The Power of Effective Follow-Up

By:Ryan Stewart

One of the most effective ways to build your sales network is the follow-up sales call. When utilized properly, this can influence the outcome of the sale. Unfortunately, many people don’t plan properly and lose the opportunity for a return visit. Here are some tips to ensure that you are maximizing your follow-up opportunities:
* Take notes during your sales call. You may only have one point that you document but that may be an important piece of information later on in the sales process.
* Learn how to effectively question your prospect. When you meet with a client effective questions get them to reveal their needs, whether stated or implied, and this creates an opportunity for you to address that need.
* When networking be sure to provide your contact information and the best times to reach you for additional discussion.
* Listen to your prospects. This is the obverse of questioning and is certainly more important. Effective listening requires that you are able to paraphrase your prospects and truly understand what they are saying. When you do this well you uncover useful information that can help close the sale.
All of those points lead to your ultimate goal, a reason to follow up with your prospect. This is the most important component in developing a networking relationship. During any sales call, work towards the goal of having a reason to follow-up with your prospect. This may mean making a scheduled return, dropping by unexpectedly or making a follow-up telephone call. If you took appropriate notes and effectively listened you should have at least one reason for following up with your prospect. Some of those reasons may include:
* Providing additional product information
* Sending a news article on a topic related to your conversation
* Birthday or work anniversary cards
* Telephone call announcing new product launches
If you are dedicated to creating a full sales funnel, you need to use all your available tools to cultivate your prospects and turn them into sales. Remember that even if you are closing a lot of sales, it is essential that you continue to build your client list. Following up with your prospects will help you determine which ones are hot leads and which require periodic contact only. The whole premise is to build rapport with as many prospects as possible and get them to call you!
Please note that this article speaks in terms of making a sale and remember that your job search is exactly that. You are selling a product (yourself) to customers (networking contacts) on a daily basis. Spend some time thinking about how the tips from this article can improve your networking skills. If you network correctly, you should never have to walk away from the contact again thinking, "When should I call him/her next?".

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Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com

Ryan Stewart is the Founder, Owner, and Administrator of first-class Pharmaceutical Sales Job Search Megasite PharmBoard.com

http://www.pharmboard.com

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