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Sales Lead Follow Up Best Practices

Sales lead follow-up is the process of reconnecting with potential customers (leads) after initial contact to nurture the relationship and move them further along the sales funnel. This step is crucial in converting leads into paying customers, as it helps maintain interest, answer questions, and address any concerns the prospect may have.

What is sales lead follow up?

Sales lead follow-up is the process of reaching out to potential customers after the initial contact to maintain their interest and move them closer to making a purchase. It involves ongoing communication through channels like phone calls, emails, or messages, ensuring that the lead remains engaged, informed, and nurtured throughout the sales journey.

Follow-ups are crucial because they help address any questions or concerns the lead might have, provide additional information, and build a relationship of trust. Effective follow-up increases the likelihood of converting leads into paying customers and is a key part of a successful sales process.

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What are sales lead follow up best practices?  

Here are some sales lead follow up best practices to ensure you're maximizing your chances of turning leads into customers:

1. Act quickly and be responsive

  • Quick response: Aim to respond to leads within the first hour of contact, especially for inbound leads expressing immediate interest. This demonstrates responsiveness and keeps you top-of-mind.
  • Set realistic deadlines for follow-up: For outbound leads, establish a follow-up cadence with a clear timeframe for multiple attempts. Don't bombard them, but ensure consistent communication.

2. Personalize your outreach

  • Go beyond the name: Personalization shows effort and makes your outreach more relevant. Use information from the lead's inquiry to personalize your email content, referencing their specific needs or challenges.
  • Segment leads based on needs: Segment your leads based on their industry, interests, or buying stage. This allows you to tailor your follow-up messages to resonate with their specific situation.

3. Focus on value proposition

  • Lead with value, not just features: Don't just push your product or service. Highlight how it addresses their specific pain points and how it can benefit their business. Focus on the value proposition.
  • Provide helpful content: Offer valuable content like ebooks, white papers, or industry reports to establish yourself as a thought leader and provide solutions to their problems.

4. Multiple channels and persistence

  • Omnichannel approach: Don't rely solely on email. Utilize a mix of communication channels like phone calls, social media messages, or even personalized video messages to connect with prospects on their preferred platform.
  • Persistent, not pushy: Leave multiple voicemails if necessary, and follow up emails with a polite but firm persistence. The key is to find the balance between persistence and being a nuisance.

Employee pulse surveys:

These are short surveys that can be sent frequently to check what your employees think about an issue quickly. The survey comprises fewer questions (not more than 10) to get the information quickly. These can be administered at regular intervals (monthly/weekly/quarterly).

One-on-one meetings:

Having periodic, hour-long meetings for an informal chat with every team member is an excellent way to get a true sense of what’s happening with them. Since it is a safe and private conversation, it helps you get better details about an issue.

eNPS:

eNPS (employee Net Promoter score) is one of the simplest yet effective ways to assess your employee's opinion of your company. It includes one intriguing question that gauges loyalty. An example of eNPS questions include: How likely are you to recommend our company to others? Employees respond to the eNPS survey on a scale of 1-10, where 10 denotes they are ‘highly likely’ to recommend the company and 1 signifies they are ‘highly unlikely’ to recommend it.

Based on the responses, employees can be placed in three different categories:

  • Promoters
    Employees who have responded positively or agreed.
  • Detractors
    Employees who have reacted negatively or disagreed.
  • Passives
    Employees who have stayed neutral with their responses.

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