Rocket Fuel - Following up on quotes
This week, I've been mostly talking to a couple of customers about following up quotes and why this is important. These conversations came about as I've been doing some sales process reviews. As part of this, I always ask to see a client's quote logs, to see how many active quotes they currently have, how many are outstanding and why they're outstanding.
This week, I've been mostly talking to a couple of customers about following up quotes and why this is important.
These conversations came about as I've been doing some sales process reviews. As part of this, I always ask to see a client's quote logs, to see how many active quotes they currently have, how many are outstanding and why they're outstanding.
It came to pass that both of these clients had sent out quotes but hadn't actually followed them up. Their response was "well surely if the customer was actually interested they would come back to us?"
You would hope so, wouldn't you?
But that doesn't really happen in the real world, so what we need to do is to ensure that we're following up with the customer.
It shows that we're interested in them, that we want their business, and from our point of view, it really helps to control the sales process and ensure that we're really on top of what the customer's thoughts are.
If they don't like the quote and you're following it up, then you have an opportunity to change things, to add things or to tailor things for the customer so they get exactly what they want.
So, here's a process that I have suggested they put into practice: once you've sent a quote out, follow it up within 24 hours.
I always do this to make sure that the potential customer has actually received the quote. People don't always receive emails - you could end up in their spam folder or junk boxes, and they may assume that you've not actually sent a quote through!
So do give them a call and do check that they've actually received the quote.
Don't be worried that you may be pressurising them - you're not phoning to find out what they thought of the quote, you're just checking that they've got it.
Now, invariably if they've had a chance to look at the quote then they might have some questions (happy days!), but if they haven't then don't worry! Just say to the customer "not a problem! When can I give you a call to follow this up?"
This way you can set the pace at which the follow-ups happen, you're not embarrassed and hassling the client; the client is permitting you to contact them, and you're still in control of the sales process.
Go and check all of your outstanding quotes and make sure you're on top of them.
See you next week!
