Follow-up is nothing more than tracking the contact with a lead or customer. It can be done over the phone, via email or Skype.
This follow-up is one of the most important steps in the sales process, as it is the moment when the salesperson feels what stage the lead is in and what the next action is for the negotiation to flow.
That’s why the sales funnel is a powerful weapon to identify if the lead is ready or not to evolve to the next step.
The approach, follow-up and evolution process may not be well defined or we even don’t know how to do it and where to start. And we end up in the rush of everyday life, wasting time, in our case we will lose good deals! And as a result, we work a lot, produce little and reap even less fruit.
The objective is to accompany the lead and make him move forward in the process, which brings the seller closer to the potential customer, generating trust and he will understand that you are there to solve doubts and propose a solution to the pain he is facing at the moment.
Thus, the seller will act as a consultant and the client will add this value to the negotiation in progress.
This relationship, which will be created during the follow-up, can be decisive and bring growth in the sales team’s results.
How to do a good follow up?
The main question is how to do it effectively, most sellers find it difficult to apply follow up in the stages of the sale.
The process begins with the follow-up strategies and soon after the proposal is sent, the lead’s expectations are aligned with the proposal presented.
It is very important to structure a follow-up process, as it will help you guide leads to closing, preventing lost opportunities.
On average, it is necessary to make at least 8 contacts with the lead to find the exact opportunity to close the sale.
However, according to research, the seller usually ends the contact with two or three follow-up attempts.
The 4 main mistakes that the seller can make:
- Do not program yourself from the first contact;
- Arrange to contact and not meet the promised deadline;
- Not considering the variables of your client’s business to build the follow up;
- Skip the benchmarking step, and initiate contact without content to argue.
How to set the cadence flow?
The set of follow ups performed with the lead is called the cadence flow. This flow is the execution planning and time space between the contacts made with the lead, that is, the salesperson organizes himself, describes and schedules each contact.
The objective is to keep the relationship warm, while each stage of the sales process is carried out, with a focus on the evolution of the negotiation at each step.
It is very important that the salesperson understands the behavior of his customer. Being able to detect the ideal moment to make the first contact contributes to the evolution of the stages.
Considering the recommended average of 8 contacts, ensure a strategic distance between them, showing caution and preventing the seller from being boring.
However, it is necessary to show the lead that you are persistent, that his business is important to the company, always adding value to the negotiation. He needs to absorb that his focus is to contribute, facilitate and add benefits to the product or service he provides.
How Marketing Automation Can Accelerate Your Sales Funnel
Considering that automation can be a synonym for agile and simple, within strategic planning it does not happen quite like that. It is a very broad process, with numerous possibilities.
The main objective is engagement with the persona. This can be done through email marketing campaigns, lead nurturing, measuring audience reactions, customer retention, and measuring results.
The work is developed by the marketing team together with the commercial. Alignment between the two teams is extremely important, many companies have adopted the Vendarketing methodology as a process of aligning the goals of both teams.
The marketing team prepares the planning, executes and measures the conversion rate. The process is carried out in search of the qualification of the lead so that it arrives at the commercial ready for negotiation and closing the sale.
Do you know your sales funnel well?
The sales funnel that is sometimes called a pipeline are the steps and triggers that accompany the evolution of the purchase journey of the captured leads.
The funnel determines the stage the lead is in, so you can relate to it according to the identified needs.
Your funnel will be determined by the characteristics built together with the personas created by you and your marketing team.
The idea is to build the profile of your customers and identify their likely behaviors. The work starts with a macro view of the environment and narrows down through personalizing your lead’s habits.
How are the evolution of the sales funnel stages promoted?
Through content marketing that uses the creation of content directed to the persona thinking about each stage that it is.
Creating an approach to the target audience through discovery and attraction, identification of customer pain and solution presentation, contact and interaction with the lead.
As a lead comes in contact with your brand’s content and interacts, the marketing team develops more relevant materials that can be used by you in service and follow-up.
You can also suggest topics or describe the most frequently asked questions you hear in your appointments and ask them to produce them to assist in your conversations.
