How many times do you follow-up with a potential customer? Is it just one time?
This may be the reason why you’re not meeting your sales quotas. In this episode, I chat with Guitze Messina, the Director of Latin America for HARDI, on the importance of following up. Listen and learn essential follow-up techniques to help you close more deals.
Guest Introduction
- Guitze Messina brings a wealth of knowledge and experience as the Director of Latin America for HARDI.
- The organization groups together distributors and manufacturers of HVAC equipment across North and South America.
- Guitze has a strong background in sales and recurrent sales strategies, which he shares in this episode.
Importance of Follow-Up
- Starting off, I share how follow-up is a known driver of sales success and most reps fail to execute it effectively.
- Guitze supports this by sharing startling statistics: 44% of salespeople follow up only once, and a whopping 56% don't follow up at all.
- Moreover, 88% of business is closed after five follow-ups, underscoring the necessity of persistent follow-up.
Strategies for Effective Follow-Up
- Guitze shares practical strategies for making follow-up less daunting and more effective:
- Get Permission: Always ask for a follow-up time when sending a quote. This ensures that the customer expects your call and doesn't view it as an intrusion.
- Set Reminders: If you don't reach the customer at the agreed-upon time, leave a message indicating when you'll follow up next. This shows professionalism and persistence.
- Reduce Unproductive Quoting: Sales managers should guide their teams to focus on productive activities and better target customers likely to convert.
The Role of Sales Managers
- Sales managers play a crucial role in instilling good practices. Guitze outlines three critical responsibilities for sales managers:
- Guidance Through Data: Use data to identify real customers and focus efforts.
- Activity Monitoring: Ensure salespeople are engaging in productive sales activities, not just quoting endlessly.
- Effective Coaching: Use questions, not directives, to coach salespeople. This approach has been proven to be more effective.
“What is the number one sales activity that any salesman should be doing? Calling.” - Guitze Messina.
Resources
MONEYCALL: A Proactive Sales Method for Recurring Sales with Less Prospecting
Guitze Messina on LinkedIn
Sponsorship Offers
- This episode is brought to you in part by Hubspot.
With HubSpot sales hubs, your data tools and teams join a single platform to close deals and turn prospects into pipelines. Try it for yourself at hubspot.com/sales.
2. This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.
Are you tired of prospective clients not responding to your emails? Sign up for a free 60-day trial of LinkedIn Sales Navigator at linkedin.com/tse.
3. This episode is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Foundation.
Improve your connection on LinkedIn and land three or five appointments with our LinkedIn prospecting course. Go to the salesevangelist.com/linkedin.
Credits
As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.