Sales Follow-Up and How to Approach Leads at the Right Time
The follow-up of a commercial proposal is one of the most decisive phases in closing a negotiation.
It ensures a sense of urgency, level of interest, closing timeframe, and the connection between the salesperson and the potential customer.
The follow-up keeps the offer active and prevents the negotiation from cooling off.
Since it’s so crucial in the sales process, you’ll want to do your best, as well as train your team, right?
This article was created for you: we’ll explain what this technique is, the importance of following up with leads after conversion or after each step in the buying journey, and the best techniques and channels for follow-up.
What is Sales Follow-Up?
Sales follow-up means staying in touch with a contact.
This contact could be a first introduction, a commercial proposal, a quote, or a negotiation meeting…
However, follow-up shouldn’t be just insistence on the topic.
In the sales process, it’s essential to outline a cadence of frequency, format, and type of approach.
Why is Follow-Up Important?
Following up on the proposal is as crucial, if not more, than presenting it.
Follow-up strengthens relationships, makes you available for questions, and encourages closing the sale.
Often, the consumer doesn’t prioritize the proposal’s return, has doubts about it, or has sales objections that need to be addressed to close.
They might also receive proposals from competitors who, with a more aligned sales process than yours, could pull ahead.
This is when follow-up comes into play, offering just what the opportunity needs at the right time to finally convert.
Even after the sale, follow-up is essential for customer loyalty, creating new opportunities, and maintaining a close relationship.
When to Follow Up?
As mentioned, there are various stages in the sales process that require close follow-up from the sales team.
Here are some follow-up opportunities:
After Generating a New Qualified Lead
When a lead is identified as qualified, it means they’re ready for a commercial approach.
The first contact, if it hasn’t occurred yet, should happen.
The salesperson needs information about this potential customer’s profile, challenges, and interests for a meaningful, engaging interaction.
After a Contact or Demo Request
Follow-up timing depends on the previous type of contact, of course.
But when dealing with a lead requesting a quote, contact, or solution to a question, the chances of qualifying this lead drop 80% after five minutes without a response.
Yet, only 17% of companies manage to follow up within this timeframe. (Source: Vendasta)
After a Sales Meeting
Secured a meeting to introduce your company or solution?
That’s great, but the work after the meeting is vital, as the sale won’t happen if the salesperson isn’t present.
So, schedule your follow-up to make yourself available for questions and to offer other valuable information, such as market data and case studies.
After Presenting a Commercial Proposal
After delivering a commercial proposal, follow-up is also crucial to assist in this decision phase.
It’s common for the proposal to go through multiple decision-makers or raise questions or even requests for adjustments.
Don’t make the customer seek out the salesperson to address these issues, as that process requires much more effort.
Once again: be present.
After Sending a Quote
You’ve reached almost the end of the sales funnel, with the opportunity open for sending a quote.
After this, the follow-up can be used to confirm receipt and to make yourself available for questions.
If there’s room for negotiations, a new follow-up should be conducted to inquire about the decision and to reinforce the sales team’s presence and willingness to support the customer until closing.
How to Follow Up?
The most common follow-up sequence in companies consists of a phone call, an email, and a second phone call.
According to Ascend2 research, phone and email are the most used channels for first contact attempts with a new lead.
The most common follow-up sequence is: Call – Email – Call.
After the third attempt, text messages and chat become more common.
Even so, recent studies show that consumers increasingly prefer contact via text messages and chat. (Source: Ascend2)
Once again, focus on your consumer profile to shape your follow-up process.
How to Follow Up by Phone?
Also known as “Cold Calling,” phone contact allows for more personal interaction and speeds up the qualification process.
This is a traditional method that remains effective—54% of buyers reported that the last purchase or contract meeting was arranged through a phone call with the seller. (Source: InsideSales)
For phone follow-up, introduce yourself, remind the prospect of your last contact, make yourself available, and continue the conversation according to the sales funnel stage and sales objective.
Another strategy some salespeople use is scheduling the call to ensure the prospect has time and attention for the interaction.
How to Follow Up by Email?
Email is also a great follow-up option when combined with other strategies.
It can be the best choice for follow-up with a large volume of leads in the initial contact phase, using marketing automation.
Email allows the lead to respond to the sales representative at a convenient time.
