Are you following up with your prospects? If not, you’re losing out. It takes persistence and a system of  effective follow up to keep your sales pipeline working at its best.

Most business owners are constantly on the lookout for new ways to boost sales. They perfect their pitch, delivery, and overall sales tactics…

But not Chet Holmes. Even though Charlie Munger called him “America’s greatest sales and marketing executive,” Holmes has a different approach:

“Most business owners don’t get good because it requires discipline.”

Holmes says that he has his pig-headed persistence to thank for his sales prowess, and perhaps the best example of that persistence is his follow up strategy.

You see, most prospects aren’t ready to convert immediately. In fact, our research found that only 7.5% of marketing qualified leads (MQLs) convert within the first 90 days. 42.5% of them require more time to convert!

This means that if you’re not following up, you’re losing 42.5% of your conversions!

That’s why you need a solid follow up strategy if you want to keep your sales pipeline full. 

Sales Tip #1 – Have an Omnichannel Approach

When following up, you want to move beyond the channel where the initial conversation happened. For instance, if you first met the prospect on Facebook, move to email… Then try to get their phone number. 

Why?

Because this approach allows you to establish multiple touchpoints with the prospect for different situations.

For instance, your prospect might forget to check their email after the first sales conversation, but that doesn’t mean they don’t expect you to reach out.

With this in mind,you should leverage both online and offline channels. Include multiple platforms, phone calls, and other touchpoints in your strategy. In doing so, you’ll maximize the number of effective follow-ups you can perform.

Sales Tip #2 – Retarget

Retargeting is a fantastic sales tactic that puts you in front of your prospects’ minds. It relies on the idea that people are more likely to buy something after they’ve seen it multiple times.

For instance, let’s say someone sees your Facebook ad and gets interested in your offer. However, they’re still not ready to reach out and take that next step…

In this case, you could run a retargeting campaign that reminds the prospect to consider your offer. You might even offer an incentive in that campaign – a discount, for instance – to remind the prospect of your brand and encourage them to buy.

There are many ways you can retarget online – search engines, social platforms, and abandoned shopping carts. Try to make your offer more appealing with every campaign in your sales pipeline, and you’ll move the prospect closer to the buying decision.

Sales Tip #3 – Post on LinkedIn

If your audience uses LinkedIn, you’ll want to take every opportunity to reach out to them. And luckily, the platform offers plenty of ways to do it.

The simplest tactic for filling your sales pipeline on LinkedIn is to post content!. Every time you do, your connections will receive a notification. As a result, you can catch their attention without having to work very hard for it.

Posting regularly encourages your audience to engage with your content (and your offers). Plus, your connection might share your content, thereby expanding your reach even further. You can tap into their first-degree connections to find more potential customers.

Your post could even be featured on LinkedIn Pulse, which would boost your reach exponentially. 

Sales Tip #4 – Like, Comment, and Share Prospects’ Posts

According to Sprout Social’s data, business owners don’t socialize that much on social media. The study showed that 96% of social activity involves promotional posts. The remaining 4% goes into responding and audience engagement.

But that’s all wrong. In fact, it should really be the other way around… 

Not only should you respond to your audience’s comments, you should also actively comment on their posts. At the very least, you should like their comments regularly… And to really draw your audience’s attention, you can share their posts!

People go online to find connections, not to be bombarded with ads. Interacting with your audience reminds them of your business, but it also does another critical thing… 

It humanizes your brand. 

Showing some humanity opens people up and gets them to trust you more.

Interacting with your audience’s content is a great way to sell without actually selling. It helps you nurture deeper relationships and create loyal followers. If you focus on the long game, many of those followers will likely become customers at some point. It’s a long-term approach to your sales funnel, but it works.

The next time you go online, start connecting with your audience more. It will pay off over time.

Sales Tip #5 – Leverage LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Very few social networks offer as many opportunities for effective follow-up as LinkedIn. It even has a dedicated members-only tool that makes it much easier: Sales Navigator.

The tool lets you nurture your leads by monitoring their LinkedIn activity. You can save the prospects you want to track, set alerts, and leave notes about them. With Sales Navigator, you can also search for similar prospects, which can go a long way towards filling your sales pipeline.

The platform also helps you optimize your LinkedIn profile to attract new leads and nurture  existing ones. You can get professional headshots, profile checklists, and copy for your page. If you want to get serious about LinkedIn marketing, Sales Navigator is a powerful tool.

Don’t Let Your Prospects Cool Down

As you can see, following up on your interactions is a great way to get new customers and keep your sales funnel well stocked. Remember that sales can take time, so don’t just focus on the handful of prospects who are ready to buy. Take a long-term approach and you’ll unlock new sales opportunities.

If you’re not sure where to start, we’re here to help!