16.1 What is Generally Included in the Following Up Procedure?

Once you have sealed the deal and managed to successfully make the sale, there is often a point where you need to be involved in following up with the client.

This is important because you want to know that everything you promised in the actual sales pitch has become a reality. This builds trust with the client. With the following up procedure, there are several points that need to be covered to make sure you are indeed delivering on what you promised and that everything connected to the sale has gone as smoothly as it should.

You must remember that it is important for you get to grips with this part of the sales process as it can undoubtedly open up the door to future sales as well as further enhancing your own reputation in the process.

Now, the exact way in which this is done will be something that varies according to the industry you are working in as well as what you are delivering. However, we can still look at some common steps you are able to take, no matter the industry, which will help to really begin to develop that all-important relationship with your new client.

First, after the price has been agreed, it is important that you take the client through what they have agreed and what they are getting for their money. This is providing them with some clarification as well as giving you the opportunity to check that you have indeed noted the correct points and you are both on the same page. As a result, you can avoid making any mistakes at the very beginning.

When you are running over the different aspects of the sale, it is also important that you follow up by describing to the client the different payment options they have agreed to as well as the delivery times of either the product or the service. This, once again, lets you just double-check every aspect of the sale and is something which will mean the rest of the service is going to run smoothly.

As part of this following up procedure, you should always provide the client with a quick and easy way to get in touch with you simply because you want them to feel that there is a real relationship between the two of you and you are not just dropping them because they have agreed to spend money. This will now tend to be your email as well as your mobile phone number.

Furthermore, when you get back to your office, it is advisable to follow up the sale by sending out a personalised email to the client confirming the various details in writing in order to open up that particular form of communication.Never use a template for this email as that can sour the relationship if the client feels you are just treating them like everybody else as we all like to feel like an individual rather than just another number.

Finally, you should maintain contact with them throughout the process to make sure things have been delivered to them on time, they have received what they paid for, and that they are happy with what they got for their money. If not, then it does also provide you with the opportunity to address their concerns and problems before they can get out of hand and this in itself can also help to paint you in a better light because of the way in which you have handled the situation.

In other words, the following up part of the entire process is directly linked to the way in which you keep contact with the client after the initial sale, along with using that time to confirm all of the details whilst making sure they get what they paid for.This is an easy part of the entire process, so there is no reason for you to neglect it, especially because of the simple fact that it can easily open up the door to work or sales further down the line.

16.2 Why Aftercare is so Important and what to do

Next, we must look at why aftercare really is so important and the answer to that is simple, it builds that all-important thing called trust.You must remember that the client partly bought from you because they trust you and what you said to them during the sales pitch. They bought it because they accepted what you said in good faith and this tied in perfectly with their own particular needs or wants.

As we noted above, there is a real need for you to take care of your client and this is not something that should be done just out of the kindness of your own heart as there are very good business reasons for you to do this. Indeed, one of the most important things about the aftercare aspect of the relationship is the way in which it can eventually lead to further business and more sales with the individual, although we will cover that later on in the module.

However, this is only possible when you are able to do certain things as part of the aftercare package and how you deliver that is also extremely important and something we do need to look at in some detail. The first thing you should never do is to simply ignore the client or customer once you think that everything is finished with them.

Indeed, the problem a number of salespeople have is they mistakenly believe that if they complete the sale, their job is done and anything else becomes the responsibility of other people in the company. This is not true because even if you are not the individual who delivers products or services, you are still the first person they encountered from the company and, therefore, it is with you that there is a bond. As a result, it is your direct responsibility to that client when it comes to the aftercare.

It is also true that being good when it comes to the aftercare is also going to lead to you building a better reputation for yourself, as the after sales methods you employ can have a direct impact on the way in which you are perceived by others.People do not want to be abandoned and indeed a number of people will only seek out those companies that have the reputation for not doing this in the first place.

Now, if you are able to position yourself correctly, then you can begin to understand how it is going to have a profound effect on your business.You must always remember your position in this entire sales process to see how you have to invest almost as much time in the aftercare aspect as you did with the initial sale. Now, you may wonder why on earth you would do this, but if you are thinking along those lines, then you need to readjust your ideas as to what is involved in sales.

A good salesperson is always looking at the next deal and formulating a relationship with existing clients because of what they can deliver in the future.However, the problem with this is that a number of salespeople are unaware of how to form a basic relationship with their clients, which is what we will look at next.

FACT

Satisfying and retaining current customers is anywhere from 3 to 10 times less costly than acquiring new customers.

Source: salesforcetraining.com

16.3 How you can Develop the Perfect Relationship

So now that you better understand the need for the aftercare and following up of a sale, how do you go about developing that perfect working relationship?

