Nonetheless, it is a good outcome!
One thing we’ve realized is that it’s never enough to just focus on social media marketing – more so, with zilch budget – to get sales. Sure, we’ve blasted the Diamond posters on WhatsApp, Messenger and Facebook – but they’re more to create awareness at best.
Thus far, the pre-orders have mostly come through prospecting, which consists of identifying potential customers (prospects). After all, the goal of prospecting is to develop a database of likely customers and then systematically communicate with them in the hopes of converting them from potential customer to current customer.
Still, we cannot deny that prospecting is definitely not a walk in the park. The inherent challenge of prospecting is not knowing how a lead will respond to an often overtly forward inquiry about their interest in a sale. This relatively direct process can sometimes be uncomfortable for salespeople and prospects – but these interactions are simply a reality of the sales cycle.
Yes, we’ve had people who elect not to respond, who said “no”, and who said “yes” and yet didn't begin the process of registration-and-payment.
With the exception of those who gave a categorical 'No', for the others, we know we must follow up. The hardest part of sales is not rejection or being said no to over and over again. After a time making sales, you get past those fears and just see them as part of the task.
The hardest thing and the thing most salespeople fail to do properly is consistently and effectively following up. For those not too clear on what a sales follow-up is, it’s what you do after your initial pitch to encourage the prospective customer to take action.
According to a study by Brevet, 80% of sales require an average of five follow-ups in order to close the deal. However, 44% of sales reps follow up with a prospect only once before giving up. After four follow-ups, 94% of salespeople have given up.
Reticence over following up is understandable. You fear annoying the prospect, being seen as a spammer, or even losing a potential sale due to following up too much. You don’t want to be seen as being pushy or aggressive. You might even be afraid to follow up in case you hear a definite “no.”
But here’s something you should understand: a clear “no” is a gift. It means you can cross that prospect off your list, stop wasting time, and move on to someone who is interested in what you’re offering.
However, do you know the number one reason why a prospect won’t get back to you? It’s not because they are not interested, it’s because they are busy. Like the rest of us, prospects too have a lot of conflicting priorities to juggle and many different demands on their time.
In other words, they’re (likely) not ignoring you because they don’t want what you have to offer. You just need to be tenacious to get their attention because they have a lot going on.
How you manage prospects is critical. Don’t make your prospects feel as though they are on the receiving end of a forceful sales pitch. Hard selling simply does not work any more. If you start to see following up as part of building a relationship with a prospect, you’ll come to understand its importance and stop being afraid of it.
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