The art of follow up: after a letter has been sent
Salespeople often send letters of introduction or information about products and then follow up with a phone call that begins with the stupid question: "Did you get my letter?"
What are you thinking? The prospect will always say "no." Now what, sales genius? Going through the sales dance to send another letter or information package or explain what it was wastes the prospect's time and destroys your ability to create a credible message.
Try this instead:
"Mr. Johnson, I sent you a letter and some information on Monday about our revolutionary computer software and how it can be put to use by your accounting department to increase productivity and eliminate errors, but the information was not totally self-explanatory. If you would grant me a ten-minute opportunity to show you how it's working in businesses like yours, it could mean years of greater productivity and increased employee satisfaction."
"By the way, I have a five-minute failsafe point in the demonstration. If you have no interest at the five-minute mark, you ring a gong and I get up and walk out, no questions asked. If you elect to continue, I reward you with the latest edition of "Taming the Paper Tiger," a book about office organization and personal productivity, as my gift to you for taking the time to listen. When is your best time of day to have ten uninterrupted minutes?"
This strategy of calling after letters and information have been sent will work if you key in on the operative phrase "the information I sent you was not totally self-explanatory." This gives you the opportunity to ask for time to explain.
The letter and mailing will also play a part in building the prospect's "interest." Be sure your letter is brief and asks a few hard questions like: "If it took your accounting department 20% longer to process invoices than necessary how would you know it?" or "How much does one accounting error cost your company? How many did you make yesterday?" Be sure any information you send cites similar situations and testimonials. One word of praise from a satisfied customer is worth a thousand words of product description.
You can also play off the letter and ask the prospect in the follow-up call "I was calling to see how you were able to answer the questions?" This immediately engages the prospect, and if they never got the letter, it gives you implied permission to ask the questions. You still win.
Here are the rules of follow-up after a letter or info pack:
Never ask if they got it. Assume they got it. Or better, arrange through an administrative person to have it put on the decision-maker's office chair.
Have a great question to start the conversation never start talking about your company. This may hurt your feelings, but the reality is the prospect doesn't care about your company. The key to gaining interest is to ask a thought-provoking question about his business that makes him answer in terms of your business.
Use similar situations, not facts and figures.
Don't pin your hopes on the fact that your product or service "saves money." Everyone makes that claim. Prospects don't listen to that claim. The cry of "Saving Money" is similar to that of an automobile alarm it goes off so often that no one pays attention. Think about the last time you heard a car alarm go off. Did you drop what you were doing and call the police? No, you just ignored it as "false." Money-saving claims are similarly ignored.
Be sincere, friendly and relaxed. If you have a script, rehearse it until it sounds natural. Think of the prospect as your best friend. Speak to him in the same manner.
Inject humor as often as possible. If you're asking for the appointment and the prospect says, "How much does this cost?" you say, "Oh, I don't charge to make a sales call." Make me laugh and you can make me buy!
Pre-identify objections and script answers. Since there are no new objections, it seems silly to be unprepared when one occurs.
Before you call, know your objective (appointment, interview, trial use, sale) and keep that in focus no matter what. Don't hang up without making some sort of sale, even if it's just another callback at a more convenient time.
My observation is that the more creative you are in your approach, the easier it is to get the appointment and make the sale. Creative letters, packages, methods of delivery, and phone connections are the key to getting in the door. How creative are you?
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of "The Sales Bible," and "Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless." President of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts training programs on selling and customer service. Inquiries should be faxed to the WBJ at (48-22) 646-0576 or e-mailed to salesman@gitomer.com
