An initial sales call starts the sales cycle, but it is up to you as the sales person to make sure that the sales cycle continues after the initial sales call. In some ways, the follow up after an initial sales call can be more challenging than the call itself; there are few scripts or templates that can provide the personalization required to keep your sales prospect engaged. Learn how to increase your success rate following initial sales calls with the following activities.

1. Perform a Post-Call Analysis

A post-call analysis for the initial sales call is a critical activity that can help you understand what the initial sales call accomplished and what is still left to be done. A post-call analysis can also help you determine how to make future sales calls more effective. The post call analysis includes, but is not limited to, questions such as the following:

• Did you obtain the key information you normally expect from an initial sales call, such as contacts to other decision makers, information on the prospect’s buying cycle, a clear view of the prospect’s most important needs?
• Were you able to cover all of the value material that you normally do in an initial sales call?
• Based on your pre-call research and your initial sales call, do you have the information you need to classify the prospect as well qualified? If not, what is missing?
• Is there a clear next step that you and the prospect agreed on in the initial sales call?

The answers to the questions you ask in your analysis of the initial sales call will inform the steps you take next, so it is important to be truthful when compiling your information.

2. Follow Through With the Next Step(s) in the Sales Cycle

If you are classifying a sales call as an initial sales call, the assumption is that you are working with a longer sales cycle that cannot be closed in the first call. This means that following your analysis of the initial sales call, you have more work to do. The next step is usually to follow through with the prospect and maintain interest leading into your next sales call or – hopefully – your scheduled sales presentation. You can do this by:

• Re-phrasing your value proposition(s) in an e-mail or follow up call, including new takes on information that you discussed in the initial sales call.
• Sharing new marketing materials or information designed to educate your prospect further that are aligned with the interests and concerns that the prospect shared in the initial sales call.
• Confirming the next steps by emailing a calendar reminder or a tentative schedule/agenda for your follow up call or presentation.

3. Complete Post-Sale Activities for Future Sales Success

The routines that you follow in an initial sales call and your sales follow up may become rote and easy to follow with repetition. You can make your post sale activities just as easy and set the stage for your future sales by making your follow ups automatic:

• Be sure to thank the prospect/customer with thank you letters at pivotal steps in the sales process.
• Ask your prospect/customer if there is anything you could be doing differently that would improve their experience.
• Secure your prospect’s/customer’s trust and respect so that you can ask for references and referral letters to use in future sales activities.
• Periodically check in with customers after the sale to make sure that customers are satisfied.
• Email or write to prospects who did not finish the sales cycle with information of value to keep yourself on the prospect’s radar should business needs change.

An initial sales call is not a stand-alone activity. To make your initial sales calls as effective as possible, make sure that you perform the right activities at the right time following every sales call that you make.