More than one expert in our online and print publications has declared that to have sales success, there must be follow-up.
Yet, a study conducted by lead generation firm Resource Nation, San Diego, said the benchmark for following up with potential business customers is lower than expected.
Only one-third of the companies followed up with a prospective customer within the first hour of that person submitting an online request for more information about products or services.
To conduct its study, Resource Nation submitted leads from fictitious buyers and measured the results of each company's sales process. It tracked 12 metrics, including sales staff response rates and e-mail effectiveness.
Just under half of the businesses targeted called within the second hour after the initial consumer outreach, but 14% did not call the potential customer at all and 37% bothered to make a second follow up call if the potential customer was not reached on the first try.
Approximately three-quarters of the respondents did contact the customer via e-mail.
Resource Nation said it found a direct correlation between the speed of the initial follow up call and the company' conversion rates.
But when you do talk with the customer, avoid asking the dumb questions. And telephone sales expert Art Sobczak declares, there are such things as dumb questions.
His recent experience: "I called up my favorite local pizza joint to get my regular two-slice-and-a-drink lunch special. The guy asked, 'What would you like to drink with that?' 'Coke,' I answered.
"When I arrived and gave the same guy my name at the counter, he took my money and again asked, 'What would you like to drink with that?' Letting it pass as a simple oversight, I again told him I wanted Coke. He retrieved the slices and asked me - you guessed it - 'What would you like to drink with that?'
"Busting out into laughter, and looking for the camera, I said, 'I still want Coke.'"
His simple, but not always followed sales point: Listen to your customer's answers. "Sometimes we're so concerned about what we'll say or do next we ask a question and don't pay attention to the answer. Dangerous, to be sure."
Another point regarding questions is beware of asking what he termed habitual questions. These questions are not always applicable to the particular customer. "It's easy to mindlessly ask certain questions, even when not appropriate," Mr. Sobczak said.
Finally, he said you need to be prepared to do something with the answers you get. "Ask questions for a reason, and then be prepared to act on the answers, especially if they're answers you'd rather not hear."
To learn more about the services of Resource Nation, visit http:www.resourcenation.com. Art Sobczak is the president of Business By Phone Inc., Omaha, Neb. To receive his weekly TelESales Tips, go to
