How to Follow Up with Prospects Without Sounding Annoying
If you are an entrepreneur, probably you’ve faced this situation: you’ve been through a long process with a prospect – meetings, calls, texting, answering all sorts of questions – and then, they disappear. You just hear crickets. What do you do, then? Do you go after them? Do you give them some space? What’s your strategy?
Being a wedding planner since 2008 and dealing with couples from different nationalities and cultures, I can tell you that the best way to overcome this is to follow up. There is no other way if you want to keep your leads warm and turn them into clients.
During my career, I’ve noticed that many business owners have some difficulties when it comes to following up. But let’s be honest – you’ve invested your time, energy, and money to capture the clients…it wouldn’t be fair to your business if you gave up after all you’ve done. And, by following up, you increase your probability of getting more contracts signed.
If you feel weird or embarrassed when doing it, no worries – I’ll give you some insightful tips to do it like a pro. And if you are still not convinced to do so, I’ll tell you a secret: prospects always expect a follow-up.
1. Stay positive
No one feels motivated to buy from someone who doesn’t show some enthusiasm. Especially in the wedding industry, where couples are usually emotional and full of dreams – they want to feel special. Prospects need to feel that when you follow up on them. It would be best if you made them think like you are keen to engage with them. Believe me: people can feel your vibes through a phone call or a message. So, the first step is to show them that you are interested and happy to have them as clients.
2. Create a structure for your response
Every client is unique, but it makes your job more manageable if you have a structure ready to contact them. Personally, this is the structure that works best for me:
Start your message in a light and courteous fashion.
Remind your prospect where you left off during your last exchange and what you were waiting for (or what they were waiting for).
Bring up something new, add a new angle or develop on the topic you covered during your last meeting.
Finally, think about explaining why you’re getting in touch with them, why you want to go on this adventure with them. You need to make them feel special, simply because they are: that’s the very basis of any commercial exchange.
Finally, always end your follow-up message with a call-to-action.
It’s up to you to find the formula that you are most comfortable with. Personally, what I do is to finish with a proposal. Ten times out of ten, I receive an answer. Bingo! I am creating a unique connection with my prospect.
3. How many times should you follow up?
This is the million-dollar question. Well, marketing stats show that you need to follow up on your prospect anywhere between four and eleven times before becoming your customer.
Wow...I bet you didn’t expect that, right? You must be wondering: how should you do that? The key is to work on your speech and vary the topics raised as well as alternating the type of messages you send and the channel you use to dispatch them.
4. How can I create a subtle approach?
From my experience, I believe that the point is to vary your speech. Here are some examples:
Ask them if everything has been OK since you last spoke;
Ask the prospect if they received the email you sent;
Offer a new appointment to go through any outstanding issues;
Follow their social media timeline closely;
Share an article you wrote in the past that may add value to your conversations.
And the list goes on and on…you just have to be creative and find how to gain their attention. This is the best way to stand out from your competitors and get clients. Are you ready to follow up?
Ranked among the world’s Top 20 Luxury Planners, Muriel Saldalamacchia is an internationally acclaimed wedding planner who provides an unsurpassed guest experience to a discerning clientele in search of excellence. Muriel leveraged her experience while running two successful businesses and working alongside other wedding planners. In 2020, she launched the book “The Anti-Ghosting Method”. The Muriel Saldalamacchia brand also offers professional training courses, effective masterclasses, and technical workshops.
