Here is one thing that used to drive me loopy: I might ship out a batch of gives, get a number of folks , have some good preliminary conversations… after which they’d go silent.
And I’d simply transfer on to the following batch of prospects, considering “effectively, I assume they weren’t critical.”
Seems, I used to be strolling away from nearly all of my offers. And if you happen to’re doing the identical factor, you in all probability are too.
Based on analysis, most companies generate about 70% of their income from follow-up, NOT from the preliminary dialog.
Let that sink in for a second.
If you happen to’re not systematically following up along with your prospects, you are probably leaving seven out of each ten {dollars} on the desk.
I do know what you are considering, as a result of I believed it too:
“However Seth, follow-up feels pushy. I do not need to be that annoying one who retains bothering folks.”
I get it. I had the identical hesitation. However the issue is, most individuals basically misunderstand what follow-up truly is and when it ought to occur.
As soon as I found out the correct method to consider follow-up (and extra importantly, when to choose up the telephone myself vs. automate it), all the things began to click on.
Let me stroll you thru the identical framework that is helped me and tons of of different land buyers cease leaving cash on the desk.
The Shocking Fact About When Observe-Up Really Begins
Most individuals assume follow-up begins the second you ship your first mailer or textual content message. It would not.
That is what we name “outbound advertising and marketing,” which is a totally completely different factor.
Observe-up would not start till AFTER a vendor raises their hand.
If somebody by no means responds to you, there’s nothing to observe up on.
And if somebody responds with anger or tells you to cease, they don’t seem to be a lead both. They need to be eliminated out of your listing instantly.
So, when does actual follow-up start?
It begins the second a vendor responds with something even remotely constructive or impartial.
Once they say issues like “make me a proposal,” or “I is likely to be ,” and even simply “inform me extra,” that is when follow-up turns into related. Earlier than that second, you are still in chilly outreach mode.
This distinction issues greater than you may assume, as a result of loads of buyers waste time and power attempting to automate conversations that have not even began but.
The Three Vendor States That Decide Your Observe-Up Technique
When you perceive that follow-up solely occurs after somebody responds, the following step is recognizing that each vendor falls into certainly one of three distinct states. And every state requires a totally completely different method:
State #1: Not a Lead
This consists of sellers who:
- By no means responded in any respect
- Responded negatively
- advised you to cease
- Have a property you merely cannot use
There is not any follow-up required right here. None. No automation, no reminders, no duties.
These folks do not belong in your deal pipeline, interval.
State #2: Certified Lead in Energetic Dialog
One of these vendor responds and engages. They’re answering your questions, displaying real curiosity, and also you’re having an actual back-and-forth dialog with them. They could have given you an e mail deal with, a telephone quantity, perhaps even some particulars about their property.
Here is the crucial factor to grasp: this stage is generally handbook.
That is the place you or somebody in your workforce ought to be responding with actual calls and actual conversations. Software program may also help you keep in mind to name and set up your notes (which is big), however it can’t substitute the human dialog or shut the deal. At the least not but. If a vendor is actively speaking to you, automation ought to assist the human having these conversations, not substitute them.
State #3: Non-Certified Lead Who Fell Silent
That is the kind of vendor who appeared at one level, perhaps answered some questions, however then stopped responding.
The property may nonetheless be good; you made some progress, however one thing is maintaining them from transferring ahead. Possibly the timing is not proper. Possibly they’re distracted. Possibly they briefly modified their thoughts.
That is the one place the place automated follow-up really belongs, and that is the place automation actually shines.
The Observe-Up Engagement Matrix (Visible Information)
Once I tried to elucidate this clearly, even to myself, I noticed I stored picturing a flowchart in my head. Completely different vendor responses put them into completely different buckets, and every bucket deserves a really completely different subsequent transfer.
So I attempted to show that psychological image into one thing visible.
The diagram under reveals precisely when follow-up ought to be human, when automation is sensible, when long-term follow-up is okay, and when it’s time to cease speaking altogether.
