How you can make ‘follow-up’ the weapon of your choice
There is a good chance you call up your leads and tell them that you called to “touch base” after your previous interaction. It seems almost harmless to use the phrase along with many others such as “checking up,” and “To fill in.” And it would be, around 5 years ago! The industry has moved on from the jargons, they are no longer glamorous. The moment you sound like you are reading out a script to them, your leads will dismiss you and your queries.
Make no mistake, follow up is a vital tool that you need to equip yourself with. A good follow up can make the difference between getting a new client and losing touch completely. So how do you master this subtle art without sounding like a salesperson?
Be earnest
The reason for the success of most telemarketers is simple, they establish a connection with their prospective leads. Tim, one of my most successful telemarketers, almost never tried to sell anything to his leads. He called them, introduced himself and explained his purpose. But he never appeared to be in a hurry or was pushy! When I asked him why he took such a roundabout way to his calling, he told me, “it just makes sure that they remember me when I call back.” And they did. Tim converted most of his leads in his follow up calls. One of our clients even sent us a feedback explaining that she especially liked how Tim seemed to care about her unique situation rather than just shove our product at her. In short, Tim was earnest and the clients could tell.
Customize your calls
Like mentioned above, the reason we hate to call and tell them that you are “touching base,” is that it sounds too mechanical and straight out of a script. Good clients, get too many calls and they are likely to judge yours based on how much effort you put into them. So when you call and say you are touching base with them, it just tells them you either don’t care enough to have a human interaction or that you do not remember the specifications of your previous calls. Always ensure that you customize each call according to the client as well as your previous interaction. This will ensure that you appear well prepared and willing to go an extra mile for them.
Reinstate your value
Most callers don’t realize that they are still very much being judged on the follow up call as well. So you need to ensure that you make your position very clear and in a straightforward manner, while reminding your prospects why they should invest their time and money in you. It could be something as simple as, “ Hey Ron, Congratulations on your new branch. The paperwork must be crazy right now. Would you like to expedite this process so that we can take care of it for you at the earliest?” The above conversation implied that the caller paid attention to Ron’s business activities and was willing to add value to it.
Provide insights
Your calls are not only your means to close the client. If you take that approach, you will have to make a hundred calls before you even get an appointment. Instead look at all your calls as a networking tool and you will notice how much better your follow up calls can get. One way to network better is to make sure that the call is not a waste of time for either you or the person on the other end. When Tim used to call his clients, he would listen to their issues intently and offer them genuine solutions. He would sometimes patch them up with our tech team and followed up until the problem was resolved. This helped him retain our clients but more importantly, he added value to the calls. He told me once how he had gotten to genuinely enjoy following up as he always ended up having a good conversation at least.
Close with a promise
You don’t have to make an actual promise, just make sure that the upcoming agenda is clear on both sides. It could be calling back (although I suggest, avoid too many follow ups), or it could be setting up an appointment. But make sure that the next agenda is absolutely crystal. If you don’t discuss the next steps, you will have to follow up again and you may appear to be nagging them. You could add in a bonus such as promising them an email with a list of features to make their decision easier or a discount if you can manage that. But always close with sincerity and surety.
Virtual Follow up
If you are following up via Email or other virtual platforms, it may be a touch more complicated to appear personal and earnest. However, you can be clear and conversational in your communication. Last year, I was about to lose a prospective client and his feedback on our service was not very good. I wrote to him honestly, and it worked like a charm! The mail read, “Hey Edward, Thank you for your valuable feedback. We believe that a successful transaction is a result of mutual efforts and continuous improvement. We are glad that you gave us the opportunity nonetheless. In any case, I would like to make a counter offer and hope you would consider it. As your requirement is a slightly different niche to us, I propose we do a sample for you at a lower rate than what was discussed . We can discuss the same in depth and offer revisions as per your requirement. This period will allow us to get accustomed to your requirements and give you an insight into our work as well. At the end of which, you could decide whether or not to continue with us.” Edward was happy that we cared, he stayed with us.
A successful follow up is all about understanding the uniqueness of each of your clients and being transparent with them . Do you have any tricks up your sleeve? Let me know in the comments below.
