Make the Fifth Call – Get the Client September 7, 2010
Posted by Maureen Fogel in Business Growth, Business-to-Business Marketing.add a comment
Are you confident that you are handling your sales leads properly? If not, then you are not capturing 100% of your potential revenue. When someone inquires about your services, are you ensuring that you capture as much information as you comfortably can, and then making plans for thorough follow-up?
In their book Conquer the Chaos, Clate Mask and Scott Martineau, cite some startling statistics:
- 81% of sales that close do so on or after the fifth contact with the company
- And yet, in the survey of business owners, 90% quit following-up after the fourth call.1
If you are like these business owners, you are missing out on a lot of new clients.
If you think you can do better but lack the time to make a huge change – take it one step at a time. When you get a lead, code it for an automatic follow-up in one week, two weeks, and then at three weeks. Doing this at the same time you are entering their contact information in Outlook or another contact management program is almost effortless but will pay big dividends.
If someone has given you a proposal and then disappeared you know how you probably felt; “they must not have really wanted my business.” Don’t be that person. Follow up with the people that take time to contact you. Even if you don’t earn their business, they will be left with the impression that you are serious and committed to solving your clients’ problems.
1 p. 143, Conquer the Chaos, How to Grow a Successful Small Business Without Going Crazy, Copyright 2010 (Source cited for statistic: Sales and Marketing Executives Club of Los Angeles)
