Where’s the Money in Sales???

Very few people go to college thinking, “I’m gonna study hard so I can get a good job in sales.” Most people “fall into sales” by accident, but then stick around. Why do they stick around? Either they can’t figure out anything else to do, or they figure out that sales offer an unlimited opportunity to earn and that sounds good to them.

So why do so many sellers struggle to earn up to their potential? There can be a lot of reasons, but one of them is certainly that THEY SUCK AT FOLLOW-UP.

There’s an old saying, “The fortune is in the follow-up.” While not every old saying is true, this one makes sense.

There IS a time to give up on a deal. At least for now. You’ve done a great job of discovery, put together a killer proposal, delivered it beautifully and the prospect needs some time before they can make a decision. Okay, not everyone closes immediately after hearing what you have to offer. You go back and forth with the prospect, answering questions, adding value, being “patiently impatient” and you’ve followed up consistently but the prospect keeps putting you off. They’re telling you, “No.” At least it’s No for now.

But QUITE often, I see salespeople who drop the ball with their follow-up. They go for the close, the prospect either says “No” or “Not Now.” The salesperson never reaches out again.

While we all want to close deals as quickly as possible, it doesn’t matter what we want…it matters what the prospect wants. They can meet with you again. Or not. They can buy from you. Or not. Sometimes when you present your ideas/plan/proposal to a prospect they truly DO need time to consider everything. It’s reasonable. Not following up, however, doesn’t make sense.

Want to increase your income because you’re closing more deals? Do better on your follow-up.

1. Never leave a meeting or phone call without setting up the next meeting or phone call. I call this BNASTY – always get the Best Next Action Step Towards Yes!
2. If you’re foolish enough to not get a next step, or are simply unable to, ask the prospect, “Like most salespeople I’m persistent and I’ll follow-up with you, but I don’t want to be a pest. When do you think would be the best time to follow-up with you?”
3. If you don’t have a next step planned with the prospect, set up a series of calls, emails, texts, WhatsApp, and LinkedIn messages to regularly follow-up with the prospect.

DO NOT CALL THE PROSPECT AND SAY THIS: “Hi Sue, it’s Jeff Goldberg. I’m just following up on the proposal we reviewed last Tuesday. Give me a call.” This message pretty much means, “Hey Sue, did you decide to do business with me but forget to let me know?” When following up be sure to add value in each communication. Gives them some advice that helps them. Offer to introduce them to someone who can help their business, or perhaps to a new prospect. Adding value first then AT THE END OF YOUR MESSAGE adding in something about the deal you’d been discussing is the way to go. It should almost sound like an afterthought.

“Hey Dave, I saw that the president is cutting the labor force in a big way. I was thinking this may offer you some opportunities to sell private health insurance to these laid off people? Oh, by the way, I’ve got a new idea regarding that proposal we were discussing. Let’s hop on a call to discuss…how’s Tuesday at 3?”

You have to reach buyers when they’re ready to buy. Sometimes that’s when you first meet them. Sometimes is later. Want to make more money in sales?

The fortune is in the follow-up!