After conducting your research on a potential customer, it appears that your product is a suitable fit for their business. Getting them on the phone would be your next move.

The real challenge arises when you need to follow up with them and persuade them to commit, whether it be on your first attempt or your third. And there are so many potential problems. Either you make too many contacts, oversell your goods, or you come across as nagging and annoyingly pushing too hard. 

Selecting the appropriate channel for communication with your prospects is the first thing you should do. You can do it over the phone or via email. Some salespeople like to communicate via email, while others just pick up the phone and speak.

Compared to a phone call, emails are more visual and allow the potential customer time to consider what you are saying. Consider how many emails you receive each day and how many are in your inbox right now. perhaps 100 or 200. And just how many of those do you read? Not many, only the ones that catch your attention and come from familiar faces. If you intend to use this strategy, be prepared to send several emails.

A phone call can quickly capture a potential customer’s attention and distinguish you from a spambot. Consider phone banking to follow-up with prospects if you are an extrovert or enjoy talking on the phone. This will allow you to develop a more personal connection and move prospects closer to the conversion stage.

On the other hand, you could take a step ahead and not just be a salesperson to your customers, but a social media friend. This would help you to reach your prospects over the various social media platforms and at times you may also come across interesting items and start opening a discussion from this specific share. However, you need to be a careful with who you use this approach as not all customers prefer to be bothered on their social media accounts.

Most follow-up emails or calls fail because they come across as a sales pitch. A sales follow-up needs an angle and a hook to make it engaging to read or listen to, just like a marketing email does. It’s up to you to adapt the conversation to their needs by offering pertinent information if you want your prospects to participate in it.

The conclusion of each talk is the ideal opportunity to get a commitment to a subsequent discussion. Get the prospect to agree to the following step if the phone discussion went well. Take advantage of the opportunity and reserve them for a follow-up as they have their schedules in front of them.

Ask them when they’d like to schedule a call to discuss the proposal if they request one. Don’t allow the conversation to end with “send it over, I’ll get back to you”. Because it is too difficult to contact them again quickly after they depart without making a commitment without showing to them that you are needy.