The Fear of following up on Sales Leads
Why Today’s Generation is Missing out on Sales
Although following up with prospects after initial outreach is essential for generating new leads and increasing sales, it is a practice that the majority of the younger working generation seem to fear and avoid at all costs. Many will never make contact with a prospect again if their initial email is ignored, but the question is: why?
What is Following Up?
Following up is the practice of pursuing something until it is reconciled and can be done in two main ways: by email and by phone call.
The email route is usually the first phase of initiating a follow up flow. Your first follow up email to a prospect is the most important one you will send throughout the entire interaction. It must still make reference to your original email, yet must take on a life and new intent of its own.
The intent in question is to prompt an action. Yes, it must still clearly outline the proposed solutions you intend to use to solve your prospect’s pain points as you did before, but it must also strongly suggest a meeting with the prospect as the main focus.
You want to ensure that the prospect stays as intrigued as possible, and that setting up a meeting with you is as easy as possible ie. with just the click of a mouse. If they do not respond after this first follow up, a set number of additional emails needs to be scheduled. If there is still no answer hereafter, a phone call is simply essential. However, the latter two scenarios are when a certain fear begins to creep in for many…
Why is there Fear around Following Up?
Following up with business prospects via email or, more commonly, via phone call, used to be common practice. Everything from following up, to confirming an appointment, to saying happy birthday was done through impromptu phone calls! But now that everything’s online, people are becoming increasingly more distant and therefore more reluctant to email or call without notice.
Essentially, following up seems “naggy” in the eyes of the younger workforce. The idea that they may have to push through any awkwardness or hostility is often too much for them to handle. There is a strong feeling of “I don’t want to bother them” or “if I call them unannounced I’ll irritate them”, which causes concern that if the prospect is annoyed by the call, it might spell disaster for any chance of closing a sale.
However, the opposite may be taking effect. Sometimes a follow up email, but especially a call, is the only way a sale can be made. This is because oftentimes people forget to respond or lose emails, and therefore may be very happy that you called or reminded them.
Even with all of this being said, we know that following up through any medium can still be challenging and intimidating as it is no longer common practice. But don’t worry, SSC can help!
The SSC Solution: Email Follow Ups
Luckily, when it comes to follow up emails, you can breathe a sigh of relief as SSC Digital can take that off of your hands!
We create the most eye-catching subject lines and most engaging email body text that you could ever imagine! We will take care of your initial outreach email, as well as every follow up email you could ever need. Everything from top-tier subject lines to meeting requests and calendar links will be included.
We will even handle the incoming responses! Once a prospect responds to an email, they will be handed over to our Email Responder Team who will either respond to them again, or will qualify them as a golden lead and will send them over to you.
Some SSC Advice: Phone Call Follow Ups
When the fear of following up hits that you may need to make a cold call, remember these two things:
- You aren’t alone, we have done all the groundwork already by promoting your product or service. All you need to do is seal the deal 💥
- Even though we can do 90% of the work for you, and a lead will often be at the front door as a result, you will need to make contact yourself eventually. You are the one they are buying from, and your company needs a voice and face 😊
Essentially, every interaction is better off with a “personal touch”. Yes it may seem scary, no one likes rejection, but the positives of calling will far outweigh the momentary sting of business rejection. As mentioned before, a prospect may be thrilled that you called, as they may have simply forgotten to respond to your prior emails or could have lost your contact information.
We tend to focus on “what if it’s bad?”, but try and think “what if it’s great?”. Some of the biggest sales you may make may also be sitting with an old-fashioned business tycoon who likes receiving phone calls! But regardless, even if you only get one sale out of 30 calls, it’s worth it.
Get personal
The most important thing is: be personal, but don’t take it personally. It’s just business, and the best part about a call is that you are on the other end of a phone, not right in front of them! The worst they can say is “no”, and rather take a no than regret missing out on a big sale.
Preparation is also the key to feeling more confident and at ease when calling. Familiarize yourself with all of the relevant information about the prospect and their company before you call, so that you don’t “ah and um” but rather radiate confidence. (In case you hadn’t heard, 90% of success is confidence!)
So, shake off the fear, prepare well, and you’ll be a sale-closing calling expert in no time! 🚀
SSC Digital: A Leading Lead Generation Company
Effective lead generation remains a core component for the success and viability of any B2B organization today. This multifaceted and complex aspect of your marketing strategy requires you to engage experts who can deliver results.
As a company that lives and breathes lead generation, SSC does not leave anything to chance or guesswork. We measure every component of our outreach from subject line to message content to the optimal time of day to approach your prospects.
With the data dictating our process from strategy to conversion and beyond, our SSC team will make sure your business starts this very important journey on a sound footing, guaranteeing a lead generation process that is effective, credible, authentic, and transparent.
From generating a higher ROI and reducing your cost per sale to developing your ideal customer profile (ICP) to driving conversions, SSC can make explosive growth your reality today. Get in touch now and let our dedicated team help your business explore the SSC service suite and so you can ensure that no lead goes unmet and no opportunity missed.
