesn’t mean you need to sound like a salesperson in your follow-ups. Engage each prospect as a person with interests and needs. Be specific – ask how a specific project went or when that office move is going to happen. Focus on their specific pain points and propose solutions. If you can, try offering a limited-time discount to spur action.
• Write excellent subject lines. For email follow-ups, the key to success is the subject line. A typical senior executive has an inbox clogged with hundreds of emails competing for attention. Avoid generic phrases like “Following up” or “Wanted to check in” in favor of more personal messaging that relates to in-person conversations you’ve already had. One key tool is to put the name of the recipient in the subject line. This can increase open rates by as much as 29% .
• Be concise. The top decision-makers in any company are almost always the busiest people. It’s critical that your communication be brief and clear. Personal anecdotes can be useful, but be sure to keep them short. Calls should stay under 10 minutes, and emails should be no longer than six lines. Of course, these are just guidelines – if a call is going well, let it take as long as necessary to move a prospect along the sales pipeline.
• Don’t overstay your welcome. If a prospect truly isn’t interested in what you have to offer, it will become clear rather quickly. When that happens – when the fifth call or seventh email goes unreturned – it’s time to gracefully bow out. Send a final “break-up” email that lets them know you won’t be following up any further, but you’re always available should they decide they want your services.

If you follow these guidelines, you’ll increase your chances of not just making a sale but gaining a new professional colleague.

Automate your follow-up process

Great follow-up messaging is only as effective as the back-end system that supports it. Automation is the key to organizing sales leads, tracking them across your system, and targeting them with specific pitches that fit their needs. You no longer have to stress out about time zones of various prospects—an automated system knows when to message them so you’re sitting in their inbox first thing in the morning, whether they’re in Boston, Paris, or Dubai. This lets you focus more on what you’re saying and less on how and when you say it.

Once communications go out, an automated system allows you to track opens, clicks, and overall engagement, scheduling additional follow-ups as necessary depending on how each prospect responds. And it can pay off significantly, with as much as a 451% increase in qualified leads .?

Ask for help when you need it

Sales follow-ups aren’t about pressuring potential customers with a hard sell or using fear to scare them into buying your service. You have something that can legitimately improve their business and you simply want the chance to tell them about it. Every follow-up is a building block in a relationship. Some relationships flourish and grow, others fade away when their time has passed. Either way, a solid follow-up strategy gives you the best chance of success.

If you’d like to help your sales team excel at the follow-up, consider partnering with MetaGrowth Ventures. We can help you hire, train, and manage the world-class sales team of your dreams. Contact us now to schedule a strategy session and discover what we can do for your business – and your bottom line.