It’s true what they say: the fortune is in the follow-up.
Did you know it takes an average of 8 contacts to finally convert a lead into a customer?
Most people stop at 2.
What’s shocking is that 48% of marketers never follow up with a prospect, 25% follow up twice, and only 10% follow up more than three times.
Diligent and active follow-up sends a message that you want to work with the person and you’re serious about your business. Now, this doesn’t mean you should hound people over and over again until they never want to hear from you again. So what should you do?
Inside this training, you’ll find the most effective tips and ways to follow up with prospects without sounding salesy!
How To Effectively Follow Up With Prospects
Research shows only 2% of sales are made on the first contact, which means 98% of the people you talk to are not going to buy or join you after one conversation. And that’s OK! First, you need to create relationships and gain people’s trust. They need to believe you care about them and their goals.
Use the ATMF System
SYSTEM stands for Save YourSelf Time, Energy, and Money. When you’re enrolling new people, you have to teach them to get themselves out of the way by using the ATMF (add, tag, message,followup) system.
In short, it works like this: you Add your prospect to a hidden private Facebook group, you Tag them in a presentation video, and then you Message & Followup 24/48 Hrs them to follow up and see what they liked best.
You can also do Group Chat. The beauty there is that you have a higher close ratio when you introduce your contact to someone else. Plus, you’re showing them the simplicity of the ATMF system.
Here’s how your initial message should sound like:
“Hey, Sam, great news! I added you to our [name] private community. To see the content, you have to accept the invite. Let me know once you’re in, so I can tag you in a couple of explanatory videos about the products, the company, and the compensation plan.”
Ask Closing Questions
Here’s the deal: you have to ask closing questions even if you’re not about to close. When you follow up with prospects, ask them something along the lines of:
- “What did you like best about what you saw?”
- “If you were to get started, what results would you be looking to get?”
- “What are your goals?” (get them to sell themselves on why they want to start a business or why they need your product)
- “Where are you on a scale of 1 to 10: 10—you’re ready to get started right now and 1—you just want to be a customer?”
PRO Tip: The reason most people suck at selling and recruiting is they’re always selling and recruiting. You’ve got to take a value mint. Your goal is to interview people, to identify individuals who would be a good fit for your team.
Handle Objections Like a Pro
Most people don’t join after the first exposure. They have questions, doubts, or concerns. And that’s all right. They just don’t know enough, because I haven’t met anybody who doesn’t want residual income. Maybe the timing is off, or they simply want to see how you do first.
That’s why you have to establish a relationship. They may follow you for months or even years before they join. Stay the course. The key is to stay in the game long enough, until eventually, the “NO” becomes “YES”.
Rule #1: Don’t get defensive when people ask questions. We all have questions. That’s normal.
Rule #2: Stay away from negative people who are simply not open to your opportunity. They’re not the ones you should spend your time and energy on.
Rule #3. We’re not here to convince people or beg them to join us. Following up is like dating: people can sense desperation and neediness is not attractive.
There are three key principles to effective follow up:
Key Principle #1: Keep Your Promises
If you say, “Hey, I’ll follow up with you tomorrow”, make sure you do so. Nobody wants to work with someone who is unreliable.
Key Principle #2: Keep Track of Your Contacts
Get organized: use a planner or a digital calendar and add every interested prospect to your follow up book. Pack out your follow up book with as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.
PRO Tip: I put a reminder on my phone that pops up every day to make sure I reach out and touch base with people. These are our favorites reminder apps:
Key Principle #3: Keep Them in the Loop & Create Relationships
The best way to get people to the finish line is to connect with them. Whether it’s on social media, on the phone or even meet with them in person if they live close by. Strike up a conversation by saying something like:
- “Hey, [name] how are you? How’s the family? What are you up to these days?”
- “Happy birthday, Sarah. How have you been? How are you celebrating your big day?”
Give them updates on big events, special offers, and announcements. Let them know how the team is doing and the kind of momentum you’re experiencing.
How To Deal With People Who Ghost You
We all have people who were all interested in the beginning and now they don’t answer anymore. Here’s what you can say to get them to respond:
- “Hey, Megan, I haven’t heard back from you. I’m not worried about the business. We had a great conversation the other day and I’ve reached out a couple of times. Are you all alright? I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
- “Hey, I tell you what, would you like me just to cross you off my list for right now? You seem like you have a lot going on. No big deal. The timing isn’t right, I understand. I’ve got a lot going on myself. Maybe I could follow up with you in a month or next year. You let me know.”
PRO Tip: I always assume everybody wants to hear from me and partner with me. Keep showing up with positivity on your social media stories, in your videos, and with your content. A “NO” is not forever. It’s just, “no, not now”.
When to Follow-up
My favorite day to follow up with people, hands down, is Friday. Why? Because people are in a good mood on Fridays and we also have our weekly team meeting on Saturday, so it’s a great way of keeping them in the loop.
Here’s what to say:
“Hey, [name]. Happy Friday! I wanted to give you a heads up. We have a great team training call tomorrow at [time]. We’re going to have four incredible leaders sharing their stories and some of their best tips to create success. I think you’ll love it. Especially if you’re serious about getting started soon, this will give you a glimpse of what we do and how we do it.”
The whole system we use to convert people is based on 3 principles: expose, involve, upgrade.
You expose them to the ATMF groups, to the products and the videos. You then get them involved in the Facebook Group and the Group Chat where they talk to other leaders and learn about the business. Finally, you upgrade by asking them, “When do you want to get started?”
These are the most effective ways to follow up with your prospects! Which tips did you find most useful? What are you doing in your business that’s bring you results? Let us know in the comments below!
