5 Keys to Retain More Customers- It’s About the Follow-Up

What are the keys to retaining customers once you’ve sold them?

“I called and asked for more information and never heard back from them, so I bought somewhere else.” This is often where salespeople fail with clients and where the very best salespeople excel.

Excellent follow-up is what differentiates the best salespeople from the rest. Whether it is follow-up with potential or existing customers, this is the key factor, along with Step 1, that separates top salespeople from the rest.

When following up properly, you need to have and do the following to make sure you can produce consistent optimal results:

1. VALUE OF EACH CONTACT –

Customer Relationship Management systems are many, and they have replaced other terminologies for the same thing which were known as  Database Management, Follow-up Systems, and an organized Rolodex card system.

The key with all of these systems is that they must do the following:

1. Allow you to easily record every contact even when the client does not provide you with all of the information you would like.
2. Make it simple and easy for a sales professional to use and find client information.
3. Be flexible so you can manage each contact based on what the client will need and not what you or the system needs.

2.  DISCIPLINE –

You must be sure you are going to make this part of your life. For most sales professionals, Steps 1 and 8 will likely represent 50% of their effort and time.

So you must make this part of your daily routine by doing the following:

1. Use all three communication mediums (phone, face-to-face, and email/mail) to stay in contact with clients.
2. Know that you will not rest until you have done everything possible to make sure you stay on track with your follow-up.

3.  PLAN –

Organize your days to get all of your follow-up done daily.

Below are a few suggestions I have learned from some of the best in the world:

1. To save time, create email template letters that can be customized each time they are sent.
2. Respond to emails as you can during the day, but make sure to follow up with every contact within 24 hours.
3. Determine what the preferred method each client would like for you to follow-up with them is, and then use it. Don’t make them fit into your system.

Next- Keys 4 and 5