Sales follow-up after a direct mail campaign maximizes the campaign’s effectiveness and increases the chances of converting leads into customers.
The following nine steps are best practices for salespeople to use to take full advantage of any marketing campaign.
1 – Plan your follow-up strategy. Before launching your direct mail campaign, create a comprehensive follow-up plan. If Marketing and Sales are working in alignment, this will be a collaborative effort. Decide on the timing and frequency of sales efforts, and identify any channels you will use, such as phone calls, emails or social media.
2 – Be timely by following up with your leads within one week of your direct mail campaign. You will see more Sales success if you communicate within a week of the direct mail drop date to ensure the offer is fresh in the recipients’ minds. The best time of day to reach your prospects? Between 4:00 and 5:00 pm.
3 – Personalize your sales approach and messaging. Chances are your Marketing team personalized the direct mail piece (Read more here if you aren’t optimizing your print marketing with personalization. If your marketing isn’t personalized, you may be missing out on greater effectiveness.) Use the information you have about your leads to customize your follow-up messages and approach.
4 – Provide value. Understanding your clients’ business goals and pain points allows you to offer a solution that will help their business. Only 13% of customers believe a salesperson can understand their needs. Listen, ask questions, and work hard on understanding the problem before you offer your solutions.
5 – Be persistent. As Babe Ruth said, “You just can’t beat the person who never gives up.” It takes about six calls to turn a prospect into a customer, and most salespeople give up after the first call. If you stick with it, chances are you will earn the business.
6 – Be respectful. Avoid being pushy or aggressive – or just annoying. While persistence is key, no one wants to be hounded by a pushy sales rep who doesn’t respect their time. If your potential client wants an email, communicate by email. If they prefer in person meetings, set up a time to sit down face to face. Respecting people’s time, communication preference, and stage in the buying process is professional and helps build a lasting business relationship.
7 – Track and measure results. Every campaign, every sales call, every client interaction is an opportunity to learn what’s working and what isn’t. Monitor how you are doing to meet the goals you set, including response rates, conversions, and other performance indicators. Evaluate and adjust to keep improving your results.
By planning and executing a well-though-out strategy for sales follow-up, salespeople can enhance the success of their direct mail campaigns and increase their chances of converting leads into customers.
