Follow ups are one of the most important aspects of a high-level sales game, but many sales people overlook their value and importance in favor of contacting more prospects more quickly. They’ve forgotten a key fact that every sales person who wants to enter the big leagues knows: You don’t aim to close a sale, you aim to build a relationship. Sales follow ups are an important part of that. In this article, we’ll discuss three ways you can improve your sales follow ups and in doing so build those relationships that make your sales numbers shine.

Keep Track of Communication.

Few things can improve your follow up results so much as a good system for keeping track of who you’ve talked to and when. There are any number of solutions to this problem–which you end up utilizing depends largely upon how much detail and automation you need in the process. 

Whether you use a notebook, an email-management system or a full Customer Relationship Management software suite, you need some method of keeping track of these things. Once you have the data, you can decide how best to use it to improve sales, but having the data comes first. Look into what you’re already using and how it can help here; it may be you already have the perfect tool at hand but aren’t using it fully. Just don’t bog yourself down with gimmicks and metrics you’ll never use; keep this simple.

Always Consider the Last Stage.

Follow ups don’t always need to be about starting a new sales cycle. Sometimes, following up on old sales does you more good–the final stage of the cycle, the remorse stage, all too often goes underserviced or completely ignored by people who should know better. Neglecting that last stage leads to the kind of remorse that generates bad publicity, high return rates, customers giving the competition a try, and any number of other negative effects. 

By following up on a successful sale some time down the line, you help the buyer reinforce their decision to buy that product, at that time, from you–instead of not buying, or buying from a competitor. Satisfying this final stage of the process means better return rates, better word-of-mouth, and more repeat customers. Your goal, as a sales person, should always be developing relationships with potential buyers, not just closing the deal. Follow ups help immensely.

Schedule Follow Ups When Possible.

It’s rarely a bad idea to have your follow up calls planned in advance–even if it’s a ‘How are you liking your product?’ follow up a few weeks later. There are a few reasons this is a good idea. One, it creates a sense of investment of time and/or resources from the prospect, always useful in sales. Second, it makes it more likely that you’ll get through at a good time instead of your call landing at an inopportune or unwelcome moment. Third, it helps YOU remember to follow up; if you don’t plot your follow ups and hold yourself to your planning, it’s very easy to let them slide. Follow ups just don’t have the mental urgency behind them that other calls do.