We talk a lot about how to land a discovery call or demo, but what happens after that is even more important. In a perfect world, prospects would be knocking down your door, begging to buy your product. But we all know just how important it is to keep pushing the deal forward to prevent your prospect from ghosting like a bad Tinder date.
However, not enough sales professionals are actually prioritizing their follow ups, and because of this, they're losing the momentum they generated during an awesome meeting. By perfecting your timely meeting follow up, you can increase your close rate and get a leg up on your competition when they drop the ball. Here are four sales follow up tips you should do after every meeting to keep your prospects interested.
1. Leave every meeting with clear action items.
Don’t you hate meetings that take up an hour of your time, and you leave without even really understanding why you met? You’re either nodding your head or rolling your eyes right now because you’ve been there. We’ve all been there. However, you don’t want your prospects to have that experience when you meet for a discovery call or a demo.
At the end of every meeting, save five minutes to discuss next steps. Was this a qualified discovery call? Your next step is a demo. Was this a killer demo that got your prospect this excited about your product? Decide who on their team needs to be looped in next and when you’ll reconvene to discuss their trial or purchase. Have your calendar ready and make a plan. And make sure your prospect knows -- and agrees on -- what's next before they hang up.
2. Remind your prospect of your value.
Another critical post meeting follow up step is sending out meeting notes. At the end of your call, let your prospects know that you’ll follow up with a recap of your discussion, and then keep that promise. This step is critical, but often overlooked. While you may remember your awesome prospect, they might be listening to a few similar pitches, so it's critical for you to remind them of those wow moments from your conversation to keep them this excited and ensure you stand out. Plus notes also help you remember exactly what you all discussed so you never miss the important details in future communications.
When you have detailed notes and clear next steps in place, you’re able to follow up with a purpose and provide value to your prospects before they even buy. By sending clear, detailed notes, you show your prospects that you’re professional and customer-focused enough for them to trust you with their valuable time and the substantial investment they’re about to make in your solution.
3. Have a follow up sequence in place.
The fastest way to lose a deal after a great meeting is not following up - but work and life happen, and before you know it, a week has gone by and you forgot to send that follow up note you totally meant to check off your to do list last Thursday. That’s not a professional look or a great way to treat a future customer.
Avoid this follow up faux pas by having a follow up sequence ready for all of your meetings (Don’t want to create this from scratch? We have an email blueprint for that!). Immediately after your call, add your prospect into the sequence. The first step should be a templated email thanking your prospect for their time, and including space for you to recap next steps and the details of your conversation (see tips 1 and 2).
You should also set the stage for the next steps in your sequence by letting your prospect know that you’ll follow up in X days if you don’t hear back. And then rather than having to remember the dozens of people you need to follow up with in 2-3 days, set a next step in your sequence for bumper reply or a call task.
Follow up sequences prevent your hot leads from falling through the cracks and help you stay on top of those leads who don’t reply to your first follow up. And, you can save precious brain power otherwise spent on keeping these follow ups straight to focus 100% on providing the best experience you can for your customers.
4. Keep the conversation open
Hey reps: persistence is not the same as pestering, am I right?! If your follow up sequence isn’t getting you anywhere, you can try other tactics as long as you continue to bring value. Social media is a great place to start: if you’re not already connected on LinkedIn, add your prospect with a personal invitation. If you are connected, engage with a recent post they shared!
When emailing, in addition to restating your product’s value to their business, enrich their day with valuable knowledge. You can add value to your prospect's day by leveraging the materials your marketing team has already created for you. Instead of emailing to “touch base”, sales guru Jill Konrath recommends sharing ideas and insights, like case studies, buyers guides, webinars, or ebooks, to deliver continuous value to prospects during your follow up notes.
Any athlete can tell you that the winning shot is determined by the follow through. The same is true for sales reps -- your follow up is where deals are won. What are your favorite follow up tips and strategies after a great meeting? Let us know in the comments!
