The best sales breakthrough tool ever encountered is good old-fashioned follow up. This holds true whether we’re talking social selling, combination selling, face to face selling, telephone selling.
These interesting statistics from the National Sales Executive Association regularly go around LinkedIn:
48% of salespeople never follow up with a prospect
25% of salespeople make a second contact and stop
12% of salespeople make more than three contacts
2% of sales are made on the first contact
3% of sales are made on the second contact
5% of sales are made on the third contact
10% of sales are made on the fourth contact
80% of sales are made on the fifth to twelfth contact
When I checked closely, I could not find any real information about the National Sales Executive Association. One writer says – this association has been made up! Even so – from the range of sales situations Magnify has been involved in, these statistics are surprisingly accurate for most businesses. In some industries, you may need even more contact points before a sale is confirmed.
Some clients like to dialogue via email. Some clients appreciate telephone calls or perhaps a Zoom meeting. Still others appreciate timely follow up via a LinkedIn message. Increasingly, clients appreciate a combination of all our sales tools.
It doesn’t matter how you follow up – just do it! From these statistics, we can see that the bulk of sales are won not necessarily by the best company, but by the company whose salespeople follow up consistently.
Is there heavy competition in your industry? Blitz the competition by creating and maintaining great sales follow up processes.
Consistent follow up shows our prospective clients far more than we can imagine. We demonstrate client commitment, we build trust, we show sincerity. When we space our follow up contact appropriately, we give respect. Ultimately, we connect as people.
We have so many tools available now, it’s easy to become distracted and let the tools do the talking for us.
What I’ve personally found over my many years of sales is that, in the end, it’s not about the tools. When I began my sales career, I thought it was about which salesperson had the best, glossiest brochures. Now, we could be tempted to think that it’s about who has the best website.
Don’t get me wrong – those things are certainly important ways that our prospective clients validate our high-value offerings. We need to remember that they are just tools. It’s the one who holds the tool who decides just how effectively the tool is used.
Sometimes we’ve forgotten the power of personal contact. Listening to clients, making time for them, providing solutions to their problems – these things never go out of fashion. Yes – that’s right! People buy from people. We love how that still works!