Following-up with any potential leads or prospects is a crucial part of business, and the faster you act, the more likely you are to close the deal. In fact, 78% of customers tend to buy from the company that follows-up the quickest.

It pays to plan and have a strong follow-up strategy in place so that any follow-up made by you or your company is proven to work and can lead to deals being closed. By not following-up, or having a plan, you might just see your prospects taking their business elsewhere.

Secure the Follow-Up Meeting Early

Aim to leave the meeting only after establishing the next steps, but refrain from coming across pushy or aggressive in your approach. By securing a follow-up quickly, you’ll remain in communication with the prospect and be able to easily re-schedule the meeting if they should run into trouble regarding the proposed date.

Show the prospect a calendar and ask them which date suits them best – perhaps agree upon one date but run another by them to show you’re willing to work with them. When getting all the relevant details for the follow-up, make sure you have notes and details from the last meeting.

Provide Valuable Content to Your Potential Clients

Make sure your prospects leave the initial meeting with some useful information. Give them guides, pamphlets, or access to online content such as videos and e-books. You’re the expert, so point them in the right direction with all the information they need in order to understand what you’re selling and why they should do business with you.

If you write blog posts then send them a link. This could be done via a personalized email with downloadable links to various free content. Adding them to your email database could also be a great way to up-sell services to them in the future.

Meet How They’d Like to Meet

Not all prospects are the same – while some might like a call, others might prefer to meet in person. Being adaptable and allowing your prospects to have a say as to when, where, and how you meet them will contribute to forming a longer-lasting relationship.

Some prospects may be used to corresponding with companies via their favorite social media platform, also. If so, make sure you’re set up on platforms like Facebook or Instagram so that you can easily follow-up with them on these mediums.

Deliver What You’ve Promised

Before, during, and after the follow-up, be sure to provide ongoing customer support to your prospect. This way they’ll know exactly what to expect going forward. There’s a good chance that even if your initial meeting was quite in-depth and all parties seem to have an understanding of what’s being offered, questions may still arise later.

It’s important to make time for your prospects between meetings and be ready to answer any relevant questions or concerns. Keep in regular contact and make sure that what you have promised is achievable.

How do you approach follow-ups? What single piece of advice would you give for a strong follow-up strategy?