The Act of the Follow Up

This blog is automatically transcribed using AI and might have typos or grammar errors. It’s not the robot’s fault.
Are you leaving money on the table?

If you aren’t sure- you probably are. It’s a hard NO or a sloppy YES.

Showing up isn’t enough you need to follow up. Nothing happens in one interaction.

It’s about building trust with your audience It’s about being consistent It’s about follow-up one more time.

I’ll be reviewing the key elements of the perfect follow-up:

📌 What systems to use to follow up

📌 How many times you should follow up

📌 How to sell when they say no (yes it's possible)

See below the show’s transcription:

Hi, everyone, how are you doing? today? We're talking about you leaving money on the table. So my question to you is, are you leaving money on the table? Need to know this answer? If you're not sure. You probably are, it's either a hard no or a very fluffy yes, showing up isn't enough these days, you must follow up. Ironically, in a group coaching session this morning, we were just talking about following up and you know, how many times to follow up the art of following up. So I'm gonna share some of what went on in that conversation that I think will be helpful.

You know, nothing happens in one interaction. It's all about building trust with your audience. It's about being consistent, and it's about following up one more time. Hi, everyone, this is 15 Minutes of Fain. I'm Mary Fain Brandt, the host of the show, and you can find me here weekly, Tuesdays at 12pm Pacific Daylight Time, dropping a real quick tip of the week on how to grow your business, how to use LinkedIn, and sometimes my favorite tools, platforms and software.

Let's just dive in. You know, like I said, nothing happens in one transaction. As a matter of fact, did you know that it takes 12 marketing touches for someone to do business with you? You don't just meet someone. They say, "Hey, I'm a career coach" and you're like, "Well, I'm looking for a job" and you sign up with him. That's not how it works, especially in 2022, when we have the smartest consumers in the history because of two things, Google and LinkedIn. We can find out so much information about the person that we're thinking about hiring, whether it's a web developer, whether it's a company, you're going to look into a career coach, a speaker, you name it. We have access to tons of information. We have the smartest consumers in history. It takes following up to close the sale sometimes. When was the last time that you met someone like a financial investor or advisor? Did you hire them on the spot? The answer is probably no. Today, we're going to just talk about following up, we're gonna be reviewing three key elements of the follow up. So are you ready? Number one? What systems do you have in place to help you with your follow up? Number two, how many times should you follow up? Number three, how to sell when someone says no, yes, that is possible. I've done it myself. And I'm going to share some tips.

Number one, let's just jump right in. When we're talking about following up. We're gonna talk about those three things. Now, when I think about it, I want to share a story with you. A talking to another career coach, she's having trouble closing that deal. And we asked her how she left the phone call at the end. And when the client says, well, I need to think about it. That's an investment. Let me talk to my partner. Those are all reasonable statements from the potential client. But how you handle it right then and there can make all the difference. If you're leaving it open ended. They're controlling the narrative, and you aren't. A suggestion is to really tighten that up and set up your follow up call right then, like, "Hey, Maria, that is great that you need to talk about it with your partner, I understand that it's an investment. Let's follow up in 24 hours". If you're talking on Wednesday, "Let's follow up on Friday at 2pm". I'll go ahead and does that work for you? I'll go ahead and send you a calendar invite right now. Get that on the calendar, when you're talking to the potential client.

Number one, when you're on that call, set the follow up appointment, right, then make sure that you're controlling the narrative of the conversation with your potential clients. Now the three things we're reviewing today are systems. If you're anything like me, be totally honest. Like, write post it notes, anybody else live and die off their post it notes? That is not a CRM system? That is not that is not going to work for you to know who you're following up with. If you're doing 10 to 15 consultation calls a month? Where are you putting that information? Where are you typing in the dates of when you need to follow up with each person? And do you have a system set up? Like a five star system? This is a this person is right on the edge of saying yes, that's a five star, this person, you're not quite sure that's a three star, you want to follow up with the hottest leads right away. Okay, so you need to have a system. What does that look like? When you know what if you're just starting off an Excel spreadsheet will work. Just create that name, contact information, where they were, what program you're selling them, if you have multiple programs, email address, you know, keep it simple. But please do make sure that you create some kind of follow up system. So you've got XL, HubSpot, which I'm really starting to get into. They have a free version. So again, we're talking free, there's FreshWorks, there's Zoho, I don't care what you use, as long as you start using something. And I have to tell you, I wish that I had started using a CRM from the day I started my business. Yes, I have an email list. But a CRM can really track your leads your clients because clients can become repeat clients, right? Tracking, like what program or services they purchase, how long they worked with you what was the price point, I just really feel that everybody needs to start off with a CRM system, even if it's an Excel spreadsheet, make it a routine, make it a habit that every week, every week, you're entering into your CRM system or your spreadsheet if it's not every day.

