Sales Follow-Up: The Part Most Salespeople Get Wrong

A lot of sales fall apart after a good first conversation. Interest is there, the meeting goes well, and then the follow-up never quite lands.

In this episode, Bob and Jeremy talk through what effective sales follow-up looks like. They cover how to set it up properly in the first place, how to agree next steps that actually stick, and why so many opportunities get left hanging.

You’ll hear practical advice on managing follow-up without overcomplicating it, using proof and outcomes to help people decide, and avoiding the habits that stop salespeople going back to warm prospects. There’s also a look at the mindset issues that get in the way, and a follow-up phrase that probably needs to disappear from sales conversations for good.

If deals are stalling after a strong start, this episode will help you get clearer, more consistent, and more effective with your follow-up.

Explore resources, insights, and tools tailored to support your team's success and strategic growth at realitytraining.com.

Transcript

Welcome And Topic Reveal

Jeremy Blake 0:13

Hi, you're listening to The Reality is Sales Training. Thank you, listeners, and thank you to all the people who've got very excited about objection handling recently. We've had a lovely spike on that one. There are a whole load of episodes for you to go back and listen to that will help you if you're doing internal sales training, have particular topics. Today, what is our topic, Bobby?

Defining Follow Up Versus Account Management

Bob Morrell 0:34

What are we going to talk about today? We're talking about one of the biggest missings in any sales operation. And if you get this right, it's going to make a massive difference to your results. And that is follow-up.

Setting Up Follow Up: Decision Makers And Channels

Jeremy Blake 0:48

Follow-up. Now, not to be confused with account management. So let's deal with that straight away. We are talking about trying to win a prospect very often for the first time, whether that is a consumer or a business buying what you have to offer product or service. Now I've broken this down into three areas. Number one, what you do to set up follow-up. So, in a sense, what you do to get to the point of even requiring follow-up. The second thing is your system, and finally, it is mostly attitudinal. It is your attitude about doing it. So let's talk about the first section. So if I was with Bob and we were having a conversation, what do you reckon, Bobby, are your three things that I'd need to get right to even be able to begin to follow up with you if you were trying to make a decision? Think of yourself as a consumer. Where would you want to have got to?

Bob Morrell 1:45

Well, I think that sometimes a larger purchase requires a longer process of thought. It doesn't mean you don't want to do it. It just means you need a bit of time to get all your ducks in a row to be able to confirm something. Yeah. And that's the first thing is that there is a time lag between wanting to doing something and signing on the line and committing and paying. So that's the first thing.

The Attitude Problem: Laziness And Fear

Jeremy Blake 2:14

Good. So so I would allow you that time. And so you're wanting to go off. So I now need to know: is Bob the key decision maker? Has he got another person he's making the decision with? And the next thing I want to do is know how I may contact him. So the channel, that's quite important. Does he prefer the phone? Does he want a WhatsApp? Does he want an email? And I'm going to encourage the phone because it's more persuasive. He might want to come back in physically, but then he has to appear. And finally, on that, I'm going to want to pin him down at least to a sort of thinking time period that seems realistic. So you're going to talk to X about this, Bob. I will come back to you. How does this date suit you? Do you operate a phone diary? Do you want to grab it? Let's have a look at it. Oh no, I'm off that day. Okay, how about the day after? Yes, that works. I mean, and then you're always the choice of two things. You know, does 11 in the morning suit you or two in the afternoon? I've got two options that my day. Don't be completely free saying anytime, because that's no good. And then Bob agrees and says, okay. And then I say, look, I've got your mobile. If you're going to be with your partner, I could ring that. You could put me on loudspeaker. This is another very good tip if it's consumer. Or if you're in an office, um, I could call you then, or I'll send you a Zoom link, a Teams link, a Google Meet, so on and so on and so on. So that's the first thing I just want to get down is manage that. Now, Bob, when you and I, for 25 years plus, have trained salespeople to follow up, even though we've just talked about that, when it comes to attitude, what do you think is the problem with salespeople in even the idea of going through? Why don't salespeople follow up?

Bob Morrell 4:03

They don't do it because A, they're a bit lazy.

Jeremy Blake 4:07

Mm-hmm.

Bob Morrell 4:07

B Hugely lazy. B, they are terrified for some reason of the person that they follow up saying, actually, we've changed our mind, no thanks.

