How Long Do I Wait To Follow-up?

•  
  dave.stein@...09/17/08 Report as spam
  1

  RE: How Long Do I Wait To Follow-up?

  Geoffrey,
  
  Selling to your customer in the way that they prefer buying is an imperative these days. Plenty of research bears this out. You nailed it with, "When you???re meeting with the prospect, find out how the prospect buys the kind of product or service you???re selling: how the paperwork flows..." Bullseye.
  
  Before I ever agree to send a proposal (generally, it should be hand-delivered, but my business model doesn't support that) I get commitment from the customer that in return, we will have a debriefing on the proposal on a specific time and date, a few days after they receive it. Only when they agree to that, will I agree to send the proposal. They want the proposal, I want the follow-up call.
  
  Another point. That proposal must discuss in the customer's terms, things that have already been agreed to by both of you verbally: (1) what business opportunities or challenges of theirs your product or service addresses, (2) what specific improvement objectives you and they have agreed you can achieve, (3) how they will measure improvement or determine success, (4) what impact that will have on their overall business, (5)the approach you'll take and (6) specifics about their investment and return on that investment.*
  
  If you've gotten verbal approval from the customer in advance for each of these points, you're proposal will be no surprise. It will just be written confirmation of what you've agreed to.
  
  I don't remember a case where a salesrep, using that process, wasn't able to have an in-depth conversation with their customer after the proposal was delivered.
  
  * I learned this from Alan Weiss.

•  
  dave.stein@...09/17/08 Report as spam
  2

  RE: How Long Do I Wait To Follow-up?

  Funny, all the formatting (except the bolding) was disregarded in the previous comment.

•  
  cimartinez2109/17/08 Report as spam
  3

  RE: How Long Do I Wait To Follow-up?

  dave.stein,
  Thanks for your comment. That's a great idea. I'm definitely will be asking my prospect clients for that sort of commitment.

•  
  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine09/17/08 Report as spam
  4

  RE: How Long Do I Wait To Follow-up?

  Here is Dave Stein's excellent comment, but with formatting so it's easier to read. I normally wouldn't do this, but Dave's wisdom on this subject is so important that I don't want anybody to be dissuaded from reading it because it looks like an ugly block of text.
  
  
  
  Selling to your customer in the way that they prefer buying is an imperative these days. Plenty of research bears this out. You nailed it with, "When you???re meeting with the prospect, find out how the prospect buys the kind of product or service you???re selling: how the paperwork flows..." Bullseye.
  
  Before I ever agree to send a proposal (generally, it should be hand-delivered, but my business model doesn't support that) I get commitment from the customer that in return, we will have a debriefing on the proposal on a specific time and date, a few days after they receive it. Only when they agree to that, will I agree to send the proposal. They want the proposal, I want the follow-up call.
  
  Another point. That proposal must discuss in the customer's terms, things that have already been agreed to by both of you verbally:
  
  (1) what business opportunities or challenges of theirs your product or service addresses,
  (2) what specific improvement objectives you and they have agreed you can achieve
  (3) how they will measure improvement or determine success
  (4) what impact that will have on their overall business
  (5)the approach you'll take
  
  (6) specifics about their investment and return on that investment.
  
  If you've gotten verbal approval from the customer in advance for each of these points, your proposal will be no surprise. It will just be written confirmation of what you've agreed to.
  
  I don't remember a case where a salesrep, using that process, wasn't able to have an in-depth conversation with their customer after the proposal was delivered. (I learned this from Alan Weiss.)

•  
  pesc09/18/08 Report as spam
  5

  RE: How Long Do I Wait To Follow-up?

  So, i think this is all great, i agree completely and do this myself -- you get the process diagram, you've sent the proposal, you've even had the follow-up meeting or maybe even two -- with your contact and his boss, the CEO.
  
  Now, it's in their hands, they're going to think it over and we'll all touch base in a few days...
  
