According to Gartner Research, “People buy when they are ready to buy – not before. 67% of prospective buyers that tell you ‘no’ today will be ready to buy next year.” This resonated with my client philosophy of “I get to decide who’s a client, and they get to decide when.” In other words, if they meet my prospecting criteria, I have decided I want to work with them but the timing is not right. So how do I stay in their thoughts until they are ready? Being honest, this is one part of my consulting practice that I would like to be more effective at.Because of this, I’ve been doing research on how to choose and use CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software. Automating the function of staying in touch with prospects and past clients helps smooth out the peaks and troughs marketing for new clients while servicing current clients. But first, why do this at all?
Most consultants (actually most people) do a poor job of marketing follow-up. I’ve read statistics that over 90% of leads generated at a trade show are never contacted. In fact, at times I have been a big part of this statistic. I have this handful of leads (and they’re usually good leads since I know how to qualify prospects), so why don’t I do anything with them. A key reason is I didn’t have a good system to help me turn scraps of paper into a sales pipeline.
Key reasons for poor follow-up:
- You think people will call you back
- You don’t want to appear pushy
- You focus only on what you think is a “hot” lead
- You don’t realize that “no” really means “not now” and miss the later opportunity
- You forget, lose the contact info, etc., etc.
If 67% are ready to buy within 12 months, and 80% usually buy in within 2 years – will they think of you when they’re ready? Will you still be in business or become one of the many consultant casualties?
Consider these statistics:
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Contacts or Touch Points
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# of touch points
needed to close
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Activity of most consultants
|
|
1
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2% buy
|
48% quit after 1st contact
|
|
2
|
3% buy
|
24% quit after 2nd contact
|
|
3
|
4% buy
|
12% quit after 3rd contact
|
|
4
|
10% buy
|
6% quit after 4th contact
|
|
Where are you?
|
16% have bought so far
|
90% have quit so far
|
|
5
|
81% buy
|
10% quit after 5th contact
|
What do you think it would mean to your business and income if you followed-up on just 20% more of your leads?
Consider this follow-up plan for new leads. You can be as creative as you want – I suggest this as a way to get you started in your thinking and actions:
- Have a call to action with each new lead (ex: White Paper or Special Report) so you can immediately send the info they requested via email.
- Send a letter with more valuable info related to their initial interest.
- Call to see if you can answer any questions.
- Create a value-added email of tips or education. Get them to subscribe to your newsletter or other value-added content, helping you to build your list.
- Create a trial way they can “sample” your services. Email a promo offer to stimulate action. (email)
- Mail a postcard offering a limited time promo.
- Call with a final reminder for promo.
It’s not too late to create a follow-up plan. Grab all those business cards, pieces of paper, names on a napkin – and get organized.
- Be real and honest about how many leads you have. If you have none or very few, create a prospecting plan.
- Determine what your “call to action” is going to be. Do you have an article, white paper, special report that can be your opt-in piece? If not, write one on why your services are valuable to clients. Not HOW you do something, but why prospects would be better off with you in their lives than without. Remember, folks don’t buy a drill because they want a drill. They buy the drill because they want a hole!
- Automate your touchpoint or contact process to save you time and create consistency.
Need help? Check out our classes and Study Action Groups if you are seeking assistance and accountability.
To Your Success!
Jennifer Leake
Chief Mining Officer
Great insight on following up leads. The top consultants I know jump on email/Linkedin the minute they get home and dash off a message. I strive to do the same and know I likely have untapped resources. Glad to have the Chief Mining Officer to help - diamonds are made under pressure!
-Karen
Karen – email and LinkedIn are great ways to follow-up. But I also use SendOutCards (http://www.SendOutCards.com/getclients) as another way to follow-up. Check it out and try 2 free cards and postage on Consultants Gold.