Follow Up Is the Sales Superstar's Best Weapon Sales is a little bit about your product and a great deal about your finesse dealing with people.
By Grant Cardone Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The definition of "quit" is to stop, cease or discontinue; to give up or resign, to relinquish, or to acknowledge defeat. People quit jobs long before they officially quit. Sales people also quit. They quit a prospect when they no longer follow-up. To be a winner, you can't be a quitter. The moment you quit following up is the moment you surrender the sale with that person. Here are three great sales strategies to close that sale.
1. The personal visit.
This is the most powerful form of follow up, but also the most expensive. Salesforce did a study that said field sales cost $276 per visit, while a phone contact is much less. It's expensive in money and time to go somewhere. It takes resources, and it takes you off the phone. How many phone calls can you make versus visits? A lot.
Selling is a numbers game. You can sell more on the phone but the personal visit -- getting face-to-face -- remains powerful. It's the most underutilized form of follow up, and I think it's because of technology that nobody is doing the personal visit. It's expensive, it takes time...but it works. Try visiting your client in person to get that sale.
Related: Why Face-to-Face Communication Won't Disappear (Infographic)
2. Handwritten letter.
Has anybody sent you handwritten mail this year? I'm not talking about the Christmas card. That's not follow up. Everybody sends those, so it doesn't stand out anyway. When I get 200 Christmas cards, do you really think that I open them? Someone else opened them, put them up on the little table and took them down after New Year. Holiday cards are not follow up. A hand written note, that's follow up. Everyone has abandoned it.
I was on the Neil Cavuto Show on Fox News twice, and both times he sent me a handwritten note telling me thanks for stirring things up and that he appreciated my views. It made me feel good. It could be on a legal pad, a little sheet of paper or on a card. Add your cell number to them. You need their physical address, you need to keep it short, but it is powerful folks. Send some snail mail today.
Related: The Business Benefits of the Handwritten Letter
Related Video: 4 Ways to Increase Sales with Video
3. Gifts
Look at any gifts as an investment in a client. A little gift goes a long way. People want money from a client but can't spend a little money on the client. You call the client cheap because he won't invest any money but you won't invest any money in him.
I see a lot of people making mistakes on this when you start doing little gifts. The salesperson buys the nice bottle of wine and I think, why would you send a gift from another company? It almost feels like an obligation then.
You don't want people to be wondering why you bought them something. If you get an expensive bottle of wine, then you start feeling guilty, like you have to do something with the person. You don't want to produce feelings of obligation because it will cause resentment. You want to move your brand and ideas into the customer. I do gifts with my brand, and you have to figure out what your brand is. On holidays or anniversaries, instead of giving them something unassociated with your business, give them a product or service that you do.
Related: Avoid These 4 Business Gift-Giving Faux Pas
I hope these three ideas will help you today get that sale you've been after. Keep following up, and don't quit. For much more on sales, get yourself a ticket to 10XGrowthCon 2018 being held at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. This will be a three-day event no entrepreneur should miss.
