Episode #124: Sales Followup Essentials

Proper follow through after the sale is critical. The difficulty of gaining a sale is hard enough, but the real difficulty is in the followup, to get the re-order. This is where we should all be very finely focused. Rather than approaching a potential client with a sale in mind, what if we set off with the idea of the re-order firmly entrenched in our brain? This simple switching of gears completely changes the conversation, the goals and the execution of the sale follow through.

What often happens though in a busy life is we have more than one client on the go. As we are completing one sale, we have other sales coming to fruition. The concentration on the imminent future sales, suck up all the energy and time that should be available to do a proper job of the follow through.

If we are over extending ourselves we don’t get to the follow through in a timely manner. One key thing we need to check with the clients, is what are their expectations on the follow through, be they someone to meet after the networking event or actual clients who have just purchased from us.

Let’s make sure we set up the proper expectations for our follow through. If we are going to be busy, then we should say: “Is it okay if I get back to you in a week or so, regarding scheduling our follow up meeting?”

If we have had the meeting, gone through our offer and have promised to send a proposal with pricing, then again we need to consider what is the time frame which will allow us to remain in control and project the best image of trustworthiness and reliability.

We could say: “Thank you for the meeting today, would you mind if I shoot the proposal out to you in two weeks time?”

If we have just made the sale, then we could looking at conditioning the follow through, by saying: “Would it be too much trouble if I sent you the necessary materials you have requested, in about two weeks time?”

So the first step is to condition the client’s expectations as you end the meeting about what will happen next and when it will happen. Give yourself time because you want to reinforce trust, credibility and reliability. Remember to the client, the things you promised in the meeting are just so much hot air coming from a salesperson. The real test is when we get down to the follow through. How do you want to be perceived when it’s show time?

Having set the time frames in a reasonable way, so you don’t blow yourself up, you now have to really ensure you deliver what was promised, on time, or even slightly ahead of time. Not too early though, because it will seem you were just sandbagging them on your turnaround times and certainly do not deliver anything after the agreed deadline.

The terms of the deal will have certain specifications and these must be met. If you unilaterally decide to alter them and then announce the fact as a fait accompli to the client, expect trouble. Flexibility is not a widespread trait here in business in Japan, so expect a possible client meltdown.

There are so many human relations complexities in play here in Japan, because the people we are talking to have promised something specific to others. If we don’t fulfill our side of the bargain, then our clients lose face with their buyers. This is the modern commercial equivalent of seppuku (suicide) in Japan. The clients are more concerned about their long-term position in the market, based on established trust, than they are about saving a few pennies on the pound. They will never deal with you again, because the risk is too high against the potential reward. You don’t want that reputation – it will always come back to bite you when you can least afford it. In this social media world we now live in, bad news travels vast distances and at light speed.