Sales Tip #3: How Important is Following Up? "Being a Pest, or Being the Best?"

There is a fine line between being a pest and being the best!

Did you know that the average close of a sale takes place after at least five meetings or conversations with the prospect? Most sales advisers only make one or two attempts to close a prospect. Those who do follow up more often make the mistake of guessing how long to wait before calling on the prospect again. If you persevere by continually following up with your prospects in a professional manner, you will be much more successful than those who throw in the towel after one or two attempts, or those who make their prospect cringe when they see their number show up everyday on their caller ID.

Here are a few tips that may help you in following up with your prospects. 

1. Ask permission to follow up
 Nothing disarms your prospect like asking permission to call on them again. It also allows you keep your relationship alive and lets you know that the prospect is still somewhat interested in building a relationship with you and your company. If you make a lot of phone calls to prospects, put a sticky note on your monitor, "ASK FOR FOLLOW UP"

2. Ask for a specific day and time to follow up 
Asking for a date and time takes the pressure off you as to guessing when it is appropriate to contact them. Nothing is worse than trying to guess how long to wait before calling on someone again. The line between being a pest and being the best is a fine one.

3. Have new material to share when you do follow up
Always try and have some new material available when you do follow up. This is easier said than done. We all have the tendency to spill all of our beans when we have the first opportunity to do so. We are so excited that someone is interested in speaking to us that we can exhaust everything we have at one time. Start off with an enticing introduction to get the prospect's interest, and then add more detailed material as you go.

4. Build up your relationship with each follow up
Don't be the sales guy who just talks about yourself and your product. With every follow up opportunity you have, you have an opportunity to build rapport with them.

5. Don't be afraid to ask for the sale
At the end of the day, your follow ups are not going to be of any use unless your willing to ask your prospect for their business. Although building a relationship is important, you are not calling your prospect once a week or once every few weeks to only chat about the Yankees. Don't be afraid to ask them what barriers are keeping them from doing business with you, so you can address them and hopefully close the deal! Good luck!