5 proven techniques to close more sales

Sales follow-up is a classic headache. How do you effectively follow up with a prospect to maintain momentum without being annoying?

This is a difficult question and varies according to the situation, but there are a few things you can do to increase your chances of maintaining an open flow of communication and reduce the dreaded "blackout" scenario.

Try my proven sales follow-up techniques and see what happens!

1. Ask for advice on how best to follow up while adding value and without being annoying.

People ask me all the time: what's the best way to follow up with a prospect? I have a few ideas but I don't know the customer, the situation or any of the details.

All I can really do is offer a few suggestions based on my own experience. Do you know who knows how to ensure effective customer follow-up? The customer. Ask them.

If you've just had an introductory call with a prospect and it seems like there's a potential opportunity for their services, but not in the near future, ask them how you can stay in touch with them. without being boring

The only thing to remember to avoid being boring: focus on added value.

Is there any specific information about the industry, its role, its solution, etc. that might interest you? Are there any milestones they're looking to achieve, and once they do, are they ready to talk?

Find out how you can add value to your world. Investigate, don't guess. Your sales follow-up will eventually fail if you take the lazy route.

2. Ask what their preferred form of communication is and whether they will respond.

This is very different from asking about the sales tracking method itself; it's about their preferred way of communicating and getting them to engage at a reactive level.

This is usually more appropriate after receiving a discovery call and there seems to be an opportunity in the short to medium term.

I literally ask people, "What is your preferred form of communication moving forward here? Is it a cell phone, e-mail, SMS? I usually get an "e-mail" in response.

That's fine, but I want to make sure I know how to highlight 200-300 they get every day, so I'll say something like:

"You probably receive 200 to 300 e-mails a day like me. Is there anything I can put in the subject line to help me stand out and get my email opened?

I had a boy who told me to put "Green light in the subject line and would open it every time. Another woman told me to send her priority emails and another told me that text was by far the best way to connect with her.

Last but not least, I want to define the response expectation, so I say something like:

"What should I expect in terms of a response schedule for the e-mails I send you? I promise to reply within 24 hours of sending an e-mail. Is it realistic to ask the same of you?

Establish a rhythm of communication right from the start of the sales process. Win your commitment right away.

If you can get them to tell you how they like to communicate, they'll respond in good time. So it's much easier to hold them accountable for the rest of the process.

3. Make sure you always end each conversation with a clearly defined next step.

It kills me how often I see reps hang up the phone after a good conversation with a prospect without a clear next step on the calendar.

The easiest time to commit to a next meeting is at the end of the meeting you've just had. I hope the conversation went well and they agree to continue the conversation and take the next step.

It's almost a guarantee that they have their diary ahead of time, or at least within easy reach on their smartphone.

Capitalize at this point. Tie them to the next step by asking when they'll have time to meet. Send an invitation while you're still ahead of them so they can't help themselves.

If they want a proposal, ask when they want to schedule a call to review it. Don't let them leave with the old lady "Send it and we'll get back to you."

Once they leave without committing to anything on their part, it becomes a cat-and-mouse game as we try to track them down and re-engage them.

4. Summarize your conversations and get written confirmation.

This is one of my favorite sales follow-up tips. At the end of every decent conversation I have with a salesperson, I always send an e-mail summary that summarizes what we talked about and asks for their confirmation.

It's the best way to ensure that your sales follow-up stays on track. value-driven based on previous conversations.

There are several reasons why I do this:

• My grades are horrible. If I don't summarize the discussion immediately afterwards, I'll completely forget and go back over what I've written and I'll have no idea what I was thinking or what they were saying in the previous exchanges.

• To show that I understand your needs: I want to make sure I really heard what I thought I heard on the call and show them I was really listening.

• Hold your prospects accountable - I want to hold them accountable for what they've told me in the most professional way possible.

By summarizing our conversation and getting your confirmation, I accomplish all of the above while keeping you both on the same page.

5. Always have a specific reason for contacting your prospect.

We must always have a reason to contact our customers, prospects or whoever. That's why I always follow my customers and prospects.

Set up a Google Alert to be notified when something happens in your company that you can connect to.

I even start all my calls with this specific phrase: "The reason for my call today is ..."

I love this introduction because it forces me to think about why I'm calling. If I can't find a good reason, I try to find one.

And if you can't get them on the phone, be sure to leave a voicemail and follow up with an e-mail.

When my sales follow-up isn't 100% focused on me, my response rates and engagement figures increase dramatically.

* Publisher's note: Guest post by contributor John Barrows - Sales Coach for Salesforce, Marketo, LinkedIn, Box, Zendesk and more from the world's leading technology companies.