GROWONEDOLLAR.COM: Follow-up after the sale may be more important then the product or service provided.

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GROWONEDOLLAR.COM: Follow-up after the sale may be more important then the product or service provided.

Follow-up after the sale may be more important then the product or service provided.

I have been asking my clients what their referral rate is and what is their repeat business ratio. Most small businesses don't keep accurate statistics on those two very important business building blocks. By referral rate, I mean how many of your current clients have sent you a referral in the past year. The repeat business ration is how many of your customer have returned for more products or services in the last year.

My next question was " please show me your written policy on follow-up procedures after a purchase." You guessed it, only 2 out of the 20 businesses I included in this survey were able to provide a written follow-up policy.

A current client/customer is one of your most valuable business assets. Marketing requires a lot of time and effort to produce a live customer. A current customer should be put into a follow-up system as soon as the sale is closed.

A good saying to remember is " Give a little extra.... exceed expectations"

I won't discuss the greeting of a new client or the service process in providing the product or service, the following are a few basis steps to help you start the development and implementation of a follow-up process. ( Remember, if it's not in writing then you don't have a process).

Make sure you obtain complete contact information from all clients

Call within two days to ask it the product is working properly or if they have any questions on the service they purchased
Within a week send a thank you card, with a hand written note.
Within the first 30 days send them a copy of of "value newsletter"
and follow up in a few days, by phone, ask them how they liked the newsletter and if they would like to continue receiving it on a regular basis.
From then on, your newsletter with occasional calls and visits ( frequency will depend upon the type of business you have)

While this is only a suggested outline, when we actually work with a client to develop the best follow-up process for their business, many other factors are taken into consideration.. If you don't have a system in place, spend several hours tomorrow and develop one.

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All great leaders have one thing in common; they connect with people.

Have a successful today!

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Nick Petra
nick@nickpetra.com