After you go through a sales session with a customer, whether you sell them a product or not, follow up with them. Otherwise, your time was all but wasted.

Every part of a sales process from the initial contact, to the presentation of the product, to the final step, following up, are all equally important.

The following up process is an important element of the sales process for many key reasons, here are just a few:

1. Following up makes your customers feel important.

When a customer walks into your home office, or calls you on the telephone, they do not want to be thought of as a statistic. They want to be treated as though they are the only customer you have.

By following up after your initial contact, it tells the customer that you are serious about doing business with them.

They will appreciate the phone call, and this will be a clear message to them that they weren’t just another sale on your way to meeting your goal.

2. Following up with your customer shows that you care.

Another reason to follow up with your customer is to find out how they are doing, and how their new product is benefitting them.

Ask questions about the product and the experience they have had with you and your company.

It is always good to get feedback, good and bad. This way you can correct anything that your customer was not happy with, learn from your mistake, and be sure not to let it happen again with your next customer.

If their feedback is negative or they just are not happy with the product, find out their reasons, be empathetic, and try to resolve the problem as best you can.

3. Follow up with your customer for more sales opportunities.

After your initial meeting with your customer, one of two things happened. Either you got the sale, or your customer is still undecided.

If you got the sale, following up with your customer is important for reasons stated in number two above, and also, you now have an opportunity to up-sell. While they are on the phone, ask for permission to go over some of your other products you believe they may be interested in.

If your customer left you still undecided, than this is the perfect opportunity to see if they have come to a decision. If they haven’t, ask if there is anything they would like you to go over again, or, if they thought of any more questions they would like to ask.

A final note . . .

Before a customer leaves your desk or hangs up the phone, make your customer aware of your intentions to follow up with them. If your sales session went well, this should not be a problem.

Following up with your customers is a great opportunity to keep in contact with them, and there is no law that says you can’t follow up more than once.

The more you stay in contact with your customers, the stronger your relationship with them becomes. The stronger the relationship, the more business and referrals you can expect from them. So follow up. Always.