Build A System And Share Proof

Jeremy Blake 4:17

Yeah. Yeah. Simple as that, isn't it? It is. So there's the idleness of I'll get to this stroke if they were really bothered, they'd come back to me. And the second thing is there seems to be a fear of rejection, a fear of the person saying no. So then what happens is these lists, we'll come on to the third thing of the system in a minute, but these lists kind of lie around with scribbles on and it's poorly managed. And the next best thing after a definite yes is a definite no. You want to find out if the person isn't interested, so you take them off your list. This is very different, you lazy people, to saying, I'll call them once. Now, Jeffrey Gittermer, I don't know where he got this research from. He's an interesting sales trainer from Cara Charlotte. He says the majority of sales after are made after the seventh no. And as Bob just said a minute ago, required thinking time. He then goes back goes back to think. Still not ready. But it's also you've not convinced me yet. Because with a considerable purchase, consumers and business people are poor, I would argue, poorer at making decisions now than perhaps they ever have been. And trust needs to be earned. So you you haven't convinced me yet, you need to get other things in front of me that will enable me to make the decision. So laziness and fear of rejection. So the next thing you need is a system. Now, the system is going to simply be either a software-prompted system, such as Outlook using diary management of when you call, what they said, what they require from you. Now, my big tip is this for people to make decisions, they either need to see something, they need to hear something, they need to read something, they need to watch something. So, what is it that you're going to put into their mind and the minds of other decision makers that makes them go from nearly there to there? It could be proof, it could be it could be an outcome, it could be a video of somebody enjoying the product that they haven't quite appreciated. All sorts of outcomes. But of course, we're focusing on follow-up, but in your sales skills, in your sales training, we'd like to think you discovered the outcomes they wish to achieve through buying your product or service. So this is succinct, really. It is bothering, having having the attitude to do it, not being idle and lazy, having a system to track your follow-up calls, not giving up, as Gittimer says, until you've at least gone over seven clear no's over a defined period of time. And what was the other thing I said? Attitudes. Oh, and doing do setting up the follow-up correctly in the first place. That is a kind of short frame of follow-up. Um, we could talk about it long, but these are short podcasts. There's plenty of you to work through there. Anything else to add, Bobby?

Bob Morrell 7:14

A follow-up is 80% more likely to buy than the brand new customer that you just started talking to. That's it.

Consistency: Seven Nos And Outcomes

Jeremy Blake 7:24

Yeah, don't focus on the shiny thing that's walking in when you've done all the work with the other person. This is a quick podcast, but there's plenty of information in here for you to now apply to your business, your customers, and how you're doing it. Have a discussion about the systems that you're using. You need a collective, robust system with everyone using the same system of follow-up managing it. Who are the customers that you've let slip? And did you know the outcomes they wish to achieve through your product and service? So when you're following up, you know why you're following up. Now, one last thing. One last thing. I would say, probably in 25 years, there's an expression that we've heard salespeople use over the telephone that needs to be eradicated from your language. What do you think I'm gonna say, Bobby?

Bob Morrell 8:08

Have you had a chance to think about the thing that we were talking about?

Team Discipline And Common Mistakes

Ban “Have You Had A Chance?”

Jeremy Blake 8:12

That's the one. No, but at the weekend I'm gonna sit down because I can't make decisions unless I remove the weight off my plates. This have you had a chance is the excuse. You must act as if they have been always thinking about it, and it was just a bit of a detail that you've now got for them, another piece of information you have to share. So please stop saying this. Right, folks, short and sweet, lots of information for you to drag out and debate with your teams there. Thank you for tuning into the Reality is Sales training, and we will hear you and you will hear us on another one soon. Bye. At Reality Training, we spend a lot of time working with team leaders. Team leaders are a really important part of modern businesses. And if they're skilled at leadership, they can really create a high-performing, motivated and productive team. If they lack skills and knowledge, then that's where we can come in. We know what it is to be a successful team leader, and we've got a series of modules on areas like presentation skills, time management, running meetings, performance coaching, delegation, and how to manage remote teams and many more. These make a really big difference to your team leaders' effectiveness and the results they can produce with their people. We know that team leaders are essential these days, probably more than ever, and we also know how to make them really good at what they do. For more information on how we can help your team leaders transform your business, contact Reality Training.