We all have situations that demand it, and we all know the perils of not doing it.  Regardless, many sales professionals are still not adept, or consistent with their follow-up.  This is not a long topic, but it is an important one. Many professionals, sales and otherwise, do not do proper follow-up after a sales call.  This is true of a prospecting follow-up, sales call follow-up, presentation follow-up, or any other type. After doing the hard work of prospecting, a sales professional will then risk negating that work by not doing timely and well thought out follow-up. Proper follow-up is the capstone of all of your labors.

Two Examples of Proper Usage

Follow-up, when done properly, can create the necessary evidence of professionalism.  Remember, if you don’t follow-up, the professional that consistently communicates like this will stand out.

Following an initial visit

This one requires a quick, almost instant response to the buyer.  I would say that you should do it within two days or less.  This is your chance to say how much you appreciated the buyer’s time as well as the opportunity to work with him or her.  I would keep it short and sensible. If during the visit you came away with a listing of “to do” items, or some other things to check on, don’t hold the correspondence until you get them done.  They can be fodder for another note.  The key is to let the customer know that you are looking forward to providing solutions.  Here is some simple wording: “Mr. Buyer, I appreciate the time you have taken to show me your operation and explain your (packaging, telecommunications, insurance, transportation, etc) needs to me.  I look forward to our meeting as we agreed on Monday, September 1st to share the proposal with you.  If you have any questions or concerns prior to that, please contact me. Sincerely, Sales Professional” Remember why you are composing this note.  You want to make sure that he recognizes that you appreciate his or her time.  You also want to make sure that you reinforce the proposal date, and that if there are any changes or concerns that he or she touches base with you. You could put together an epic memo, yet the idea is to make sure that you reinforce the meeting and your appreciation.

Following the Proposal

This one is very important.  If a buyer is getting four proposals, then there are four different sales professionals, attempting to make their mark with him.  They may even be getting more than four proposals and then your initial call may be less memorable. Your goal is to have the customer to remember the importance of working with a true sales professional (you), along with some of the most important features and benefits of your product and your company.  Here is your chance to list the most important points succinctly so that they can be remembered. Here is an example: “Mr. Buyer, thanks for the opportunity to show you what ABC Company can do for your organization. We are prepared to begin supplying your 14 Eastern State division with cartons if we are selected, and will begin the process of quoting your Southern division with the information you supplied to us. Please keep these important points in mind:

• We are a nation-wide organization – able to supply all 5 divisions, coast-to-coast.
• Our “Flex” Pricing Program will deliver the lowest costs overall for cartons regardless of the volume in any particular division
• Our just-in-time delivery will save you 6% in inventory costs

I look forward to working with you, and I will use my 18 years of packaging experience to keep your packaging program “state of the art.”  Do not hesitate to call if there are questions regarding our proposal. Sincerely, Sales Professional” Notice here supporting the features with some bullets just to reinforce your sales points and getting a final shot in about yourself.

Degrees of Formality

Effective letter writing is essentially a lost art out there, but there are times when you should consider it.  If you make an election to write someone an email follow-up note, follow the same rules that a letter would follow:

• Keep it short and to the point
• Know and respect your level of familiarity with the customer/buyer
• Always be professional

If you are awarded the business, which is the “grand prize” then I think you proceed to use the fine stationary or card to send a personal note of appreciation.  You might want to take a look at Black Sales Journal 2/3 Make Yourself Memorable to explore this.  It carries a significant amount of power and effectiveness. The follow-up letter is a useful tool to keep close during the sales process.  Don’t let someone forget you, and don’t be overshadowed in the sales process.

Your comments are always welcome.

In light of racial perceptions and racial preference, it is not uncommon to have to  pass muster like this.  Although it is wrong that an individual would have to clear a hurdle on the basis of the color of their skin, gender, religious affiliation, age, or sexual orientation, it does happen.

However, you can win in this situation, and the facts below illustrate that.  Those Black sales professionals who have faced this know that they experience a  personal victory when they are successful and recognize the covenant we all share to be the best, thus slowly but surely changing perceptions.

