Do you follow up?

[alex360]

Hi all

I thought I post this to hopefully help some of you. I work with a lots clients who are asking for advise on how to get new customers, close more contracts etc. When I drill down into the business 9 times out of 10 I found that they don’t follow up more than once on enquiries, proposals, marketing activities, fact is if you only follow up once then you be forgotten and it probably shows you are not committed to help your customers. Some clients tell me they don’t do it because they don’t want sound pushy, again if you believe your products/services will help your clients then you only wanting to help.

 

[Clinton]

Do you follow up?

Never!

I don't understand the modern obsession with chasing customers / clients. Make your service so good that they are banging at your door, not so crap that you have to harass them to spend their money with you.

Have you ever actually tried relying on the quality of your product/service? I've done it. With multiple businesses. And you won't believe the amount of money that saves on marketing, advertising (and sales people salaries)! You also get a better quality of customer / client - people who respect you, pay in advance, sing your praises to their friends.

... if you only follow up once then you be forgotten and it probably shows you are not committed to help your customers.

No it doesn't. What absolute nonsense! You not badgering and badgering a prospect is no reflection on how you treat customers. What a sneaky (and completely spurious) excuse for a justification that is!

If you have no respect for a prospect's time, you likely have no respect for customers' time either.

... if you believe your products/services will help your clients then you only wanting to help.

No, you're not. By chasing and chasing and chasing them you're displaying a desperation to get a sale, not demonstrating your wish to help them. You must think your target customer is pretty stupid to believe that!

Annoy me by pestering for my business and I'll blacklist your company before you can say, "I need to have some self respect!"

 

[Mr D]

Several times have asked companies to remove my contact details from their database as I find them too pushy regarding their services.
Reject them once, whatever gives them the idea a month or two later I'll be willing to buy their product or service?
There are several companies who, if I ever go for the service or goods they supply, will never get my business. Can do without them wasting my time.

 

[alex360]

Interesting I think you didn’t understand my point, I am not talking about harassing people, i have worked for very large businesses where their customer ask for a quote the quote is sent but never followed, a follow up call is not harassment or desperation, you need to check if they are happy with the quote does it include everything they need. I recently request quotes for a project 2 of the companies send me a quote and didn’t bother following it up that mean to they are not interested on getting my business. Other example have you ever met people at networking events they take your business card and say I will give you a call? Honestly how many times have you received a call? I agree you services/ products needs to be perfect and if you have people knocking on your door all day long asking for your business good for you, but I worked for a very large and well known business and if they didn’t follow up they would have lost lots of business and they are a leader in their field.

 

[Mr D]

A follow up call is fine. More than one just waste my time. You referred to following up more than once which I read as calling more than once.

Have had calls as a result of networking events 6 months plus later. Not everyone wants something immediately.

 

[Clinton]

Interesting I think you didn’t understand my point, I am not talking about harassing people....

The problem is your refusal to accept that multiple "follow ups" is harassment!

It's not you who decides whether it's harassment, it's the receiver of the call/email who decides.

 

[Alan]

I think it is fair enough for one follow up - just to check they received the proposal ( assuming it could have gone to the spam folder ) anything else (to me ) is a red flag

 

[alex360]

We have different view and experience I guess. When I ask for quote I don’t chase it but the business that will follow up with a call to go over the details is more likely to get my money, of course I don’t say I want nor it’s good practice to call everyday. There are very specific way to follow up.

 

[Mr D]

There are very specific way to follow up.

Yes, including not hassling the potential customer.

 

[alex360]

Hi all

I thought I post this to hopefully help some of you. I work with a lots clients who are asking for advise on how to get new customers, close more contracts etc. When I drill down into the business 9 times out of 10 I found that they don’t follow up more than once on enquiries, proposals, marketing activities, fact is if you only follow up once then you be forgotten and it probably shows you are not committed to help your customers. Some clients tell me they don’t do it because they don’t want sound pushy, again if you believe your products/services will help your clients then you only wanting to help.

