"Fortunes are not made in boom times... that is merely the collection period. Fortunes are made in depressions or lean times when the wise man overhauls his mind, his methods, his resources, and gets in training for the race to come." - George Wood Bacon


NO FOLLOW UP ... OR FOLLOW THROUGH

When I start to look at why follow up was not done, I find it is usually a result of poor time management skills. Poor time management skills is indicative of bad self-discipline habits. If you dig even deeper, you can also look at the company's culture and see that it is wide spread throughout the company from the CEO on down.

In the age of the Smart Phone and all the apps that go with them , there is no excuse not to not only write down notes but to read them through again and put alarms on "action tasks". It does not need to be high tech - daily planners or organization systems or even a simple list would work equally as well. It takes surprisingly little time to make a phone call to a client to ask if they got an email or just to make contact - but that contact will be remembered and go a long way in building a relationship.

It's also not a bad idea to create a tracking system for when you speak to clients or when you need to follow up so you are clear on when you spoke to them and what was discussed.

One of my favorite books on time management (lack of follow up is a symptom of time management issues) is The Time Trap by Alec Mackenzie. He emphasizes using all tools available to stay on top of your follow up. He also recommends to keep goals visible so that when your focus wanes, these goals are visible and you can get back on task. Finally, he encourages setting deadlines - even if the project does not have one. This will help you prioritize and ensure that you finish the task.

Customers should be treated like not only assets but as partners as well. Communications and constant follow up will always create a positive experience and hopefully a long-standing relationship. This is part of the overall positive experience.

It's like shopping at Nordstrom - the philosophy of the company is to give the customer a great shopping experience not just to provide merchandise.

Customers need to be courted from the initial meeting on through to the follow up. As Jeremy Wright said in Blog Marketing (2005), "Positive experiences create emotional responses...no emotion means no loyalty, so customers really have no reason to stay."

Lack of deadlines and priorities will encourage putting things off. Make it clear to your staff that after a sales mission or trade show, a detailed written report of the people they met (with copies of business cards) and recap of the meeting is expected within a short amount of time (48 to 72 hours upon their return). Additionally, develop your database by immediately putting your business cards in your Outlook address book! It is up to the owners and management to then follow up with the sales people to make sure it's done. So follow up on necessary on all levels. Without this series of follow up, tremendous opportunities (in the form of revenue) can fall through the cracks and lost forever.

It never ceases to amaze me that a number of companies I have worked with in the past 28 years had never received a report of sales missions or trade shows (and business cards that coincide with the sales report) from their sales staff prior to my consulting with them.

When sales people have sent back charter and series requests, it is imperative that the charter quote department follow through with timely responses for quotes. Especially with the technology that is out there, a quote should get out within 24 to 48 hours maximum. By doing this, it STOPS the search process. If a client has a rate, they can get their quote out and a decision can be made. Additionally, it creates a good working relationship - the client will remember that you quote in a timely fashion and will call on your company first... and in many cases, it will be the last call as well.

Management should also empower their sales people to do quotes on the spot during sales calls and trade shows. I've closed hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of charter agreements by giving a quote on the spot - eliminating the opportunity for the competition to be able to get "up to bat". Seize the opportunity!

One of my past clients had her charter department complain that I wanted my quotes right away. I explained to her, "It's not me that wants the information quickly... it's the CLIENTS!" At the end of the day, it's the customers that keeps the wheels moving.

Within the motorcoach industry, companies are having to lower their margins to compete, banks and financial institutions are tightening up credit but six figure insurance payments, monthly bus payments, salaries and other fixed costs are still due. It is even more imperative that your sales and operations people work as a team to increase sales. This teamwork will be noticed by the client as customer service. Which will keep business coming back.

Many companies say they are available 24/7 which is 168 hours in one week. In that amount of time, there is no excuse not to follow up and follow through with a client's request.

But to follow up after a 1st contact is made is not sufficient, to continually touch base is mandatory - consistency breeds reliability.

The bottom line is Poor Follow Up + Poor Follow Through = No Sales / Cash Flow Issues / Poor Reputation in Your Industry.

To quote Sun Tzu in The Art of War, "Speed is the essence of war; take advantage of the enemy's delay, take unexpected routes, attack unguarded locations."

Kevin Streit and Associates specializes in new business development in the tourism and motorcoach industry. In most instances, your first consultation is FREE OF CHARGE. You will be able to review our plans and recommendations and opt-out at any time (30-day notice). Kevin Streit and Associates is unable to serve companies which may be in areas where agreements for service are already in place or are pending. Satisfying our client base is our premier and foremost objective.



For additional information on this topic and other sales and marketing solutions, contact us directly :
Kevin Streit kstreit@consultksa.com or by phone (702) 528-5808
Virginia Streit vstreit@consultksa.com or by phone (702) 496-2509