Persistence is really important when you’re following up with a customer. That said you don't want to be a pest. Here are some tips for keeping in touch without pushing too far:
- Giving your customer a professional, streamlined and custom-made experience will encourage them to step it up. If you establish the next steps to take and how you will interact with them in the future, you’ll already be increasing your chances of getting prompt replies.
- Remember that people are busy, especially these days, with so many folks juggling working from home and homeschooling. Professionals have a lot on their plate and may need to be contacted more than once. Remember that it often takes 8 or more touches to make initial contact and another 10 touches to land the sale.
- You’ve got to give them bait. Send them a white paper on how others in the industry are benefiting from what you sell. Invite them to see the progress you’ve made on past projects. Dangle a white paper on pitfalls to avoid when shopping for an offering like yours. That will help build a case for working with you.
- If someone doesn’t get back to you, fear not. It’s like dating. Maybe they’re just not into you. Maybe something didn’t register emotionally and they didn’t feel motivated enough to pursue you or your offering. If you didn’t paint a sexy enough picture of what their life would be like after deploying your solution, then they won’t have a pressing reason to get back to you.
Of course, it’s frustrating when you aren’t hearing back from someone you’ve invested time in. The bottom line is to put your finger on the acupressure point that gives them a burning desire to solve a problem. Think of it in your own terms. What would make you return a phone call or email assuming that you’re actually in the market for what you sell?
