Follow Up and Close the Sale: Make Easy (and Effective) Follow-Up Your Winning Habit
By Jeff Shore
()
About this ebook
Award-winning sales coach Jeff Shore shows sales professionals how to apply buyer psychology to personalize follow-ups, serve customers—and seal the deal faster.
What does a sales professional do when the customer says, “Not yet”?
Companies have invested thousands and even millions of dollars in CRM technology over the past decade, but frontline salespeople and sales executives alike are still groping for solutions. The problem of drift—a common phenomenon in which a prospect simply forgets about the product offering and goes dark—is persistent and rampant. Technology doesn’t change behavior on its own. Behavior is changed by adopting better habits. The fact is 44 percent of salespeople give up after one follow-up attempt. That sad reality presents a genuine opportunity.
In Follow Up and Close the Sale, Jeff Shore offers research-based insights into the customer’s buying journey to teach sales professionals how to:
• Create and maintain Emotional Altitude for the customer
• Leverage speed as an advantage
• Personalize follow-up to fulfill customer needs and provide value
• Overcome the mental barriers that make follow-up a difficult task
• Select the right follow-up method
• Stay in touch without annoying the prospect
• “Wake up” tired leads
Better yet, this results-oriented book will make the follow-up process, one often dreaded as a grueling chore, to be genuinely enjoyable. Effective follow-up is relationship-based, service-driven, and emotionally positive. It’s about rituals and routines, rhythms and the right attitude. It’s about not quitting when others give up.
Follow-up is what separates the good from the great.
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Follow Up and Close the Sale - Jeff Shore
PRAISE FOR JEFF SHORE AND FOLLOW UP AND CLOSE THE SALE
No. It’s a word that every salesperson hears, often several times a day. In Follow Up and Close the Sale, Jeff Shore teaches you what to do next—in particular, how to develop the mindset of serving your customers by following up. Shore’s treatment of this topic, which has frustrated sales professionals for decades, is long overdue and exceedingly wise.
—Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of To Sell Is Human
This powerful, practical, fast-moving book is loaded with proven strategies and techniques that you can use to make more and bigger sales, faster and easier than ever before.
—Brian Tracy, bestselling author of The Psychology of Selling
Jeff Shore is the master of follow-up, and he will teach you how to close more sales and make more money using this powerful tool. In this book, you will learn more and better ways to follow up than you dreamed possible. I recommend it.
—Mark Sanborn, bestselling author of The Potential Principle and The Intention Imperative
Jeff Shore has done it again! In a simple-to-implement format, he has managed to powerfully and effectively teach the missing link to championship sales success. If you are a sales professional, read this book and begin applying its message right away.
—Bob Burg, bestselling coauthor of The Go-Giver and author of Endless Referrals
What separates winners from losers when it comes to winning big deals is their disciplined follow-up and follow-through, being persistent, and proving they are reliable. Read this book, improve your effectiveness, and win more deals.
—Anthony Iannarino, author of Eat Their Lunch
Jeff has written one of the strongest books on sales I have come across in a long time. Power-packed with strategies, loaded with information, and writing that keeps you glued to the content. Read this book, share this book, and use this book to land more deals.
—Meridith Elliott Powell, CEO of MotionFirst
Jeff has provided the solution to the big problem everyone faces. You don’t just read this book, you make money from this book! Read it now—before your competitor does.
—Mark Hunter (The Sales Hunter
), author of The Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting
Jeff Shore is one of the strongest voices in sales. He speaks with power and wisdom, and the truths and tips in Follow Up and Close the Sale will increase your confidence, your effectiveness, your win rate, and your paycheck!
—Mike Weinberg, bestselling author of New Sales. Simplified.
Pay attention to the brilliant methodology in this valuable book. Jeff’s strategic vision and practical advice provide every sales professional with the process and tools needed to accelerate follow-up strategies, stand out, and get the attention and results you want and need. If you are a sales leader, read this book and buy a copy for everyone in your team. You’ll be so glad you did.
—Neen James, author of Attention Pays
In sports, the ball goes where you want it to go, because of how you follow through. The same is true for sales. Finally, a book that addresses the weakest part of most sales processes! Bravo, Jeff Shore!
