Why Following up is Critical to Business Success

Often poor business success can be linked to simply not following established leads.

It is the number one area where people are letting themselves and their businesses down. We put so much money and effort into making contacts, securing  leads and getting our businesses known. However, if we don’t consistently include follow-up into our processes it can all be wasted.

I regularly have clients come to me, wanting/needing more customers. This is their top priority and their biggest concern - how can they get new customers. They believe more customers will make the biggest difference to their business.

More customers are only part of the puzzle, you have to make sure you are getting the most value out of each new contact and not constantly filling a leaky funnel.

Most of the people I talk to actually already have untapped business at their finger-tips,  they just haven’t realised the potential yet. All of your leads and customers are potential sales - what are you doing to convert them?

The easiest way to get more sales - from the customers and contacts you already have!
There are a lot of stats floating around the internet about sales follow up but to me it comes down to simple common sense. Follow up with people, be authentic, be interested, get the sale, repeat.

Here are 3 things you can do right now

Don’t rely on your potential leads – chase them
If you want the customers, you have to work to get them. So many times I have heard clients say “they will contact me if they are interested.” Good luck with that! Business doesn’t work that way.
You are selling and it's YOUR job to follow up.

Be customer focused
Being customer centric is critical. "I sent them an email but they didn't get back to me."  So what are you going to do about that? Sadly 80% of the time businesses do nothing and lose potential customers. The 20% that are following up are very happy for you to do nothing...

Look after your existing customers
“ They already bought from me” Ok great but you have other products/services you can offer them. If they have bought once they know and trust you so are are way more likely to buy again AND recommend you - look after these people.

The great news is that it’s actually not that hard to make follow-up part of a regular business routine

The essential ‘Sales Process’
Every business needs a sales process. This is a basic checklist or set of rules to deal with different situations. You need to ask yourself, what do you do when:

• You meet a new potential client/lead
• Someone visits or buys through your website
• Someone calls and asks about your product/service
• Someone has already bought from you

You need to have a clearly defined, simple process for each situation.

For example:

• Follow up email after an event,
• Suggest a meeting or a phone call,
• Discuss how your product/service might benefit them.
• Follow up after meeting
• Follow up in a few months time if sale didn't go ahead, this way your name/brand will stay in their mind – even if they don’t become a customer, they might generate new leads for you!

“It’s too much – how will I ever remember all this?”
Often when I talk to clients about their sales process I get the same response – “I really want to follow-up on leads, but I can’t remember all the details, who to contact when, or what to do next. I just don’t have the time.”

This is what CRM’s are for! Every contact/lead is recorded and a follow-up scheduled. A CRM will help you to successfully manage your relationships with current and prospective customers.

Why you need a CRM

• It’s not possible to store everything in your head - use your brain for something else

• Everything is in one place which saves you time
• You have confidence knowing that you have followed up with everyone and not missed an opportunity – this makes it easier to sleep at night

What are the advantages for your business?

• Won’t lose any leads or opportunities
• You can see where most of your business is coming from
• You can see at a glance what needs following up
• Enables for further business development and can open the doors to opportunities previously unavailable

How many opportunities have you missed by not following up? It’s not hard to make some changes and the benefits are truly worth it.