I used to tell my staff to “follow up with a prospect the next day” after giving a quote. And honestly, I thought that was sufficient. I really didn’t think it could be interpreted any other way. But I was totally wrong.
See, my staff instead created their own personal internal system for deciding who they would follow up with. If they thought the person was interested, they would call. If they thought the price was too high then they didn’t bother. Sometimes they sent an email and sometimes they made a phone call. Some got more follow up than others. Some got none at all.
The mistake I made was that I gave way too much freedom in “how things were done” in the agency. So one day, I realized that this was all happening and it was time to create a system that applied to EVERYONE.
John (my husband) is awesome at sales. He used to sell an insane amount of internet leads (yes, the internet leads that no one thinks can be sold.) It just comes naturally to him and so I watched what he did and then implemented it for our entire staff. He followed up with every single prospect over and over and over again until they either bought or told him to quit calling. He didn’t take it personally or try to decide for them. There was a systematic approach.
As we talk about creating a “Mega Agency” without spending a lot of money, there are several things that have to be accomplished. You’ve got to:
- Get More Quotes
- Close A Higher Percentage Of Those Quotes
- Retain Them As Long As Possible
So, your follow up system is essential in raising your close ratio. And if you haven’t created a very specific follow up system for your staff (or even for yourself), then odds are that everyone is doing it a little different.
Today, go ahead and write down a short process. You can always tweak it later if it doesn’t flow. What happens AFTER the quote if they haven’t purchased? Do you email the quote or put it in the mail? When do you call? What do you say? (I suggest calling daily with an email follow up every 2 days.) Print your process, test it out, change as needed.
Don’t make my mistake and just tell your staff to “follow up” or you’ll leave a lot of money on the table!