Ok let explain what I mean when say more than once, sometimes you will call and your client can’t take the call, or he is on the train, they hadn’t had the time to read the proposal etc, that is where the problem lies 1 follow up and they stop without an answer, that will make more sense

 

[Clinton]

I think you are backpeddling as fast as you can.

The intention in the OP doesn't seem to be about following up because the client couldn't be reached, it was about following up so they "don't forget you" (your words).

That is bloody annoying. Maybe what the client really, really wants is ... to forget you.

 

[alex360]

I am not trying to arguments or backtracking I just explained better, I creamed the post to explain and help other maybe I didn’t explained properly, end of the day I have been very successful and I have helped lots of businesses very large one to small one. I am not for confrontation.

 

[fisicx]

If I ask for and receive a quote I will decide if I want to call you back. Sending me a follow up email or a phone call is a sure way to annoy me.

 

[Mr D]

Ok let explain what I mean when say more than once, sometimes you will call and your client can’t take the call, or he is on the train, they hadn’t had the time to read the proposal etc, that is where the problem lies 1 follow up and they stop without an answer, that will make more sense

Don't think all that many will mind a follow up after that.

Follow ups are pretty common. Repeated follow ups are the annoying ones.

Had a guy earlier this year, exchanged cards at a trade show. He rang probably 5 times the following week each time leaving a message on the ansaphone all of which I was unaware of at the time.
A further 3 times the following week and getting quite aggressive. Then I came home and got the wife to ring his boss.
Still using the company as we had planned, just not anything to do with the individual.

 

[Clinton]

end of the day... I have helped lots of businesses very large one to small one.

That's great, keep up the good work.

And spread the message that businesses are better off increasing sales by improving their product and customer care, not by doing follow up after follow up.

 

[alex360]

Don't think all that many will mind a follow up after that.

Follow ups are pretty common. Repeated follow ups are the annoying ones.

Had a guy earlier this year, exchanged cards at a trade show. He rang probably 5 times the following week each time leaving a message on the ansaphone all of which I was unaware of at the time.
A further 3 times the following week and getting quite aggressive. Then I came home and got the wife to ring his boss.
Still using the company as we had planned, just not anything to do with the individual.

Your experience is excessive I agree, I explained later what I meant. I have witness lots business never doing any follow up after a quote was submitted one of then was making £200 millions turnover but with a loss when I talk to their customers 67% said they felt because they had no news from them after quotes where submitted they went with a competitor, their are following up on every quotes and they have noticed a massive difference on the number of projects they are winning therefore recovering from their loss.

 

[alex360]

That's great, keep up the good work.

And spread the message that businesses are better off increasing sales by improving their product and customer care, not by doing follow up after follow up.

Thanks I realised maybe I didn’t explained properly first time. Enjoy your weekend

 

[AllUpHere]

Ok let explain what I mean when say more than once, sometimes you will call and your client can’t take the call, or he is on the train, they hadn’t had the time to read the proposal etc, that is where the problem lies 1 follow up and they stop without an answer, that will make more sense

You won't build credibility by backpedalling as soon as your point is challenged. Your point was obvious, and you must believe in the idea to start a thread to tell us about it. I get that English doesn't seem to be your first language, but don't feign misunderstanding if you have a point you want to make.

 

[fisicx]

Thanks I realised maybe I didn’t explained properly first time. Enjoy your weekend

You did explain it properly. People just don't agree with you.

 

[Gecko001]

I am with Clinton on this one. I find it very annoying to get follow up calls. It does not impress me at all. Yes some large firms do it, but most do not. Those firms who do use follow up calls will try to put it across as "customer care" or a way of "helping you" which I find is pitiful.

 

[columbo]

First of all, I'm with Clinton here. I hate pushy companies.

But here is the other side of the coin.

I often do follow up calls on customers, who I suspect went with a competitor's offering, only to discover that the initial price which my competitors quoted over the phone / email has now more than doubled! Needless to day, they are not happy about this and are very willing to switch over. I've won loads of new business this way. Interesting, a lot of these are not switching over on a primarily monetary motive but simply because they feel cheated and conned by bait and switch tactics.

