A carefully considered follow-up timeline could mean the difference between signing a new client and watching them drift away into the “almost” file.
Following up with sales prospects is a critical part of the sales process. It allows you to stay in contact with potential customers and build relationships that could lead to future business. First, however, it’s essential to understand when and how often you should follow up to maximize your chances of success. In other words, you need a follow-up timeline!
While there are no hard and fast rules regarding a follow-up timeline, there are some best practices for following up with a sales prospect, including timing, frequency, and handwritten notes.
How to plan a follow-up timeline that you can count on
The 2 Laws of Following-Up
There are two follow-up rules every insurance salesperson should follow. No matter what, you can rely on them.
- Follow Up As Soon as Possible You should follow up within 24 hours of your initial contact, ideally sooner. There is no better time to follow up with a prospect than the present. If you received your lead’s information or missed their phone call, do your best to call them back immediately. You have the most success connecting with them if you act quickly.
- Keep Following Up Until They Tell You to Stop This rule may sound a little weird, but you need to keep following up until your lead or prospect tells you they want to buy your insurance or they don’t. This does not mean sending them 50 emails a day or calling them every hour. If you don’t receive any response, then you keep them on your follow-up list.
Why should you follow up with a prospect until they answer your call or email?
- It shows you are serious about doing business and committed to following up.
- It also allows them to provide feedback or ask any questions they may have about your product or services.
- Continuous follow-up also conveys the message that you value their time and are willing to take the initiative in establishing contact.
By taking these steps, you can create a positive impression of yourself and your company, making prospects more likely to engage in further conversations with you.
Find the Right Balance
Regarding a follow-up timeline, it’s essential to balance being too aggressive and not following up enough. In addition, your timeline should consider the type of insurance you are selling and how complex the sales process is.
Change Your Follow-Up Method
When following up with sales prospects, a salesperson can reach out to them in many different ways. Depending on the situation, specific approaches may be more effective than others. For example, email is a great way to quickly contact prospects and share important information in an easy-to-digest format.
Harness the Power of Your CRM to Make Following Up Easier
Creating a follow-up email sequence in a CRM is an effective way to keep track of sales prospects and maintain contact with them throughout the sales process. By setting up a series of automated emails that are triggered based on specific criteria, such as when a prospect opens an email or visits certain pages on your website, you can ensure that your follow-ups are timely and relevant. Additionally, setting up your sequence in advance allows you to customize and personalize each message according to the recipient. This will help you create a more engaging experience for the prospect and increase their chances of responding positively to your outreach efforts. Finally, using a CRM also makes it easier to measure the effectiveness of your follow-up emails by tracking open rates and click-throughs so that you can adjust your strategy accordingly.
Be Different, Create a Personalized Video
Stand out from the crowd and increase the chances of your follow-up being successful by creating a personalized video with your cellphone. Personalized videos can range from a simple message saying hello, to reviewing topics from your last communication.
These videos can also be used to provide more detailed information about your product or service, offer helpful advice and insight on how it can help the prospect achieve their goals, or even provide an introduction to key team members. Additionally, personalized videos are much more engaging than traditional emails because they allow prospects to put a face with a name and explore what you have to say in greater depth. This makes it easier for prospects to remember you and stay connected with you during the sales process.
Finally, creating personalized videos also helps build trust between yourself and the prospect. Taking the time to create something unique and personal for them shows that you value their time and are willing to go the extra mile to follow up. Through this approach, you demonstrate that you’re not just another salesperson trying to make a sale but someone who genuinely cares about helping them succeed.
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