What happens when you say you will follow up but forget? “I wrote it down on the business card,” said one client but “I forgot to follow up.” This is a consistent theme I hear from businesspeople who inquire about CRMs for their sales teams.
What’s at stake when you do not follow up? Reliability is a cornerstone to achieving the TRUST factor. When you don’t follow up, you can easily ruin your reputation.
Using Sticky Notes and Spreadsheets
A mentor said, “I list my work and work my list.” It is a great mantra but with 3 spreadsheets, colorful sticky notes, and 2 spiral notebooks, it is hard to complete your tasks.
In fact, when you meet multiple prospects in a week, follow-up is daunting and leads to Follow-Up Fatigue (FUF). It often takes 12 engagements to close a sale and engagements with multiple prospects over their sales cycles eats up a salesperson’s week.
Imagine One List
Imagine using one “To Do” list where every task is tied to a prospect, client, referral source, or friend. Imagine seeing your tasks by due date, by priority, and by individual.
There are many apps that let you set up To Do lists, but they are standalone silos or offer limited additional utility. A robust CRM is the central location to manage tasks in a “Contact Centric” system where tasks, comments, quotes, and email history are tied to individual contacts.
Use Your CRM to Reduce FUF
Managing tasks is easier when you have one list, and you see your contact’s history in one place. Your contact history is available to you 24/7, so you are prepared and up to date.
Integrating your tasks into a contact-centric CRM enables you to:
- See tasks by status and trigger actions based on status
- Automate multiple touches during your buyer’s sales cycle
- Reach out to contacts by segment with specialized messaging
- Use email templates that replace repetitive emails
- Trigger reminders to follow up
- Assign tasks to your sales reps
Whether you are a solopreneur or sales manager, managing your follow-up is key to closing more sales with less follow-up fatigue.
Control Your Tasks
If your tasks are overwhelming, you may forget to follow up and harm your reputation. Staying organized is a challenge given client demands, proposal deadlines, and networking to meet new prospects.
If you do not have a CRM, or your CRM is not working for you, let’s meet to talk about how your CRM will help you beat deadlines, impress prospects, and close more sales with less follow-up fatigue.
