How Many More Sales Opportunities Are You Going To Miss?
Three Reasons to Build a Successful Touch Program
Have you ever called a prospect whom you met with 10 or 12 months prior only to discover that they already changed banks? Scratching your head, you remember the connection you had with that prospect. You wonder “why didn’t they call me, we had such a great meeting?” The truth is you were forgotten. And the reason you were forgotten and you missed a perfect sales opportunity is you lacked a disciplined follow-up process. One that enabled you to add value and would keep your name top of mind for the prospect until they were ready to switch banks.
Because it’s hard to know when the “buying window” will open and a prospect is considering switching banks, we need a process to help ensure we stop missing sales opportunities… Constructing a disciplined process for maintaining contact with prospects will minimize the very real risk of being forgotten. In your touch program, you must build a disciplined process for:
- Build trust and name recognition. This can be achieved through repetitive “touches” or communications. We recommend you alternate between email, phone call and maybe a handwritten note. Mix it up a little. Consistency is key.
- Add value. Adding value by being a facilitator of introductions as well as that of a consultant or advisor positions yourself uniquely in the marketplace while providing a wealth of contacts, and subsequently, value for your customer. We recommend you send a monthly email with an article attached for two consecutive months, then on the third month make a phone call to the prospect and invite them to a breakfast or lunch meeting. Repeat this process every quarter.
- Establish yourself as an Expert: Finding and sharing quality business content is fast and easy, plus it makes you look more knowledgeable. Keep in mind, the article doesn’t have to be the “perfect”; just by sharing the knowledge you get credit.
Residential Realtors are some of the best at developing “touch programs” for consistent exposure. Realtors systematically leave reminders: a door hanger, a flyer on the front door, a flag with their business card on 4th of July. They’re disciplined with their communications (“touches”) because they never know when “the buying window” as a result of some event occurring and a homeowner is now ready to sell their home.
Stop missing sales opportunities due to disorganization, lack of discipline and not having a process. A touch program can be built in a couple hours time which isn’t much when weighed against the time required to create a quality sales appointment.
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