SKILL
Stay in Touch How to follow up with a prospect to keep the sale moving forward WILLIAM F. KENDY
All true salespeople love the chase. The glamorous, in-person presentation is sexy – and there’s a rush from making the pitch and pursuing the decision makers or writing a proposal, sending it off, getting personal closure, and going out to celebrate. Life is good.
Then there’s the follow-up. Not nearly so much fun. You’ve waited a week or two, and now it’s time to find out whether you really did “wow” your prospects. The adrena- line is gone and the prospects haven’t called back. What’s the problem? Where’s the order? You want to know what the deal is, but
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you really don’t want to have to ask. Following up is hard work. It’s the “slugging it out” part of the job. You may have to face rejection. And nobody likes rejection.
FOLLOW-UP AS QUALIFICATION Josh Balick, a business manager for a division of a manufacturing giant,
believes there is only one reason not to make a follow-up call, and it has to do with qualifications. “The only reason salespeople shouldn’t follow up is that they con- sciously decide the prospect doesn’t have the authority, the money, or the need to purchase what they’re selling. In other words, the prospect is no longer a prospect,” says Balick. “Otherwise, following up is just part of the job.”
In essence, good follow-up is a state of mind and has everything to do with setting objectives for each call. “Obviously, the major goal of a follow-up call is to make a sale,” says Balick. “If your follow-up call doesn’t result in a sale, it’s still an opportunity to deliver important information to
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