Many businesses selling to other businesses will send out one piece of marketing material, they might send an email or a piece of direct mail or maybe make a telephone call or put some posts on social media or place an advert.
They get no response and then they give up and move on to the next prospect on their “Cold Calling List” or “Lead List” They just don’t follow up!
It is easy to feel that the potential client mustn’t like what he sees or isn’t interested, Especially when they don’t answer your calls, voicemails or emails….and weeks even months go by without hearing back from them.
If you do this, you will become the victim of burn out and will dread the next working day. And very soon you will run out of prospective clients to contact.
The reason I say “Don’t Give Up Too Soon and Follow Up” is this;
I had a personal experience and then came across some statistics from some research that had been carried out by The National Sales Executive Association which absolutely confirmed what happened to me.
First let me tell you about my experience then I will give you the statistics
A number of years ago I attended a Sales and Marketing conference in USA. Not just a five minute trip for me as I live in UK.
Would I have been persuaded to buy a place at this conference, pay for flights and accommodation from ONE or TWO pieces of marketing material?
ABSOLUTELY NOT. Would you?
I had a series of correspondence inviting me to this event, in the form of.
- Direct mail letters and postcards
- E-mails
- Phone calls
- All with some great content thrown in
But for me, I became more and more interested as I received each individual marketing message. Each one outlining the benefits to me and how it would help me grow my business. But it wasn’t until the sixth contact that I decided to pay the money and go.
Then I came across the following statistics, (Ref. National Sales Executive Association) They confirmed my buying pattern and indeed the buying pattern of many decision makers. These statistics will scare the life out of you but at the same time show how much opportunity there is to increase your sales.
48% of people never follow up with a prospective client
25% of people never make a second contact
12% of people only make a maximum of 3 contacts and stop
These are staggering statistics but even more staggering is that :-
10% of businesses make no more than 3 contacts.
So, what does all this mean……?
Sales people and businesses are losing a small fortune because from this research
2% of sales are made on the first contact
3% of sales are made on the second contact
5% of sales are made on the third contact
10% of sales are made on the fourth contact
80% of sales are made on the fifth to twelfth contact
So, if you are like the majority of sales people or business people and only make contact with your prospects once, then you are leaving 98% of business on the table for your competitors to come along and pick up.
How many prospective clients are you losing just because you gave up too soon?
So, What can you do to make sure that you’re not losing sales.
Create a written strategy which includes multiple methods of contacts these should include both online and offine activities:
For example:
- Direct mail, either letters or postcards
- Telephone calls
- Online activities
By varying your methods of follow-up and highlighting different benefits and giving some added value in the way of insights or beneficial information;
You will position yourself as the expert,
You will create “Top of the Mind” thinking.
In other words they will remember you when they think of your product or service.
Once you decide how you are going to make contact then decide on who you are going to contact and IMPLEMENT.
Remember 80% of sales are make between the 5th and 12th contact
Important ——–Multiple contact methods on their own are not enough it must be multiple contacts with the right message.
If you would like some help with your marketing strategy email me at dylis@dylisguyan.com with the words “Help with Marketing Strategy”
Find A Way And Be The Very Best You Can Be
Email: dylis@dylisguyan.com
