Learn how to create a follow-up plan that builds trust, provides value, and moves your leads along the sales funnel. Follow these five steps to success.

Follow-up is one of the least employed, yet most powerful tools in the sales process. Statistics show that 70% of sales are made after the 6th contact. However, Less than 5% of entrepreneurs follow up that many times. Since my clients dislike being pushy and aggressive, they have learned to ask for permission to follow up. When prospects say "yes," you can rest assured that they will welcome your activities. Don't guess how they prefer you to contact them. Ask! Because you need at least 6 touchpoints, vary how you follow up. Here are some suggested methods: email text messages phone calls cards gifts articles Adjust your timetable to match their personality styles and you're primed for success.

How can you create a follow-up plan that maximizes your chances of success?

You've generated some leads for your business, but what's next? How do you turn them into loyal customers and advocates? The answer is to create a follow-up plan that maximizes your chances of success. A follow-up plan is a strategy that outlines how, when, and why you will communicate with your leads after the initial contact. It helps you build trust, provide value, and move them along the sales funnel. In this article, we'll show you how to create a follow-up plan that works for your business and your leads.

1 Define your goals and metrics

The first step to creating a follow-up plan is to define your goals and metrics. What are you trying to achieve with your follow-up? Is it to increase awareness, generate interest, qualify leads, close sales, or retain customers? Depending on your goal, you'll need to measure different metrics, such as open rates, click-through rates, responses, conversions, retention, or referrals. Having clear goals and metrics will help you track your progress and optimize your follow-up plan.

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Cherilee Walker, PhD

Executive administrator specializing in postsecondary education, program management, nonprofit, and arts organizations.
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Be sure to include your stakeholders when developing your metrics. Not necessarily that in the deciding, but perhaps in the planning. Ask a representative group of customers, “What are three things our company could do that would improve our service from your perspective?” Then, tally the responses for emerging themes and take these to the home team, saving the other ideas for another project. Which of their needs are you most likely to satisfy now? Those are good starting points, because every project needs early wins to secure buy-in.

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2 Segment your leads

The next step is to segment your leads based on their characteristics, behavior, and needs. Segmentation allows you to tailor your follow-up messages and offers to each group of leads, increasing their relevance and engagement. For example, you can segment your leads by industry, location, job title, pain points, interests, budget, stage in the sales cycle, or actions taken on your website. By segmenting your leads, you can also prioritize them based on their potential value and urgency.

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Sanny Lim

Singapore our Blessed Nation
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For AI enabled tools on the collaboration in view to help the interested parties to uncover their needs, the segmenting part in my opinion is to be as simplified as possible! Focus on the hot button as to what interests for our next action to take!

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3 Choose your channels and tools

The third step is to choose the channels and tools that you will use to follow up with your leads. There are many options available, such as email, phone, text, social media, chat, video, or webinars. Each channel has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on your goal, audience, and message. For example, email is a versatile and cost-effective channel that can be automated and personalized, but it can also be ignored or filtered. Phone is a direct and personal channel that can build rapport and overcome objections, but it can also be intrusive and time-consuming. You'll need to test and experiment with different channels and tools to find out what works best for your business and your leads.

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4 Create your content and schedule

The fourth step is to create your content and schedule for your follow-up plan. Your content should be relevant, valuable, and compelling for your leads. It should address their pain points, offer solutions, and showcase your benefits and differentiation. It should also include clear and specific calls to action that guide your leads to the next step in the sales funnel. Your schedule should be based on your goals, metrics, and lead segments. It should also consider the best times and frequencies to reach out to your leads, without being too spammy or pushy.

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Nancy Zare Ph.D.

Coaches hire me to enroll more clients because they dislike exaggerated marketing claims and sleazy sales tactics. I show them how to generate warm leads and convert 50% of prospects into clients.
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Follow-up is one of the least employed, yet most powerful tools in the sales process. Statistics show that 70% of sales are made after the 6th contact. However, Less than 5% of entrepreneurs follow up that many times. Since my clients dislike being pushy and aggressive, they have learned to ask for permission to follow up. When prospects say "yes," you can rest assured that they will welcome your activities. Don't guess how they prefer you to contact them. Ask! Because you need at least 6 touchpoints, vary how you follow up. Here are some suggested methods: email text messages phone calls cards gifts articles Adjust your timetable to match their personality styles and you're primed for success.

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Mary Adanegbe

LinkedIn Business Coach | I help audacious coaches amplify their message and organically book qualified leads through LinkedIn | Building my first online business & sharing the journey. #DoItAfraid #TakeUpSpace
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The fortune is in the follow-up! Most of the leads I've generated in my business and for clients' businesses were from follow-up activities. Prospects often need multiple touchpoints before they make buying decisions. Create a lead tracker to get the best results with your follow-up plan. You can create a simple one with Excel sheets. Make a list of your warm leads and set a schedule to follow up with them at least once a week or based on a mutually agreed time. Mix up the follow-up formats and messaging. Create touchpoints through posts on your feed, engage with their posts, invite them to live events, send them a freebie, send them a valuable article, etc. Above all, prioritize value and human connection!

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5 Test and optimize your follow-up plan

The final step is to test and optimize your follow-up plan. You should monitor your results and feedback from your leads, and compare them with your goals and metrics. You should also analyze what works and what doesn't, and make adjustments accordingly. You can use tools like A/B testing, surveys, and analytics to optimize your follow-up plan. You should also keep learning and improving your follow-up skills, such as writing, speaking, listening, and persuading.

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Sanny Lim

Singapore our Blessed Nation
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Time is precious and surveys these days do not really work! We can adopt pointers for their possible feedbacks or easy type on platforms to gather information.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you create a follow-up plan that maximizes your chances of success?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Define your goals and metrics

2 Segment your leads

3 Choose your channels and tools

4 Create your content and schedule

5 Test and optimize your follow-up plan

6 Here’s what else to consider

Lead Generation

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How can you create a follow-up plan that maximizes your chances of success?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Define your goals and metrics

2 Segment your leads

3 Choose your channels and tools

4 Create your content and schedule

5 Test and optimize your follow-up plan

6 Here’s what else to consider

Lead Generation

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