Realize that the opportunity to make a sale is a special event and when a prospect requests more information or a customer requests more information for a possible additional sell, your follow-up can make or break what happens next.

Studies indicate that follow-up alone can significantly increase a sales professional’s closing ratio and business volume. Studies also reveal that most sales professionals don’t take advantage of the opportunity for additional relationship building and potential increased sells by following-up!

Few sales are actually made from contact-to-contract in one simple, easy, efficient, expedited manner. Yes, sometimes they do and the importance of studying that flow for replication is critical and a success trait of super achievers. Most selling transactions must go through a psychological chronological flow in the mind of the recipient. And this is important for most sales professionals to recognize, as most sales happen after the N’th interaction, while most sales professionals give up after the thirst of fourth real interaction or contact attempt.

There are three ways in which a sales professional can chose to follow-up with others. Depending upon the channel or combination of channels of follow-up, selected specific options become evident in your follow up activity. They are:

• Visual Follow-Up Mechanisms
• Auditory Follow-Up Mechanisms
• Kinesthetic (interactive/face-to-face) Follow-Up Mechanisms

Time of follow-up is critical, too soon may appear over bearing and too late may seem like an after-thought and lack of sincerity.

Recognize that there are a lot of ways in which they can keep their name and message in front of prospects and customers to maintain the name presence with them. Some of the specific action items for each could be:

VISUAL -

• personal note card with sales professional name on it
• email gram
• appropriate social media connections
• fax follow-up note, reminder, FYI
• special “Thank You” gift/offering
• an article clipping of relevant interest
• social media platforms
• texting
• etc.

AUDITORY -

• personal voice mail message
• follow-up telephone call
• recorded gift offering
• appropriate social media deliverable
• social media platforms
• etc.

KINESTHETIC -

• special personal follow-up by sales professional or field representative
• invitation offering to an event/pre-event
• personal follow-up by sales professional, face-to-face, go see them
• appropriate social media deliverable
• leveraging a Client or COI on your behalf to reach out to the prospect
• etc.

With each of these follow-up channel options, coach sales professionals to remember for any action to have maximum impact, it must also be done in a TIMELY manner and the action must be RELEVANT for that prospect or customer.

Remember: The early sales professional gets the sale and gets the repeat sale!