While this can be an advantage, as it doesn’t strain the relationship, it can also be a disadvantage as it may space out the contact.
To increase the chances of a response through an email follow-up, check out these selected articles on templates and suitable language:
How to Follow Up by Text?
With today’s technology, follow-up doesn’t need to be limited to phone or email—texts can also play a role.
WhatsApp is one option. If you choose this platform, use its Business version and maintain a professional approach.
We recommend using WhatsApp only when the prospect indicates a preference for this channel.
Another option, especially in the earlier sales funnel stages, is conversational marketing.
This strategy involves tools like chatbots and virtual assistants.
Remember the lost opportunities when no response is given within five minutes?
These tools provide the best solution to help the sales team focus on what really matters since they can handle queries with automation.
Conversational marketing also aids in pre-qualification, so salespeople have warmer leads to work with.
7 Expert Sales Tips for Perfecting Follow-Up
Want to make your follow-up the best on the market?
Here are expert sales tips:
1. Choose the Best Channel Based on Consumer Profile
The consumer’s preference should guide the contact channel.
You can ask about their preferred channel in the first direct contact and prioritize it.
2. But Vary the Contact Methods
80% of sales only happen after at least five follow-ups, so avoid repetitive approaches.
Vary the contact methods based on the sales funnel stage and the goal of each interaction.
Be strategic in your choices.
3. Set Aside Daily Time for Follow-Up
If you work in sales, you need to allocate and dedicate daily time to follow up on proposals, negotiations, and current approaches.
Reserve a time slot in your schedule to organize follow-ups and keep everything documented to make it easier to access the history.
With each new follow-up contact, note the most opportune time for the next attempt with that specific customer.
4. Don’t Give Up When Faced with a Negative Response
Of course, follow-up won’t always result in a sale or contract.
Often, even a qualified lead has an objection or decides not to close the deal for some reason.
But it’s up to the salesperson to have the wisdom to recognize when a “no” is final and when there’s room for a new negotiation in a different format, perhaps offering another solution or waiting until the customer is more ready to buy.
For example, a customer may not have the budget for the desired solution, but the salesperson could offer a simplified version of the solution or add value by offering a free trial.
Another example, shared by our salesperson Anthony, involves customers interested in the solution but not at the current time.
A negative response might stop the follow-up.
However, in this example, the salesperson asked about a more convenient time for a follow-up and resumed the negotiation, focusing on the customer’s strategy:
“In my last approach, the prospect mentioned that they wouldn’t be contracting the solution in December because of upcoming collective vacations and a pause in campaigns during the holiday season. In January, we followed up again and reestablished contact. This shows us that we shouldn’t stop the follow-up too early and that we need to know how to handle these sales objections.”
Check out: 7 Inconvenient Truths About Lead Generation
5. Record the Entire History
We emphasize the importance of recording each conversation in some way during every opportunity.
This keeps the process organized, available to other professionals (such as managers), and makes communication with the customer much more fluid, avoiding repetitions or mistakes.
There are specific tools for this, but the most important thing is that the record is kept: how many contact attempts were made, when contact happened, the duration and content of the conversation, sales objections, and the next step agreed upon.
6. Automate Processes
Don’t use your qualified team for handling standardized questions: this work should be done by automation systems.
While you may need to invest in a conversational marketing tool, this investment is certainly lower than hiring an additional professional.
This way, your team can use their time, efforts, and motivation on stages that really need personal contact.
7. Use a Sense of Urgency
A sense of urgency is a valuable ally during follow-up.
Here at Leadster, we offer a 7-day free trial so the prospect can test the tool and see the results it delivers in practice.
Our follow-up strategy often involves using this trial period as an argument to encourage a response.
Here’s what our salesperson Scharon says:
“A strategy I use, especially with more qualified leads, is to leverage the urgency of the trial’s end. After a demo request for our product, I follow up to remind the lead of how many days are left in the free trial, always checking if the system has been implemented or not. This encourages the lead to continue with the trial and see the platform in action.”
Conclusion
A salesperson’s work needs to be constant and persistent.
Follow-up is done multiple times, especially with higher-value contracts, to demonstrate the full potential of the solution offered, address any doubts, and spark the interest of the potential buyer.
With these expert tips, you can create your own follow-up strategy and adapt it to suit your opportunities’ needs.
Start enhancing your sales process now!
