Follow Up

One of the biggest mistakes network marketers make is failing to follow up – with leads, with new customers, with past customers, and with inactive customers. Treating transactions as isolated events rather than a chain of interactions means you see your customers as commodities, and they will view you the same way. In this post, I’m going to address why you need to follow up with each of these categories:
 

1. Following up with leads. You’ve got an inbox full of contact information from a promotion you posted on your website. You send out a generic informational email and ask them to contact you if interested. Now what? Well, if you’re like most network marketers, you’ll do nothing. That’s right – nothing! Most people seem to think their job is done when they have collected the names and sent out an email, but that one contact by itself may mean nothing. You need to actually continue to contact the names collected to try to convert them from a lead to a customer or business partner. Studies show it takes an average of 7 contacts before a person makes up their mind.  Don't be too aggressive.  But do stay in touch and continue to share the benefits of your business and your products.  
2. Following up with new customers. The time when a little extra effort can make the biggest impact is right after a new customer has purchased with you. They may be feeling a little unsure of their purchase and hearing from you at this vulnerable time will definitely reassure them that they made the right decision. It’s also a perfect time to head off any problems or answer questions – and to see if they regret NOT purchasing something they were thinking about!
3. Following up with past customers. Don’t assume that your customer will contact you directly when they run out of something or want to make another purchase. Most people are lazy and will just as easily buy from a competitor or from the mall or other retail shop if you don’t make the effort to contact them. More than one direct sales rep has lost a customer to the mall because they weren’t in front of the customer when a re-order or replacement was needed!
4. Following up with inactive customers. If you haven’t heard from a previous customer for a while, don’t assume everything is okay, or that they would contact you if they needed something. Make the effort to phone them to see where they are. Do they need a new item? Are they unhappy with a previous purchase? Did they lose your number? Whatever the situation, you’re better off hearing from them directly than letting them die a slow death because you couldn’t be bothered to get back in touch.

Following up – and following up when you say you will – is a critical part of good direct sales. Many experts recommend the three days – three weeks – three months approach, following up at each of those intervals after the initial contact. While that’s a good rule of thumb, even better is working with your customers and your unique business to do what’s right for them and for you.