A print salesperson contacted me recently. A prospect had agreed to meet with her. He told her to contact her after his vacation. But the prospect didn’t reply to the next email.
How often should you chase a prospect?
Here’s what my contact asked:
"I have emailed him as of Monday of this week. What is the appropriate wait time before using another means or attempting to contact him again in reference to setting up the meeting?
I don't want to seem over anxious, but I also don't want him to think that I don't believe it’s a big enough deal to be attentive."
It’s OK to be persistent
I believe in following up three or four days after my first contact. And then I keep following up.
Naturally, prospects are often not going to be happy if you phone or email them every three to four days on an ongoing basis! So I like to change my patterns. I try contacting by different channels. I have had good success with SMS and social media. If I have no response after a few attempts, I give the prospect a bit of a break and return to them after three weeks.
If I don’t hear from them after repeated attempts, I ask if they would prefer me to stop contacting them. That often gets a good response.
Many prospects are happy to be pursued
I have had a number of prospects congratulate me on my persistence. It has led to them placing business with me. Remember, many of the competition will give up with silent prospects.
p.s.: If you would like to improve your performance in print sales, download this free checklist, "Eight Essential Print Sales Activities." You’ll also receive my regular "Views from the print buyer” bulletin, full of ideas on how to sell print effectively."
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- Business Management - Marketing/Sales
Many printing companies are frustrated how hard it is to engage buyers in today’s world. That’s where Matthew Parker can help. He is a gamekeeper turned poacher. Parker has bought print for more than 20 years and received over 1,400 print sales pitches. He now uses his buyer’s point of view to give practical advice to printers. He helps them engage with prospects and customers to create profitable relationships.
Download his free e-book, "Ten Common Print Selling Errors And What To Do About Them" and check out his recently launched book, "How To Succeed At Print Sales: Setting targets, planning the right activities and making sure goals are met."