—Bill Cates, president of Referral Coach International
Sales nurturing and follow-up are a mix of art, skills, and psychology. Anyone who receives an endless barrage of just checking in
emails or calls, or the infamous were you abducted by aliens
email, can relate to follow-up being done poorly. What’s even worse is no follow-up at all. What we don’t see enough is consistent follow-up, done well. Jeff Shore has a formula and proven system for helping you fix that and excel at follow-up, in a way that is customer-centric, engages buyers, and gets results. If you follow Jeff’s work already, that’s no surprise. If you don’t yet, jump in. You’ll be glad you did.
—Mike Kunkle, VP at Sales Enablement Services
Here’s the deal. If you follow up with buyers, you will win more sales. As a bonus, you build your brand as a salesperson who is truly committed to your clients’ best outcome. Jeff provides the mindsets and the techniques for selling more while making it easy and fun.
—Dr. John Musser, founder and CEO of Enhanced Sales Potential
The key to any sale is effective follow-up, yet most sales executives, including top performers, do not do this effectively on a consistent basis, and are leaving huge amounts of money on the table. If you want to close more sales, read this book!
—Ron Karr, creator of the Velocity Mindset™ and author of Lead, Sell, or Get Out of the Way
As someone who believes follow-up is one of the top keys to success in sales, it is so refreshing to read Jeff Shore’s simple way of teaching the fundamentals. By focusing on mindset, strategy, and then execution, he takes a process many of us don’t do well and breaks it down into tactical, executable steps. Bravo!
—Lori Richardson, CEO of Score More Sales
From time to time a book comes along that can make a difference. Jeff Shore’s new work is a striking example. Jeff provides a comprehensive and engaging exploration of the fundamentally important topic of follow-up, and shares the best practices and tools required to overcome our resistance to the task.
—Richard Ruff, PhD, partner at Level Five Selling
This isn’t just a collection of follow-up tactics. It’s a sales relationship manifesto. Make this required reading for anyone you trust to sell for you. It turns the agony of follow-up into purposeful excitement.
—Tim David, author of Magic Words and The Four Levels of Influencing People
This book is guaranteed to change how you think about follow-up. With his signature use of stories and sales humor, Jeff Shore uncovers the truth about why most follow-up fails, and how you can use the follow-up secrets of sales legends to unleash a new level of success.
—Dennis O’Neil, president of ONeil Interactive Inc.
Another winning book from Jeff Shore to add to your sales arsenal. Jeff’s approach to the mindset and execution of the sales process is second to none.
—Scott Lalli, president of Destination Homes
This straightforward approach to customer follow-up offers techniques that are easy to use and easy to understand. Jeff has a proven track record and his insight into this topic is spot on.
—Doug Moran, COO of Dream Finders Homes
Another great work by Jeff! He is always on point with current sales needs, and this book is no exception. His witty and easy-to-read style conveys real actionable advice to sales professionals in all industries. A must-read for the sales superstar!
—Wade Thomas, founder and CEO of Aim to Win
Jeff Shore hits upon a critical component of the sales process to which most salespeople pay little mind. In Follow Up and Close the Sale, he provides key strategies and techniques to keep the sale moving and help you win more deals at the prices you want. Your follow-up methods differentiate you and can provide value the competition does not. Take advantage of those opportunities to set yourself apart.
—Lee B. Salz, author of Sales Differentiation
Copyright © 2020 by Jeff Shore. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 978-1-26-046267-8
MHID: 1-26-046267-6
The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: ISBN: 978-1-26-046266-1, MHID: 1-26-046266-8.
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To the incredibly talented team at Shore Consulting. You are both friends and family. Your passion and dedication inspire me each and every day. I love you all.
