How to Follow Up a Sales Lead Like a Pro

  • 6 min read
  • June 21, 2024
How to Follow Up a Sales Lead Like a Pro

Having the knowledge and confidence to follow up with clients and business prospects is a key skill every business owner and their team should have. Lots of your prospective customers won’t buy instantly from you, your website or social media channels, or a pitch or sales email. Even if it’s the best pitch in the world, it still might not quite push them over the edge. Often, a prospective client will simply enquire with you first. 

According to The Brevet Group, 30-50% of sales go to the businesses that respond to an enquiry first!  So, it’s clear; effectively following up with a sales lead increases your chances of converting them tenfold.

But, how does one follow up? In this article, KIJO explains exactly what a follow up is and how to perfect following up a sales lead.

What is a Follow Up?

A follow up is an email, call, message or text you make after an initial website enquiry or client email. The follow up acts as encouragement for the potential client to take action and convert them into an actual customer.

How to Follow Up with a Customer Website Enquiry

Here are the steps to take when following up with a direct customer enquiry via your website.

The First Follow Up

The First Follow Up: An example of the client onboarding email that KIJO sends out to clients

Firstly, Respond in a Timely Fashion

Remember that statistic we shared earlier from The Brevet Group? Your prospective client may have enquired with you as well as your competitors. So, stand out from the crowd and make sure you get back to them in a timely manner.

Thank Them

Saying “thank you” makes your prospective client feel appreciated and thus encourages a sale. The same goes for when they make a sale as this can mean they’re more likely to come back. Thanking them for their interest helps ensure there’s a solid and positive first foot forward in your conversation.

Make It Personal

Make sure to address the email follow up personally (and check their name is spelt correctly!) Whilst it can be a good idea to have a reply template for efficiency, always make sure the actual reply you send has been personalised in some way.

Provide Information and Answer Their Questions

Make sure in your follow up that you answer all of the questions they’ve asked. You should also add any additional, important and relevant information. Be thorough, but as clear and concise as possible – you don’t want to overwhelm them. Inform them of any specific service features related to their enquiry too.

Explain Next Steps Clearly

If there are next steps other than replying to you that they can take, explain what these are clearly. For example, if you’d like them to book a meeting with you so they can learn more about your service offering, send them something like a Calendly link to encourage them to do so. We use this application here at KIJO and think it’s great!

Invite Them to Reply to You

If you simply want them to reply to you, close your follow up with an invitation to respond. You could say “I look forward to hearing back from you” or something similar.

KIJO Pro Tip: It goes without saying, but check all the information you’ve provided is correct and that the email’s spelling and grammar is all in check before you press send.

Further Follow Ups

Further follow ups: An example of KIJO's content marketing we might share directly with clients during a secondary follow up

Ask Them If You Can Help

If your prospective client doesn’t respond to the first follow up, try again and offer them further help and tips on how to get going with your service or product. You can also offer them the chance to ask more questions, further support and advice.

Upsell

Offer them an alternative product or service that may be more suited to their needs or be more useful to them. However, only do this if the upsell would be of genuine benefit.

Share Relevant Content Marketing

Does your business host a blog or write articles? If your client has expressed interest in your product or service, share articles or blogs with them that will help them understand it and use it.

Be Purposeful

Try not to send just one-line follow ups that have no goal or meaning, and are simply “checking in.” This can be annoying for your busier clientele and may be perceived badly – particularly if they already have a clogged inbox! Keep it personal, keep it purposeful.

KIJO Pro Tip: You can automatically trigger messages to send to customers at certain moments in their user journey on your website. This might be if they leave their basket full (i.e. “Did you forget something?”). Or, if they spent a certain amount of time viewing a product (i.e. “Caught you looking!”) Talk to your web development team about this.

Scheduling, Tracking & Backing Off

Scheduling, Tracking & Backing Off: A screenshot from project management system Asana which helps us here at KIJO schedule and track correspondence with our clients

Create a Follow Up Schedule & Track Your Correspondence

After your first follow up, create a follow up schedule. This way you’ll know you’re spacing out your communications and not overloading your prospective client. Make sure you track your communications too. You can do this with a CRM (customer relationship management system) if you have one, or by simply using Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.

Don’t have a CRM integrated to your website? Talk to the KIJO web development team today and streamline your follow up tasks!

Learn When To Cease Following Up

According to The Brevet Group, 80% sales require 5 follow ups after a first meeting or enquiry. However, it’s good to be switched on and notice when a lead isn’t looking fruitful. If you’re unsure of their means, they don’t seem motivated, or aren’t an authorised decision maker, it may be worth stepping back after several purposeful attempts.

Following Up Professionally

Following up professionally can transform how your business grows and converts leads. It doesn’t have to be a daunting task, particularly when using a CRM though. 

If you’d like to learn more about following up efficiently as well as professionally, why not talk to our web development team? They can integrate a CRM system for you that will make tracking client communications and follow ups a seamless, straightforward process!

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