It’s not about bothering folks till they are saying sure. It’s about responding the correct method, on the proper time, based mostly on how the vendor is definitely participating.
If you happen to’ve ever felt uncertain about whether or not to observe up, automate, or stroll away, I hope this helps it click on.
And if you happen to discover this beneficial, be happy to share it along with your workforce or anybody who struggles with follow-up. That’s precisely why I made it!
Turning This Framework Right into a System
One of many causes I created this framework is that realizing what to do is straightforward, however doing it constantly is the onerous half.
That is the place Stride helps.
Inside Stride, we’ve already constructed the follow-up workflows proven on this diagram above.
Automated texts, emails, RVMs, and reminders for sellers who go quiet. Name prompts and job reminders for sellers who want an actual human dialog. Lengthy-term follow-up that runs quietly within the background with out feeling pushy.
You don’t must determine this out from scratch. You may evaluation what we’ve already constructed, tweak the wording to sound such as you, select the channels you need to use, after which flip it on.
Stride doesn’t substitute conversations. It helps them, so nothing falls via the cracks when sellers go silent.
That method, this matrix isn’t only a good thought. It turns into a system that truly runs in your corporation.
What the Harvard Enterprise Assessment Examine Teaches Us About Observe-Up
There is a well-known Harvard Enterprise Assessment research that analyzed many hundreds of leads and over 100,000 contact makes an attempt. The findings are fairly eye-opening:
- First, pace issues greater than virtually something. If you happen to reply to a lead inside 5 minutes of them reaching out, you are dramatically extra more likely to truly discuss to them than if you happen to wait simply 10 minutes. That is proper. Just a few additional minutes can cut back your possibilities by multiples.
- Second, timing issues past simply pace. The center of the week works higher than the start of the week. Late afternoon works higher than most different occasions. This is applicable throughout industries, not simply land investing.
- Third, persistence pays off. Your probabilities of reaching somebody go up with every further try, and by the sixth try, your odds of constructing contact are extraordinarily excessive.
The important thing takeaway is that most offers do not occur on the primary dialog. They occur after a number of touches, on the proper occasions, with the correct folks saying the correct issues.
The place Automation Suits (And The place It Does not)
Here is the factor about automation: it has a really particular job, and the second you confuse that job with one thing else, your follow-up begins to really feel spammy as an alternative of useful.
Automation is great at re-engaging silent leads, reminding your workforce when to behave, and sustaining consistency over time. It is also nice for issues like appointment reminders, which construct belief by displaying you are organized and critical about following via.
However automation is TERRIBLE at negotiation, making judgment calls, and studying human emotion. That is simply not what it is designed to do.
For instance, when somebody goes silent after preliminary conversations, you’ll be able to put them right into a easy drip sequence that lightly reminds them you exist over the following a number of months. These sequences have helped land buyers (myself included) shut offers that will have in any other case been fully forgotten. Not each silent lead will convert, however some will, and people “some” can add tens of hundreds of {dollars} to your backside line with zero further effort in your half.
The Easy Framework That Really Works
If you happen to take nothing else from this, keep in mind these three rules:
- There is no such thing as a follow-up till a vendor responds.
- There is no such thing as a automation till a dialog stalls.
- The very best follow-up techniques assist people fairly than substitute them.
You do not want a posh system to make this work. Begin easy. Do not observe up till any individual responds. Once they do, discuss to them like a human. In the event that they go silent, then put them right into a easy automated sequence that retains you high of thoughts with out requiring fixed psychological bandwidth from you.
That is it. That is the system that is serving to land buyers throughout the nation cease leaving 70% of their income on the desk.
And in a enterprise the place most individuals aren’t doing systematic follow-up in any respect, simply implementing these fundamentals will put you miles forward of your competitors.
Now, if you happen to’ll excuse me, I’ve some follow-up calls to make.
