Salesforce Tips for Moving Prospects Down the Pipeline Faster
Nothing can kill an inside sales opportunity quite like time. Even the most enthusiastic customers and prospects can turn away from a deal if something else catches their eye. The longer a deal sits and does not move through the pipeline, the more apt a prospect will be to lose interest. Below are a few ways to ensure that you’re not losing opportunities due to bad timing or poor follow up.
Keep your appointments
If you book a meeting or say you can be somewhere at a specific time, do so. If you can't keep your appointment, give your prospect or customer a reasonable reason why you need to reschedule as far in advance as possible. Emergencies happen, and most people are forgiving in those situations. Blowing off meetings, however, is rude, and tells your customer that you think their time is far less valuable than yours. It’s a great way to break trust and kill a deal. Put a note on the calendar as soon as possible if you agree to a time to meet and make it a priority to keep the appointment.
Salesforce Tip: Add tasks to remind you to set calls and calendar invites in Salesforce.
Leave nothing open-ended
At the end of a call, always ask for a specific time and date to follow up and put it on the calendar for both you and your prospect. Never leave a call-to-action such as, “I’ll call you, don’t call me.” By immediately following up via email and sending a calendar invitation to your prospect, you ensure that there is no miscommunication on the next steps. Putting an event on your calendar, even tentatively, helps you take ownership of it and gives you a mental note to follow up appropriately. The worst that can happen is for something to fall through because of your scheduling mishaps.
Salesforce Tip: After talking to a prospect, segment them based on whether they need to be nurtured or whether they are ready for another conversation.
Follow up in between follow-ups
Follow up with prospects between the time you initially spoke to them and the next time you agreed to meet, especially if that next meeting is more than a few weeks away. You could give them a quick note with new information on your product or service, ask them if they would like to talk about anything else during your next call, or simply confirm the date and time of your meeting. This shows your prospects that you’re thinking about them and keeps you fresh in their mind.
Salesforce Tip: Schedule task reminders to call or email prospects a week before your next follow-up appointment.
Don’t let poor follow-up or bad timing kill your inside sales deals. As long as you’re staying fresh in your prospect's mind and keeping commitments, you’ll never lose another deal to poor follow up.