Contents
FOREWORD: Salespeople Don’t Follow Up by Jeb Blount
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION
PART I
MINDSET
1 The Why of Follow-Up
2 Falling in Love with Follow-Up
3 Fighting Resistance
PART II
STRATEGY
4 Setting Up the Follow-Up
5 How Not to Get Eliminated
6 Speed: Your Secret Superpower
7 Making It Personal
PART III
EXECUTION
8 Planning for Follow-Up Success
9 Selecting the Right Follow-Up Method
10 Phone Follow-Up
11 Email Follow-Up
12 Text Message Follow-Up
13 Video Follow-Up
14 Unique Follow-Up Methods
15 Follow-Up Scripts
16 The Perfect Lead Conversion Hour
17 Waking Up Old Leads
18 When to Let Go
PART IV
KILLIN’ IT
19 The 1 Percent Club
20 Beyond 1 Percent
NOTES
INDEX
Foreword
Salespeople Don’t Follow Up
At a trade show earlier this year I met a sales representative who was working her company’s booth. We had a great conversation, and once I learned more about her service, I was ready to buy. In fact, I said those words. So, I gave her my email and direct mobile number and asked her to call me on Monday. She didn’t. In fact, she never followed up.
This past spring, we were helping an elderly (and quite wealthy) relative with finding an upscale, full-service retirement facility. We visited seven facilities, did tours, and listened to their sales presentations. All of the salespeople seemed eager to work with us. They all had empty beds to fill. Only one ever followed up, and even then, his single email was tepid, passive, and lame.
Three weeks ago, I was shopping for insurance for my growing company. I did discovery calls with several agents. All of them promised to follow up with quotes. Only one did.
The sad truth is that salespeople don’t follow up, and honestly, I don’t know why. The money is on the table just waiting for someone to pick it up! Ineffective and nonexistent sales follow-up is a gaping hole in the sales profession. The brutal truth is that 44 percent of salespeople give up after only one follow-up attempt.
The irony is that, oftentimes, the sales professionals who claim to be desperate for better results are the same ones who neglect this important discipline. In a world that offers a never-ending smorgasbord of shortcuts and get-rich-quick schemes, we tend to ignore what is perhaps the most important success trait of all: perseverance.
Ultra-high-performing salespeople will tell you that the one trait that sets them apart from everyone else is the discipline to persevere. I work with top-tier sales professionals each day from every corner of the globe who tell stories of calling and calling and calling until finally breaking through and scoring their dream account. One of the largest deals I ever sold was closed after leaving 52 voice mails. Because that’s what it took!
But if you consider the examples I opened with, we’re not even talking about perseverance. We’re talking about common sense. We’re talking about leaving easy money on the table. Those reps were too afraid or too undisciplined to just pick up the phone and follow up. The truth is it takes discipline, commitment, getting past your fear of objections, a willingness to work through resistance, and a desire to win in order to master sales follow-up.
Jeff Shore has a message for you: If you wish to stand out from your competition, be a hero in your organization, and find unparalleled success, follow-up is the path that will get you there. In Follow Up and Close the Sale Jeff teaches you exactly what you need to do to put more money in your pocket now! If you’re ready to take your sales career to the next level, turn the page and get to work.
JEB BLOUNT
Founder and CEO of Sales Gravy and author of 12 books, including Fanatical Prospecting, Sales EQ, People Buy You, Objections, and INKED
Acknowledgments
Billy Joel wrote the soundtrack to my youth. I’m a big fan, and I’ve seen him in concert many times over the years. Last year my wife and I saw him perform at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Our seats were to the side of the stage, and this gave us an interesting angle to see some of what was happening behind the scenes. It was a Billy Joel concert, and his name was written in huge letters, but hundreds of people helped to make the concert a success.
So too with writing a book. The reader doesn’t get to see the toil, the arguments, the research, the editing, and all the other painstaking tasks that go into the process.
But I do. I observe firsthand the amount of work that goes into putting a book together, and the effort is Herculean.
For one thing, everyone on the Shore Consulting team plays a part in the process. Paul Murphy constructs the promo videos and pushes the book on various channels. Kelly King works with our clients on the friends and family
book promotions. Bevin Curtis handles the keynote speaking requests that always come in when a book is released. Cassandra Grauer coordinates book launch events. Amy O’Connor and Ryan Taft contribute invaluable content notes and also teach the content to thousands upon thousands of sales professionals each year. Kevin Shore manages the backstage
portion of the book, including listings, shipping and fulfillment, and online campaigns. Ali Westbrook leads the digital marketing and social media team. And Wade