How to Follow Up With Business Prospects

While it may take a lot of effort to find business prospects and conduct your pitch, it doesn’t take much to follow up with clients to land a deal.



It’s easy to institute some simple concepts when you are looking to engage prospective clients. There are a few methods below to ensure that potential customers don’t go with the competition. Sometimes, the simple act of following up is what makes a solid business relationship.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer
• Email
• Phone
• Business Cards

1. Be prompt. Be sure to follow up with contacts within 24 hours. Some people say to follow up on the weekend if that is included; I’m not so fond of that idea—especially when it comes down to business. You want to stick to regular business hours when it comes to something professional—but do be timely.

2. 

   Collect business cards and leads. Even if you don’t have the face-to-face pitch meeting with a prospective client, you can still reach out to them. Enter business cards and other contact information into a simple database and send each prospect a short email or call them to say that you’re glad that you connected and you’re here to help. Try to personalize the email or phone call.

3. Connect personally. Again, a personal touch goes a long way. If you listen to someone and see where you can find a connection, you can spark up a side conversation. Does the potential client practice yoga? Do your children both love soccer? These are the means to make follow-up connections a little more memorable and personal. Use the connection in your follow-up communication.

4. 

   Be brief. Business follow-ups should always be short and sweet. There’s a way to work in your personal connection without going into detail. For instance, you could say something like, “I met you at Sally’s soccer tournament—good game! I wanted to follow up and let you know if you can ever use help with your insurance needs, I would be happy to set up a free consultation.” Then include a brief closing statement.

5. Call to action. Especially if you discussed getting together, make sure you mention a possible meeting. You can bring it up casually too, saying something to the effect of “If you’re still interested in that meeting, maybe we can meet up next week.” You should try to lure the client in, but not be too demanding. If you made a promise during a meeting or call, you should note that you’ll be sure to follow through with it.

Tips & Warnings

• It's OK to follow up via email, but make sure you have the person's individual email address instead of a general account. Otherwise, pick up the phone.
• Be quick. A few sentences in an email or a call less than two minutes is enough to let a prospect know you're thinking of them.
• Don't be too pushy in your follow-up. The simple act of doing it shows an assertive touch--you don't want to be too aggressive.