The Art of Follow-Up
Customer follow-up is an important—and often neglected—art.
Taking time to touch base with your clients keeps you uppermost in their minds; shows prospects you haven't forgotten them, and helps you stand out from your competitors.
Finding the Balance
Following up requires delicate balance. Nothing scares customers off more quickly than pushy salesmen.
However, clients also require your time, availability and knowledge when it comes to answering questions, giving advice and closing the sale.
Finding the correct balance for staying in touch means your customers get the attention they deserve—and you're rewarded with their loyalty.
Why Expend the Effort?
In order to succeed in insurance sales, you must leave your clients with a positive, lasting, indelible impression.
Your goal should be to provide them personalized service and the products they need.
Don't use the hard-sell approach during follow up. If at this point your prospects have yet to make their final decisions, use this opportunity to:
- Cement relationships
- Offer additional information
- Ask if they have any questions
- Lead them gently toward the close
Remember, it is much cheaper to convert prospects than to find new ones. So make the effort to follow up—and watch your client base grow!
Learning Good Technique
The first step in client follow-up is determining a communication method. Ask your customers if they have a preferred method for keeping in touch—and honor their preferences.
Take down contact information at your first meeting. This makes checking in much easier, and keeps you from wasting valuable time searching for valuable information later.
Next, have a valid reason for contacting the customer that helps move the sale forward. For example, send your clients a brochure about your products, or tell them about relevant Web sites you've discovered containing important research which might interest them.
Asking customers if they have any further questions also gives you reason for contact.
Make follow-ups personal. Whether keeping in contact by email, phone or mail, demonstrate an attention to detail by referencing topics from previous conversations or writing personal thank-you notes.
Your customers will appreciate the personal touch!
As a side note, make sure all client correspondence is short, neat, error-free and business-like. Nothing can ruin your professional image faster than hard-to-read, unintelligible or sloppy communication!
Finally, let a minimum of one week pass between follow-ups. Any more than that and you may be crossing a line of no return.
And don't inquire whether customers have made their final buying decision during this process; this may put them on the offensive and make them feel like they're only a number.
Staying in the Game
Effective client follow-up is an art worth learning.
By keeping in close touch with your clients and following their cues, you'll establish and maintain great business relationships—for the long term!
This information was provided by InsureMe, the leader in online insurance leads for the insurance industry. Since 1993, InsureMe has helped thousands of insurance agents succeed in the insurance business by providing top-quality leads that are both detailed and affordable. For more information on InsureMe leads, please visit our agent Web site at www.agent.insureme.com.