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If you are a Black sales professional it is no secret that closing a sale is a calculated action; part of a process that we call the professional sales call.  There is no doubt that if you are in this group you will need to have a strong sense of when to close and the technique to close both sales.

Closing on Two Fronts

The close has to come on two separate fronts.

• My company/product is the best for you and is an acceptable price to create the value and utility that your organization needs
• Although potentially different because of my pigmentation, I am the best choice of sales professional to handle the needs of your organization now and in the future.

There will be those that may disagree that this happens.  Don’t be naïve, as it is common.  Note the examples below:

• A young sales person has to make the sale that they are a viable option by showing that they can provide the knowledge and have access to the wisdom and experience which when coupled with the energy of youth can be the best option.  This is right and natural.
• Several years ago women wrongly were forced to close the credibility sale by showing that they were able to prove personal credibility and dependability.  This was fundamentally wrong, and still is.

When I was a young sales professional, I found out that I had at least two items against me.  At a time when there were a much smaller number of sales professionals who were black, I was Black, and was a mere 22 years old.

I was selling in a commercial market (B2B) where there were few Blacks were experienced, and knowledge and experience were to be touted as an advantage.  I quickly learned that you had to find compensators for these “disadvantages” while at the same time I needed to keep doing the fundamental activities that give you a chance.

Learning how to close the sale and the personal/professional sales was one of those activities.

Closing the Product/Service Sale

Knowing how to close the product sale can be scientific, yet still is an art.  Recognition that the close is not always designed to get an order but can systematically be used to determine what objections are out there is important.

There are numerous books out there on closing and having read some, they all have something to add on closing techniques and styles as well as when to close.  I am not going to cover them here, yet will in a future post suggest some books and blogs on closing that you might want to consider.

The main purpose of this post is to discuss the sale that you must make even if your product/service is the best one out there.

Closing the Personal/Professional Sale

This sale is less defined.  Much of this sale is actually done as a prequalification. This is a set of activities that you undertake from the beginning of the relationship.  This set of activities is different for each customer/prospect, as each one comes with a different set of perceptions and preferences.

It is during this calculated process that you get a customer/prospect comfortable, confident, and willing to do business with you.  Is this different than with any other sales professional?  They answer is probably yes.  It is different because in many cases you are altering perceptions, and attempting to change preferences.  A big order, yet something that can be accomplished.

Female Black sales professionals who sell know this more than any other segment.  It is better than it used to be, yet still difficult.  They are challenged to hurdles.

Here are some of the items that you are trying to sell in the Personal Sale:

• Professionalism
• Responsiveness
• Credibility
• Expertise/Specialty
• Personal Accomplishment
• Effectiveness
• Vision

Your customer/prospect will recognize that if you have these traits and one more, the customer’s organizations interest in mind, you have everything you need to have value for his/her organization.

Many of the items above are linked to the Black Sales Journal Article that defines them in depth.  Please take a look at them to get a fairly in depth look what these attributes entail.

Make It Work!

Now back to the issue of prequalification. This is the process of gaining the necessary credibility to make the personal sale.  It is giving the necessary information to the client in “bite sized” portions so that it can be digested and absorbed.

You will prequalify by activities such as sending your customer/prospect your newsletter regarding his businesses industry, referring him to your customers who are next door (who he knows) to get an idea of your expertise, and share with him your ideas about how companies with your profile can get benefit in the future from you product/service.

In Summary

You can correctly position a sale of a product and prepare a close, yet if you are wise, you will realize that perceptions and preferences can be overcome, yet not in a one hour meeting. Prequalifying can have success by getting agreement and clarifcation on many of the issues that would be in question at the final sales call.

These items include providing references to give confidence (professionalism, responsiveness, expertise, etc.), making suggestions for changes and visions of the future (vision, expertise, effectiveness, etc.), and developing the deep relationship that lets all of this gel together.

Don’t miss the opportunity to feed it slowly to your customer early on.  If you give references, suggestions, and expertise information all at the end, when you present your proposal, you have missed an opportunity.  It is too late.

Close both sales and get the order.  Good selling.

Your comments are welcome.