Sales follow-up is an essential practice in any sales cycle.

Regardless of the type of product or service you sell, whether it is an SME or a large company, if you want to ensure sales, you must accompany the customer throughout the sales cycle. In this way, you will achieve loyalty and increase your income.

According to a recent study, 79% of a company's leads will never convert into sales because they were not nurtured. This means that not following up with customers correctly and effectively can lead you to lose almost 8 out of 10 sales opportunities. Can you imagine? During this fundamental process, it is key to understand that follow-up is synonymous with nurturing, not nagging, and for this you have to be very strategic.

The importance we give to our customers is key to the success of our business, and perhaps this sounds obvious, but in many cases, companies do not only work with customers who heard about the brand, bought and finished the process there. In this era of saturation of services and companies, it is more necessary than ever to know our active customers and our potential customers to make companies grow. We tell you everything you need to keep in mind to follow up with your customers.

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What is customer tracking?

Customer follow-up, also known as follow up, is the process of monitoring and analyzing the different stages within the sales process. Its main objective is to measure the success of current sales strategies, as well as to find areas for improvement.

Customer management and follow-up identifies exactly where the customer is in your sales funnel, so you know how to meet their needs. This allows you to answer all their concerns, maintain active contact and help them in their decision making process.

The central idea is not to lose sight of any potential customer and without falling into the error of harassing them, you must create a follow-up strategy designed for each step they take. It is really important to know every detail about our customers, every move our potential customers make and to know what their interest has been, this will be key to move to the next level.

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You can catalog them according to how it is easier for you or your company to interpret them, however, here is an example that can guide you:

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Low interest: Customer that you have contacted by any channel, either call, mail, chat, etc.. But did not show any interest in your product or service, this can commonly occur when a third party gives you their data, such as purchases or database downloads, very old contacts, or when there is no strategy behind the mail or advertising chain, etc.

Medium interest: This occurs when your customers leave you their data, it can be through a landing page, WhatsApp, they registered for an event or downloaded some material. In this case you have already gained an advantage, since it was the customer who contacted you directly.

High interest: They have already purchased your products or services at some point. This is where you can aim to build customer loyalty, that is, to make them choose your service again without hesitation, since they have already chosen it previously.

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What do you need to manage and track customers?

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Know your buyer persona

Knowing your buyer persona is knowing who your ideal customer is. This is important because it helps you find the best sales follow-up format according to the right consumer profile for your business. For example, you should know if the person is responsible for ordering gas, what their needs are, through what media they seek information, etc.

Communicate with the lead at the right time

Communicating at the right time means having a communication and marketing strategy adapted to the stage of the sales process in which your potential customer is. For example, a lead who registers to receive a benefit on his next gas load is different from a lead who has just filled out a form to receive your newsletter.

This is why the customer follow-up process cannot be the same for everyone, but personalized. The customer follow-up process with each customer is different, while one already knows what his problem is and is considering buying the service, he just needs an incentive, the other one is still discovering how your company can help him.

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What are the follow-up phases in customer service?

Effective customer follow-up consists of 3 phases: pre-sales, sales and post-sales.

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Phase 1 Presale

This is the first phase of customer follow-up, in pre-sales the key words are: planning and knowledge, you cannot contact a lead without knowing the reason. In this phase of customer service follow-up, it is necessary to investigate and have all the necessary information to know what are the problems and needs of the potential customer. This way, you will be able to know how your product or service will help them, and thus know what they are looking for in your service.

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Phase 2: Sale

The second phase of customer service follow-up is decisive in making the sale. Your team cannot leave the customer alone in the decision making stage, as this may cause the customer to lose interest, or go to a gas company where they feel more supported and informed during the purchase process. You should always be close as a company to know if there are doubts about the budget or any functionality of your service. At this stage of customer follow-up, you can make a call or send an email to offer them all the necessary information to make them feel confident.

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Phase 3: After-sales

It is necessary to know that the management and follow-up of customers does not end after the yes and their use of the service. Getting in touch a few days after delivering the service and providing the necessary customer service is a key factor for customers to choose you again. Also, this way your customers will be able to express if they are satisfied or if they have any other needs.

Performing an appropriate after-sales follow-up is one of the most important strategies to build customer loyalty. Not accompanying them dehumanizes the brand, and can make your customer choose to go to a company where they are followed up.

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Keys to follow up your potential customers

We all agree that in order to attract and keep customers, it is essential to build good relationships. In such a competitive market, companies cannot be satisfied with just generating profits from the sales of a good product or service; it is also necessary to manage the relationship with the customer.

This can only be achieved with exemplary work, being attentive, always trying to exceed their expectations and showing how valuable they are. To carry out a good relationship, it is advisable to follow some processes, let's see some of them:

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Get closer to customers

Find the most appropriate way to contact your potential customer, they are commonly approached through phone calls in which a date is set for a meeting to present the company. This call should not exceed 5 minutes and the idea is to captivate him in that time so that he confirms the date of the next meeting.

Another great way to approach customers is through targeted advertising. This way, if you know your audience, you can impact them directly.

You can also approach them via email, in which you must take into account the personalization of the message and a very striking subject so that they open it. Keep in mind that 60% of the purchase decision was already made before the first chat with the seller.

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Present your brand, product or service

Depending on your sector, you can create a presentation, a video or a document in which you explain why your company is different and why they should buy from you. Nowadays, the Internet provides us with endless tools to bring out our creativity and provide information in a very original way. It is advisable to have as a base the corporate information, details of your service and the prices of the same.