  So, um, "How long do I wait to follow up?"
  I wait 2 more days. Then call to follow-up -- once in the a.m. and then just after 5pm. on the same day, especially when the gatekeeper (admin or switchboard confirms that the contact's in). I then call again the following Monday a.m. before 9am (so it's part of the week's plan). I next suggest that i'm going to be in their neighborhood to meet with another client, and would love to stop by for coffee. (the relationship's obviously taken a step back and we need to flirt again). And, i keep calling them until i hook in again...
  
  But, sometimes prospects don't follow their own processes. Sometimes at some point it makes sense to back-burner a prospect after i've called 7 or 10 times.
  
  What do you think about following up, up the chain, with a call or a short note or something... risky, yes, but sometimes better than just letting it drop. And, i think it's better to keep lobbing in the occassional call rather than booting a client entirely... it's pretty cheap to make a call or include a prospect on a newsletter or email campaign.
  
  I'm the one-night stand that doesn't go away and is just shy of being a stalker.

•  
  btrossman09/18/08 Report as spam
  6

  RE: How Long Do I Wait To Follow-up?

  I have done similar to Pesc, but have been told that I'm a real pain - that only happened after I called up to the next level (CEO) who was also interested in the proposal - needless to say the COO who I was talking with didn't like that, but leaving messages a couple times a week isn't good either, so what's a guy to do - forget it and just move on? . . . I usually call at 7:45am or 5:30 pm if I have a direct line - which you should have. Busy folks will usually pick up because they know you are working after hours too.

•  
  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine09/18/08 Report as spam
  7

  RE: How Long Do I Wait To Follow-up?

  QUOTE: I have done similar to Pesc, but have been told that I'm a real pain
  
  I love this story. Btrossmann has his (or her) head screwed on straight, for sure.

•  
  may0809/18/08 Report as spam
  8

  RE: How Long Do I Wait To Follow-up?

  I used to get sold to a lot as a "C" level person, now I sell. I'll tell you what I do because it is what I preferred my vendors do.
  
  1) Get a date at the time you deliver the proposal to follow up. Either get the timeline for a decision (2 days, 2 months, 2 years) or suggest you call in a week - they will let you know if it is too soon.
  2) Ask the person you meet with then s/he will make a decision. If s/he is not the final decision maker (which you hope you avoided) s/he will likley tell you who they have to wait to get approval from, with your insulting question asking same (implying they are NOT the decision maker makes no friends!).
  3) If in doubt - no more than weekly. And when you do - get to the point. People have no time, they spent the time with you getting what they need - answers - now give them time to digest.
  4) When you do call on them say you hadn't heard back and assumed they probably had questions and wanted to make yourself available (even though if you did your job - they won't have questions!). This is "being helpful" and not squandering more of their time.
  
  I'm not expert but this works for me! If weekly is too frequently back off to every week and a half, and so on. But I agree - don't just let it "drop" - your time is worht money too and they deserve to give you at least a yes, no or alternative timeline (we are postponing).

•  
  may0809/18/08 Report as spam
  9

  RE: How Long Do I Wait To Follow-up?

  Sorry for all the typos - my bad.

•  
  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine09/18/08 Report as spam
  10

  RE: How Long Do I Wait To Follow-up?

  Here's a post that has some helpful commentary on this general issue:
  
  
  
  http://blogs.bnet.com/salesmachine/?p=395

•  
  Brettster09/19/08 Report as spam
  11

  RE: How Long Do I Wait To Follow-up?

  Might have missed the point here........but how about...
  
  "When are you going to make a decision?"
  
  Try tapping into their senses, if they use the word FEEL alot, why not try....
  
  "When do you FEEL you (or your boss) will make a decision?"
  
  Or If they are a visual person.....When do you SEE (or..looking to make a) a decision being made?"
  
  Most people give away what their primary senses are through the language they use, few people tap into this. This means that we get a much quicker and honest answer. However, mismatch a sight person and use the FEEL word and you will often get a very different answer.
  
  By looking for this kind of thing, you'll study what they are saying much more closely and get a better insight in what future buttons to press, when you next call them.