Now let's talk about how many times should you follow up? Does anyone have an idea? I'd love for you to just drop a number in the comments, 1,2,5,10. How many times should you follow up with a potential client that you've already had a conversation with? Now I have struggled with this from day one. And I have to be honest, I was not always great at following up. I felt like well, if they didn't contact me back, they must not be interested. Well learn from my mistake, that that is not always the case, your email could have gotten lost in the cloud, their cat might have deleted it when they were walking across the desk. This little cat over here was stepping on my keyboard today. So I believe in the power of three, a light follow up. So if you didn't set up that call, "Hey, Maria, I'd love to go ahead and schedule that follow up call with you to discuss the ins and outs of the program" to see what date you're ready to get started. Don't hear back follow up again. And then the one final Hasta la vista baby, I can see you don't really want to work with me. Now you're not gonna say in those words, but like, Hey, Jenny, you know, we had a phone call, I followed up with you a couple times, I guess this isn't the right time for us to be working together. I won't bother you anymore. When you're ready, go ahead and reach out that lets them know that you're not desperate, because you're not. And there might not be the right client. If they're not getting back to you with a no or yes, then they're not ready, right. But three times is what I feel after that you're wasting your time and their time. So we talked about putting a date right on the calendar when you're talking to your potential client. We talked about how many times to follow up three, the magic three.

Now let's talk about how to sell when they say, "Oh, Mary, that's a little more than I thought it was going to be" Yes, it's an investment in your career and your future careers, right. So I have a little line, I say, "but if they're like I just can't swing that right now". Have something else at a lower price point that you can sell them. What might that be group coaching. If you do group coaching, maybe it's 497. For three months of group coaching, you get 10 people in there, easy peasy. Maybe it's a self paced mini course. Well, hey, Lindsay, I understand that you don't have the money to invest. Right now in my bigger career coaching programs, perhaps you'd like to get started in a self paced mini course, I walk you through some of the basis of LinkedIn, I have some sample career exercises. And you can go ahead and make some of the edits on your own". How does that sell? What do you price it at like 297, with some PDFs, and a couple of videos, a workbook that someone can download for $47, maybe you're selling Instagram services, right how to get started on Instagram, and they don't want to buy your social media management package for three months, maybe they get started with a workbook. So there are other ways to sell when the person says that's not in my budget at this time. And by giving them a lower price item, you're still providing value. You're showing your expertise and credibility. And you'll be top of mind as they're going through your course or your work workbook. And when they're ready, they'll still come back to you. So does anyone have any of those lower priced items set up in their business right now? So when someone says "I can't afford your VIP program, you say, no problem, Mary, you know, I have a mini course you can buy. I'm just curious if anyone has any of those. Well, you guys. So today, we're just talking about the follow up. And I want you to start practicing. What does that sound like? How do you say it on a call? How do you write it in the email, create those templates so that you're not always like, oh, shoot, what do I say, create a messaging template for email, and you can massage it for each client. Write down your script of what that follow up. Sounds like when you're talking to a client and practice it and know that it gets better and easier with time. Make sure that you set up a CRM system, even if it's just an Excel spreadsheet. You can also try HubSpot, I believe that they have a free version. So that's a great place to get started. And then work out what your follow up sequence is. Is that email is that phone call. I think phone call is a little better. Right? The emails can be ignored where the phone call or you know try to get that setup. And finally, have a mini course, a PDF, a workbook something that's a lower price that you can offer them if they say oh I'm sorry, I just can't afford that investment at this time.

So you guys I'm Mary fain Brandt, this is 15 minutes of Fain. We go live every Tuesday except next Tuesday. I'm not going live because I'm having a minor procedure on my back. So I will not be sitting up at the time of my show. I'll be laying down on the couch with ice on my back. If you like the look and feel of the show. This is all made possible with us. Streamyard who is the official sponsor of 15 minutes of Fain, they make it so easy to go live. I literally hit this button that says go live. And then when that says End broadcast, I can bring on comments from you guys, I can have banners, this cool stuff up here that you see. And I'm just gonna give you like, look cool banners, right? Oh, I love this. And then my brand, I just want to show you guys you can change it, so quick. You know, you can do intro videos and outro videos, when you take that banner off. You can have intro music, it's so easy to go live. LinkedIn is now opened up live access to everyone. So if you want to get in front of more of your potential clients, if you want to be seen as a industry leader, a thought leader then think about doing a live show. If I put in the comments, all the links to everything, I don't see them right now. But they're over there. I'm going to put them in over here. So if you like the look and feel of this show, please know that my affiliate link is in the comments. And I might get enough to pay for a cup of coffee. And if you sign up with StreamYard, I'll even give you like a 15 minute tutorial to get you started. Because I think it's so easy to use. You won't need more than that. And I dropped links into other things that I mentioned on this show and other shows, because I'm always getting asked like what do you use? What tool do you use for this. And then, if you're in the Phoenix area, I have two events. One is my LinkedIn Local event on October 4, from 4 to 6 in Scottsdale. And it's about bringing your online connections offline getting together and having meaningful conversations, no sales, no business cards, just getting to know our local community. Then next Wednesday, I'm speaking at the small business expo at the Phoenix Convention Center. My talk is "How to build your brand on LinkedIn like a strong cup of coffee", so this is actually in person, I'm going to have to find something to wear. But it's going to be fun and there's going to be raffle prizes because y'all know how I'd love to give away prizes when I speak or hold any event. If you have a topic that you would like me to discuss on an upcoming 15 minutes of Fain. Send me a message drop it in the comments. Now I'll be back on October 4 at 12 o'clock with a special guest Jennifer Dray go of peak to profit and she's going to be talking all about how to scale your business. I cannot wait to have her on the show. She's also local in Phoenix, and we've been meeting up for lunch every other month. So go out there, network, set up a CRM system and practice your pitch practice your sales call practice your follow up. This is Mary fain Brandt and this is 15 minutes of Fain. Ciao.

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