I ONLY discover this by doing a follow up call 7 to 10 days later.

But aside from winning new business by following up, you also gain INVALUABLE market research. For example, I ask them in nice chatty tone "why did you decide to go with competitor X?" The answers give you more insight into your market than any commissioned 50K market research report.

However, we only follow up in cases where the customer is of good quality. Bargain basement shoppers, coupon-clippers, Groupon users - no thanks, not worth the hassle.

 

[JamieM]

I agree with you Alex. Follow up is very important in my business and usually we are thanked for it.

 

[columbo]

I agree with you Alex. Follow up is very important in my business and usually we are thanked for it.

This is response of most customers I notice. They are genuinely thankful that you did not drop their case and forgot about them.

 

[ffox]

@alex360 .
There is nothing new in what you are saying. Its been around for at least 10 or 20 years, maybe more -
80% of sales require 5 follow-up calls after the meeting. 44% of sales reps give up after 1 follow-up

Item number 5 - http://blog.thebrevetgroup.com/21-mind-blowing-sales-stats

 

[Mark T Jones]

I always follow up credible leads, and continue to do so until the prospect asks me not to

I have lots of evidence that it pays off and have even had customers thank me for my ‘reminders’.

If people are fortunate enough not to need to- lucky them!

 

[fisicx]

I suppose a lot depends on what you are selling and to whom.

 

[Dave Sutton]

In IT sales, I have conducted many follow-up calls in the past with prospects, but I always agree with them when a good time to follow-up a potential project might be. Often I would quote projects that are months away from coming to fruition and often in a highly-competitive market, we would get forgotten about.

Often it's not the quality of our service (or necessarily our price or pitch) that would win the deal - it's the main vendor's product/service that they know they want and the provider that delivers it isn't always necessarily the be all and end all to the client. By well-timing my follow-up calls, I was able to check-in with the client on potential changes to the project requirements, keep a quote up to date and discover if we needed to offer any competitive benefits to close the deal. Following-up more than once a month or so (for something long-term like that) would be a waste and become an annoyance to the client.

However there were times when I had given someone a bit more room and left them alone or not been able to get hold of them, and discovered they went with a competitor who happened to nudge them at the right moment!

 

[columbo]

However there were times when I had given someone a bit more room and left them alone or not been able to get hold of them, and discovered they went with a competitor who happened to nudge them at the right moment!

This accurately reflects reality but is rarely given enough emphasis in sales or marketing books.

As a matter of interest, how do you deal with the prospective clients who are perpetually on voicemail?

 

[DavidWH]

We did/do, and will be doing so more regularly in the new year.

For us, we're usually not that important to the customer. They want to paint their shop, furnish it really nice, and the sign is often an afterthought. Same with vehicles, they can drive it about and work without it being sign written so it's not a high priority.

We send quotes, and we make a call to check they've received it, as it's all e-mail now. This usually opens a bit of a dialect about pricing etc. There are too many variables, so an alternative quote often is like for like, and we can get a second bit at the cherry, or accept it's a good price and it's not worth us doing, and we move on to the next job.

Same when we send artwork and proofs, we need to keep the wheels in motion, otherwise it goes cold and it's forgotten about.

We now take a deposit ASAP, as it usually concentrates their mind. Number of missed appointments since taking deposits... zero.

 

[Dave Sutton]

As a matter of interest, how do you deal with the prospective clients who are perpetually on voicemail?

That's a tough one, again not wanting to bother them too much with too many messages. I'd leave one message, drop an email maybe the next day if you've not heard back - just advising you're trying to reach out as you'd agreed a few weeks back. Also a good practice is to try and connect on LinkedIn within a few days after meeting the person the first time. Not a good place to follow-up on leads necessarily as it's a bit too in-your-face, but another tool to help people remember you and build a personal connection.

