We touched on this subject in the absolute banger of a post, the follow-up, but I failed to mention how to do it. So here are five quick lessons to consider.
1.) Check the technique:
Most people follow up by simply repeating themselves. Did they not hear you? Is that the issue? Probably not. Repeating yourself is not really follow-up, it’s a reminder, and we’ve got robots that can do that now.
You need to check your technique. More than reminders, more than beating the same drum. If you are using the wrong technique, it can lead to a communication breakdown. Nobody wants that.
If it’s email, and all you can muster is a reply-all to “bump” that note to the top of their inbox, that’s an issue. It could work if they simply missed the first one, but if that’s all you are doing, you are missing an opportunity to improve your messaging.
The first message didn’t get through to them in a way that warranted a response. So, switch it up. Clean it up. And liven it up.
Follow-up is not about doing more of the same. It’s about getting the information to its intended audience in the best way possible.
The best way might require some wayfinding, so check the technique.
2.) Give them an out:
A lot of people get themselves tied in knots when they assume that their top priority is shared across all people, places, and things. Everyone on the road shares your need to get to the ballgame on time, why are they driving so slowly?
But that is not how the world works.
If you are in sales, your job is to have meetings and close deals. But your prospect’s job is not to sit in sales pitches and buy all day. That would quickly put them out of business. So, we’ve already got a mismatch in priorities. They have a job. And a family. And a sick dog too. They are squeezing you into the cracks and crannies on their schedule.
That said, you’d still like some sort of acknowledgment that they are alive. That they received your message about that killer software solution. Super. And understandable. Give them an easy out.
“I know how busy you are with the latest release, and I appreciate you taking some time for our call.”
“Hopefully you can find a moment to review this information during your busy season.”
“Let me know, either way.”
This is called empathy and understanding, and most humans react well to it. If you give them an easy out, a way to simply acknowledge your existence instead of requiring an awkward call or comprehensive status report, you’ve kept the conversation alive.
And that’s the goal.
3.) Reiterate the value:
Did you connect the dots for them? Do they understand why getting back to you is helpful TO THEM?
Often times, the only value we offer people for a reply is that we’ll (finally) go away. That’s when you know the inconvenient truth. What you are really doing is nagging them.
When my son is hitting and I tell him to keep his hands up and back, he will give me an eyeroll. He’ll say, “I know Dad.” He is feeling nagged. But when I tell him, “Hands up and back to hit the jimmy jack,” he gets the same follow-up as well as the value he’ll get from it. As the saying goes, “tell them why and they’ll comply.”
If you tell a prospect your delivery team can start on the project as soon as they approve the scope of work, and the project will save them 33.3% each month, that prospect knows the value being trapped by their inaction, and you might see some movement.
4.) Make it easy and safe:
True or false, A or B, Friday at 10:00 AM or 1:00 PM.
This is what making it easy looks like.
It’s the scantron bubble test, not a blue book essay.
“I totally understand if you are no longer interested, just let me know.”
This is what it means to make it safe.
You want to make it easy and safe to increase your response rate.
5.) Watch your density:
Density is how often you reach out. And it’s going to be different depending on the variables involved. Your relationship strength and the weight of your ask are key.
If you already made it easy and safe, that should help.
If the deadline is quickly approaching and they see the value, that will improve things as well.
Remember when we talked about your priorities and theirs? This is when you think something is a top priority because your quarter is ending and you want to hit your bonus, but your prospect doesn’t share your fictional timeline.
And instead of understanding that like someone with a heart, you blow them up and try to get them moving toward the close before your Disney vacation is ruined.
You email every day because it’s your top priority.
You go full Tommy Boy.
Don’t go full Tommy Boy.
Take your time. Read the room.
If your judgment is so clouded from years of skeezy sales workshops that you can’t see the world clearly, here is an idea.
Ask.
Like this: when is a good time to follow up?
Doesn’t that feel better? They will tell you. Now all you need to do is listen.
Okay, that’s it, five quick hitters on follow-up that should not be ignored.
What do you think?