The Art Of Follow-Up As A Key Differentiator For The Sales Superstar    

 
Hello Dan:

I'm a new hire at my company and am relatively new in my sales role. I worked in technical support in the past. Several of my sales colleagues have spoken highly of your training and I would like to get any advice I can from you.

Thank you,

Ava
 





Ava:

Thank you for your question, and welcome to the exciting and rewarding field of sales. Your question is quite broad but I will share a few ideas with you.  

First, if you want to excel at sales, it is pretty simple. Don't SELL!  That's right, forget trying to "sell" anyone. It won't work. Instead, help your customers invest in the correct solution that is best for them in the long run.  Be seen as a trusted advisor to them. This will probably come naturally to you given your background in technical support. After all, your job then was to help your customers, and that objective remains the same.  See if you agree after reading my book and TTS newsletters.

There is one thing that comes to my mind for beginning sales reps, and you will not believe how incredibly basic it is. 

The "Art" of Follow-Up As A Key Differentiator For The Sales Superstar

Remember that it's all about trust, right? Well, what is one very  easy way to do that?  Simply say what you are going to do. Then do it!

Sounds too fundamental, I know. However, the participants in my TTS workshops confess that this is a problem, and I have heard complaints from customers time and time again about previous reps. They all agree that your most reps are great at the first part. They certainly say  what they will do. For example, they will promise to provide a proposal, schedule a presentation,  answer a key concern or question. But do they do it?  Sadly, they are slacking on this part of the job.

Sales reps have simply lost the art of follow-up. That's right. Simple follow up. The practice of simply doing what you say you are going to do.  

One reason I am dedicating one of my TTS newsletters to such a simple matter is that we experience this weakness in so many professions, and sometimes on a daily basis. How many times have you had to chase after Com Ed to fix your electric problems, or reschedule the maintenance man who failed to appear, or call the cable guy to ask where he is? Hard to believe that it's a skill that is so lacking these days, including in the field of professional sales. Sad in many ways, but it provides another way for superstars to clearly differentiate themselves from their competitors and distinguish themselves in the eyes of their customers.

Superstar sales pros will not only do what they say, but they will take it to the next level. They will make commitments, and then exceed them.  If they say they will respond with an answer by next Friday, they will provide the answer on Wednesday. They never miss a commitment, and usually exceed it. 

Now, how can we meet and/or exceed our commitments? Let's examine some ideas.

Add a Simple Buffer To Any Commitment:
Say your customer has asked you to provide some customized technical specifications. Your experience says that you can complete this task by next Wednesday. What do you tell your customer? If you say you will provide the specs by next Wednesday and you don't, you have proven to be just another one of those reps who are unreliable. However, if you commit to the customer that they will have the documents by Friday you have an excellent chance of exceeding expectations. Add a simple time buffer to any commitment.


Use An Electronic Calendar:   

Use a calendar system like Outlook to plug in your commitments. 

Daily "To Do" List:
Construct a fresh "to-do" list every day. My preference is to complete this important task list at the end of the day so you can sleep. Otherwise, tasks will be swirling through your head. 

Prioritization:
Be sure that your "to-do" list is prioritized. Any commitments to customers should come at the top.


TTS Follow-Up Letter/e-mail
All key meetings with customers should be followed up by using a TTS Follow-Up letter/e-mail.  Example of this can be found in my book.


TTS Agreement Status and Resolution Document
The TTS Agreement Status and Resolution Document is used as a tool to help you stay on top of mega deals.  As you approach the end of a mega deal there are typically many "to do" items, especially if legal departments get involved from both sides. The sales pro should be responsible for overseeing this critical phase of the agreement. The document is a simple reformatted "to do" list with action items and owners. See Building Trust, Growing Sales for an example.


TTS Power Follow Up Phrase
All follow-up correspondence should end with this simple TTS best practice phrase:  "I will plan to contact you (specify date and time) if I don't hear from you before then." This phrase accomplishes several things. First, it automatically forces the superstar rep to add an action item to his calendar. Second, it puts the follow-up responsibility on the rep, exactly where it belongs. Third, if the customer "forgets" to call, the superstar rep can contact her with a very professional call. The opening of the conversation sounds like this:  "Hi Alice. I'm following up with you as I promised in my note to you last week to check on the status of the document approvals."

Ava, I hope this is helpful as one simple way to gain trust and differentiate yourself. All you have to do is make commitments and exceed them!

 

Good Luck, and Close 'Em!