Welcome back to Smart Leaders Sell! On this episode, our lovely host, Jessica Lorimer kicks off by talking about her dread when it comes to hearing her own voice, her obsession over her podcast statistics on Monday afternoon, and not having a name for her groupies…er… listeners. She also talks about Follow-Ups, and why they are so important to sales success.
Jess flashes back to her dating days and recalls that even though she wasn’t really stood up, she was an expert at ghosting other people. She explains that although she thought people hit a certain level of maturity after a while where they can be honest and say “No, you’re not for me.” She’s realized that it simply isn’t true in the sales world, and ghosting is alive and running rampant.
She draws attention to the reason why you need to follow up: people tend to give you a yes and then disappear in order to give themselves some breathing room because they’re on the fence. They don’t want to disappoint or upset us, so they tell us what we want to hear in order to please us. She sheds some light on reasons why this happens, and how to ensure you get a follow-up call in order to make the sale.
It should come as no surprise that Jess has a 3 part system for following up, and she shares it with us right here in this episode. The first thing you need to do is ensure you’re using a platform you can control, and that shows you if and when people have received and read your messages. Otherwise, if you’re anything like Jess, you’ll become anxious 10 hours after you hit send. The first message you send has to be super casual in order to confirm that you’re still on for the agreed upon date and time. If you didn’t set a date and time on the initial discovery call for a follow up: It’s time to run the three-step process.
She describes the first message of the three steps and gives the parts that it should be comprised of, as well as the casual tone it should set in order to give the recipient the comfort they need to either make the purchase or agree to a follow-up. If they don’t respond, the second email needs to be professional, even if a little less casual. She describes the email and the tone it should set, before giving us the details on email 3. Email 3 is the last straw, the one that detaches you and the prospect from the sales process, and although it may seem harsh, it ensures the disappearing act won’t happen and gives you a final chance to either get the sale or say a proper “so long”.
Jess also speaks out about setting and upholding boundaries, why they exist, and what responses they may inspire in others. She stresses that as long as you’re being courteous, someone’s response to you is not your fault, and says a lot more about them than it does about you. If someone is still following you on social media and is still engaging with you: they still like you, but maybe your products or services just aren’t right for them at the present moment. If they have removed you from social media and refuse to reply or contact you: that’s on them. Not you.
Oh! Before I completely forget: Jess has offered us a chance to join the wait list for her upcoming book, which will pretty much solve all of our sales issues:
http://jessicalorimer.com/book-waitlist
Quotes
“How do you follow up with someone when they’ve committed to something?”
“The person has given you what you want to hear, which is ultimately a yes, and then walked away”
“The easiest way to follow up, and guarantee the follow-up, is to get the commitment for the follow-up call”
“If they don’t respond to email 2, we’re pretty sure they’re going to be a no”
“If we ghost on them, we allow this behavior to continue”
“your boundaries are your boundaries. They are not there to upset people”
“When somebody shows you who really they are: you have to believe them”
More Jess:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/FabulousFemaleEntrepreneurs/
https://jessicalorimer.com/supersize-your-sales
https://jessicalorimer.com/list-building-legend
Disclaimer: Some of these links are for products and services offered by the podcast creator