 

[alex360]

That's a tough one, again not wanting to bother them too much with too many messages. I'd leave one message, drop an email maybe the next day if you've not heard back - just advising you're trying to reach out as you'd agreed a few weeks back. Also a good practice is to try and connect on LinkedIn within a few days after meeting the person the first time. Not a good place to follow-up on leads necessarily as it's a bit too in-your-face, but another tool to help people remember you and build a personal connection.

There are businesses we remember because their are here on the front of us to remind us we they are here but they are doing it a none pushy way

 

[David Ross Digital]

I always follow up credible leads, and continue to do so until the prospect asks me not to

I think this is the nub of it. You have to judge each lead on a case by case basis. I've had people specifically ask me to keep chasing them in the past.

 

[fisicx]

There are businesses we remember because their are here on the front of us to remind us we they are here but they are doing it a none pushy way

I wanted a quote for some building work. I got the quote and was considering using the company but I then started getting daily follow up emails. They were automated and added no value. As a result they lost the contract. The company that did get the contract told me in the quote they would be in contact to discuss details. The owner called me a few days later, we confirmed a few details and they got the job. It's not the follow up itself, it's how the business conducts itself. Anyone who uses automated software to generate emails and texts is going to fail more often than it succeeds.

 

[columbo]

I wanted a quote for some building work. I got the quote and was considering using the company but I then started getting daily follow up emails. They were automated and added no value. As a result they lost the contract. The company that did get the contract told me in the quote they would be in contact to discuss details. The owner called me a few days later, we confirmed a few details and they got the job. It's not the follow up itself, it's how the business conducts itself. Anyone who uses automated software to generate emails and texts is going to fail more often than it succeeds.

Great example from @fisicx of a company that uses marketing automation tools but failing to understand the difference between efficiency and effectiveness.

 

[Dave Sutton]

I wanted a quote for some building work. I got the quote and was considering using the company but I then started getting daily follow up emails. They were automated and added no value. As a result they lost the contract. The company that did get the contract told me in the quote they would be in contact to discuss details. The owner called me a few days later, we confirmed a few details and they got the job. It's not the follow up itself, it's how the business conducts itself. Anyone who uses automated software to generate emails and texts is going to fail more often than it succeeds.

Yes super annoying! I've had similar with Xero - currently running a trial of the software and the 'Account Manager' keeps sending emails out, which are quite clearly automated. When I reply asking him about a problem I get 'Xero' response!

 

[Office Mover]

Look, no offence, but I do find this Pigeon English tiresome.('I thought I post this to hopefully help some of you. I work with a lots clients') Is it because of texting on phones? Anyway, of course its a good idea to follow up a quote to make sure its been received and to ask if all the details are in there, however I agree that anymore can be annoying to any prospect. Have a good Christmas everyone!

 

[martin_copify]

Business is like dating, if you have to chase too much, it's probably not going to have a happy ending for you!

As others have rightly said - focus on building a no-brainer of a product/service and if you have a steady flow of leads coming in + a decent retention rate, eventually you won't have to worry about following up.

 

[columbo]

As others have rightly said - focus on building a no-brainer of a product/service and if you have a steady flow of leads coming in + a decent retention rate, eventually you won't have to worry about following up.

I always get worried when businesses get too comfortable.

These customers who defect can often provide vital information of tiny changes that are happening in the marketplace. Has a new competitor arrived? has an existing competitor brought out a new product / service which you knew knowing about? Are your customers substituting another product or service for yours? So I'm not suggesting following up every single lead - but sometimes customers will give you FREE information about your market which can feed nicely into your business strategy / marketing plan. This information can be often 2 years ahead of anything written by some hack in the Financial Times or in a trade publication etc., Knowledge is power an all that...

 

[Thatisthequestion]

Very interesting to read every ones posts on this.
In my line of business, I find the best way to increase successful leads is by following up once, possibly twice depending on the client. If we are unsuccessful, I normally ask a few questions to see if we're doing something wrong and take any feedback as a chance to improve.

 

[KindaichiShota]

Followup is a good way but sometime multiple follow up can cause harassment to others. Few clients might not like too much follow up so 1 or 2 is fine.