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Define contact times

Your contacts may not buy from you at the first call or email you send them and for this it is necessary to have a plan to know how often you will contact them again and how you will try to convince them each time. If you are making contact through emails, don't just send content from your company, you can send them invitations to events, gifts, special discounts, valuable content, etc.

This should also be part of a strategy, nothing should be left to chance, not even contact times, which can be the difference between a closed purchase or a customer's annoyance. According to a study, 44% of salespeople give up after making a call or sending a follow-up email. So, the premise is to have patience and continue working with consistency so that this follow-up ends in good results.

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Pay special attention to the service you provide

One of the key factors to achieve a good communication with your customers is to achieve a great back and forth. In this way, the same customers of your services are the ones who can give you the key to how it works and what you could improve.

For this, you also have to focus your attention on the quality of service you offer. Make sure your sales force maintains proper communication on all platforms where the product has a presence. Responding to incoming emails in a timely manner and interacting with them appropriately will create an important bond. For example, being available whenever they require it is a strategic and beneficial point for your company's results. Currently, this can be achieved with a chatbot, which can be available 24/7.

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Know what your customers think about your service

As we saw previously, seeking comments and measuring customer reactions is an opportunity you have to learn about the things they like or dislike about your business, it is a very relevant tool to gather information that will help you improve your offer. This type of feedback can be obtained through the comments sections in social networks, reinforcing the use of the suggestion box, or with the application of a satisfaction survey. And since you are attentive to the reactions that your customers have, take advantage of this to interact by communicating consistently and effectively.

Some practices you can do to improve communication are:

• Schedule phone calls
• Regular visits
• Share internet news through newsletters and social networks.
• Conducting a customer service survey after a contact with your company

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Uses customer relationship management methods.

The most effective way to keep track of your potential and current customers is through different tools, such as a CRM or Customer Relationship Management System. You should know that from the first interaction with your brand you can manage them in a simpler way and with functionality that will become your allies.

You will know the detail, the process with each one, in real time, with metrics and the possibility of automating tasks such as emails, activity reminders, etc. In short, you will have a 360° view of everything that happens with your customer.

As your business grows, so will your list of customers and, therefore, you will need to apply measurement tools that allow you to better manage the relationship with each one of them in order to build customer loyalty.

Through this method of customer tracking it is possible to collect and manage information, interact with potential customers, and even with those of the competition.

The use of these marketing tools will allow you:

• Measure the impact of marketing strategies implemented by the company.
• Identify and attract new customers
• Segment your customer portfolio in order to generate specific strategies for each one of them.
• Study the effect on customers of the type of offers or promotions you apply to your products.

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Uses marketing strategies

Having a good relationship with customers is essential to achieve the success of your company. It is a path that cannot be achieved from one day to the next, but it is necessary to work on it little by little, based on trust, respect and good service.

We have already seen it throughout this post, but it is important to reinforce the message: a good relationship with customers is fundamental to achieve your company's goals.

It is not only about generating revenue, but when a customer is not satisfied, it can negatively influence your growth. As we saw previously, it can result in the loss of one or more customers, in addition to losing the possibility of building customer loyalty. In the digital era you can not stop using marketing techniques that help you to know your customer better so you can persuade better and get that loyalty you are looking for.

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How can we apply marketing strategies in a positive way?

• Asking the right questions
• Generating meaningful messages
• Communicating constantly

When these techniques are applied, we obtain greater visibility, better recognition within the competitive market and, therefore, improved relationships. This also translates into the successful closing of new deals and business, as well as the achievement of objectives.

Keep in mind that when you have a solid portfolio of clients who are satisfied with your work and the results they have obtained, you are encouraging word-of-mouth referrals.

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Diversify your points of contact.

Sales require interaction with customers, statistically sales are closed on average in more than 7 follow-ups, and in Mexico the average salesperson does not go beyond 3 follow-ups.

One of the main ways to follow up with your customers has always been telephone calls. However, despite being the most effective way to generate a personal and direct contact, they are sometimes ignored by customers, as they find them somewhat uncomfortable if they receive them while they are busy.

Emails are an excellent tool to share all the information we consider relevant and timely, besides being a safe way to avoid interrupting your client in the middle of a meeting. On the other hand, they can also be passive, since not everyone is in the habit of checking their inbox constantly, and if they do, it is possible that they take a long time to answer or, failing that, they never do.

Which brings us to the most popular medium today: WhatsApp. Yes, it is the most popular way to contact a customer, however, just because it's the most popular doesn't mean it's the best. On the other hand, the more you diversify your customer service points, the better chance you have of following up with your customers.

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Indirect tracking

When you are a salesperson, one of your biggest disadvantages is that your customer knows your intentions. No matter if the product or service you offer meets their expectations, the customer does not trust you completely, and be aware that they are predisposed to say no to you. It is right here, where you should apply the "indirect follow-up", since through this technique, you will be able to sell without intervening "directly".

A clear example of how to execute this technique is marketing strategies, among which digital media undoubtedly stand out. Thanks to these, you have the possibility of sending targeted ads to specific and well segmented users, containing amazing comments about the product or service you sell. In this way, your customer will be convinced about the benefits you offer, without feeling pressured with the sales work.

It is important that these ads contain concise, direct and positive descriptions, in order to achieve the desired objective.

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The work does not end when the sale closes

Closing the sale doesn't mean reaching the finish line, it's okay to celebrate that achievement, as long as you don't forget that the work doesn't end there. Especially if your idea is to grow or if you provide a service such as gas, where the number makes the difference.

Following up with a customer after the sale is completed is the best way to ensure that their needs were met and to reduce the possibility of future dissatisfaction.

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