I recently taught a teleclass called How to Create and Implement a Follow Up System. In it, I teach how to get an idea of what you need to think about when you are strategizing your follow up, what you need to have in place, and how to manage it all so that you can keep on top of all of the contacts you make on a regular basis.
If you don’t have a follow up system in place, you are more than likely leaving money on the table.
Think about it – why do you spend so much time networking if you aren’t going to follow up?
The mantra in marketing is that it takes between 5 and 7 ‘touches’ (sometimes even more!) from the time someone first meets you, until they have built up a suitable level of trust in you, that they will feel comfortable buying from you.
So it’s to your advantage to follow up – because just when you give up, maybe you could have had a new client!
Why is follow up so important?
- it will increase your sales
- it can decrease your marketing expenses
- it will improve the quality of your connections
- it will shorten your sales cycle
- it will improve your cash flow
- it should improve your reputation
You need to plan out several steps in order to make sure you have a system that works for you.
Strategy – what do you want to do with them? why are you are connecting with them in the first place? what are your best methods of follow up? what is their best method of receiving your information? Once you know who you are connecting with, and why, you can determine what system will work for you.
Your system must be easy for you to use, easy to maintain, easy to navigate (so you can find what you need). Decide which type of system suits your way of doing things – pen & paper? computerized? online? simple? complex? You can use index cards (I use these!), a binder, a spreadsheet or Google doc, an email program, or even a CRM like Zoho (I also use this) or Salesforce.
Snd once you know what system you will use, then it’s time to set it up.
Setup
- put together the information you will need
- always note personal bits that you can use to follow up with them personally
- decide how you will update it
- start to bring people into it at the rate you are connecting with them
- generate a weekly report and do your follow up
- set standard follow up dates & times
- commit and get it done regularly
Update your system every day if you can. That way each time you speak with someone, you are updating their card or client record, and you will always have the most current information.
7 Tips for Great Followup:
- Be creative – send a variety of methods of communications and note which ones are responding – adjust yourplan as necessary to suit that.
- Be consistent – train your connections to expect to hear from you – send things when you say you will send them.
- Be clear – let them know when is the next time you will be contacting them. If it’s via email, that’s easy too.
- Be in charge – maintain the relationship with them, don’t expect them to maintain it.
- Be the host – invite them to your events or events you think you would be interesting to them.
- Be strategic – create and plan and stick to it. Consistency is the key.
- Be systematic – automate your follow up where you can, but always be sure to connect personally at some point.
By implementing and using a great follow up system, you can have lots of people in your pipeline any given time – and you can keep track of them easily. Some will move on to being clients, and some will drop off if they don’t seem interested in working with you – and by organizing your system, you can continually be marketing and bringing fresh, great contacts into your audience!
Want to learn more about getting clients and following up? Check out my Earn 50K as a VA: the Business and Marketing Bootcamp for Virtual Assistants.