There are tried and tested methods which will allow you to develop this relationship and there is no doubt that it can have a profound effect on your abilities as a salesperson. However, it is impossible for us to cover every single aspect, so we will provide you with general tips and advice that can be put into action immediately.

You must remember that a relationship can take time to build simply because it does involve creating a sense of trust and this is not something that just happens overnight.

However, your actions during and immediately after the initial sale is going to give you some kind of indication as to the amount of work that has to be put into the development of the relationship. In addition, it is important for us to mention that you can also begin to really build on the relationship even during the initial sales process as long as you have your eyes set on the long term. 

One key thing you can do is to consider giving them some advice on a potentially cheaper product or service which is still able to meet their needs or deal with their want even if it means you are cutting the money you can make. The reason why you may want to consider doing this is because it means they are more likely to want to accept your advice as it starts that process of building trust and you will often find that they are going to be more likely to want to spend more money with you in the future.

Another key aspect of building the relationship is to ask for their honest feedback on every part of the sales process and not just when the product or service has been delivered. Asking for feedback means you are showing a willingness to listen to what they have to say and to take their comments on board and customers love to feel they are being listened to. This also shows them in this relationship that you are not saying you know it all and there is scope for potential improvement. 

Depending on the situation, it may also be a good idea for you to consider sending the client a small gift, although this does depend on how much money they have spent on the product or service as to whether or not it will be worthwhile for you to do this. We are not talking about something elaborate as a gift, but it can be a token gesture which is able to make a real difference to how people feel about this kind of working relationship with you.

In addition, to help develop the relationship, you need to make sure you let them know that you will actually inform them of any future changes to the services or products as well as changes to the company which may be of interest to them. In other words, this is actually in reference to you just keeping the client in the loop of what is going on because this is also something that will be appreciated by them as it, once again, means you have not just left them alone after getting the money.

Furthermore, if you have been able to successfully build a good relationship with your client, then it makes it easier for you to perhaps schedule a meeting at some point in the future, which could allow you to discuss the possibility of some future business between the two of you. This is certainly something that can be described as being of mutual benefit to both parties, although the clever salespeople will get a sense as to how long there should be between finishing the last deal and then setting up this follow up meeting.

Overall, the aim of creating a strong working relationship with the client is so you can work your way into a position whereby they almost automatically come to you when they are dealing with certain things connected to either the products or services you offer.Being the first port of call is going to put you in the driving position and it also means that you will not have to waste time trying to sell to them in the future since you have already done the difficult preparation work.

16.4 Key Points on how to Potentially Develop Further Business

So, if we keep all of these different points in mind, how can you then turn this around and generate further business? Well, of course, this will depend on your own abilities as a salesperson to develop that relationship in the first place, but through some simple to follow steps it is actually quite easy to open the door to future and further business with your existing client base.

For example, have you ever heard of the phrase 'out of sight, out of mind'? Well, that is certainly true when it comes to sales, especially when there is a considerable amount of competition out there for you to battle against. In other words, you need to make sure that you remain prominent in the mind of your clients by keeping in touch with them every now and again, but just remember to not overdo it because this can actually turn them against you due to the potential annoyance factor.

Another key point is just to do your job well. It makes sense that if you deliver on what you promise, and do so on time and without any hiccups, then of course people are going to consider using your services or buying your products in the future. However, if something does indeed go wrong, then it can often be the case that it is the way in which you rectify the mistake that can secure any potential future deals.

You must remember that people will generally accept that things can and do go wrong, but how you deal with it is the key.If they see that you do not ignore it and instead take action, then unless it is a catastrophic error, they will be likely to forgive and forget and still use you in the future.

This leads us on to another important point, the role of honesty. There is no point in you being anything other than honest when working in sales because that is the only way in which you will be able to hopefully secure future business with the same clients. They want to know that you can be trusted in every conceivable way and if you give them any cause to not do that, then you are only making life harder for yourself.

Think of it this way, would you use a salesperson or company again in the future if you were aware that they had been less than honest in their approach? Absolutely not, so why would you expect somebody else to be any different?

You can actually summarise the key points for securing, or hoping to secure, future business in the following way.

1 .Always deliver on your promises and do your job to the absolute best of your ability from the outset.

2 .Always be honest in everything you do and never make promises you know you cannot keep If something goes wrong, tell them about it and explain what went wrong as this can go a long way to rectifying things.

3 .Make sure you stay in their thoughts at all times, although do be aware that this does not mean you pester them with emails or calls.

4. If they give hints that they are looking to spend more money with you, then act upon it immediately and give them quality treatment as that is going to make them feel more special.

5. If you look after your current client base, then you will be able to build a reasonable amount of recurring income to a certain extent simply because of the level of respect you will get for yourself as a direct result of your actions.

Be honest in what you can do and what you can deliver because that is the only way you can build trust and if you do not have trust, then nobody is going to want to buy from you in the future.