Following up with prospects is one of the most critical steps in turning leads into actual clients. While many business owners excel at the initial contact, the real challenge is staying on the radar and guiding prospects through to a final decision.
In this post, we’ll break down a follow-up procedure that you can easily implement, automate, or delegate to your team. This process not only helps convert leads but also ensures you’re maximizing the opportunities you’ve worked hard to get.
Day 0: Initial Contact
This is the starting point when a prospect reaches out to inquire about your services or products. Whether it’s over the phone, via email, or through a contact form, the first impression is crucial.
What to do:
- Send a Confirmation Email Immediately: As soon as you’re off the phone or after receiving their lead, send an automatic follow-up email. This email should thank them for contacting you, provide a recap of your discussion, and outline next steps. Automation here is key—most CRMs allow you to trigger an email instantly.
- What to Include in the Email: Make sure the email includes all your contact information (phone numbers, email, social media handles) and, if relevant, add a few client testimonials to build trust. Giving them multiple ways to contact you ensures you’re accessible and professional.
- (Optional) Physical Touchpoint: If your business allows it, send a handwritten thank-you note or a form letter to their physical address. Giving prospects something tangible can set you apart. Personal touches like these can leave a lasting impression.
- Add Them to Your Christmas Card List: Regardless of the outcome, make sure to add every prospect to your Christmas card list. Sending a Christmas card, whether they become a client or not, keeps you top of mind for future opportunities and adds a personal touch.
Day 2: Follow-Up Message
Two days after the initial contact is a good time to reach out again, just to stay fresh in their minds and reinforce that you’re ready to help.
What to do:
- Send a Direct Check-In: Avoid passive language like “just checking in.” Instead, be clear and assertive. Something like “I wanted to follow up on our conversation to see if you had any more questions or need further information before moving forward” works well. This keeps the tone professional and straightforward.
- Delegate if Necessary: If your team is large enough, you can delegate this task to a staff member whose primary role is to follow up with leads. Automating this task through a CRM can also save time, ensuring no lead slips through the cracks.
Day 7: Second Follow-Up
A week has passed, and if you haven’t heard from them, it’s time for a more deliberate follow-up.
What to do:
- Send a Focused Follow-Up: Rather than a “gentle reminder,” send a message that reiterates the value of what you offer and asks for a decision on the next step. You could say something like, “I wanted to follow up on our last conversation to ensure you’re still interested in moving forward. I’m available to answer any questions and get the process started.”
- Include a Clear Call to Action (CTA): Invite them to take action—whether that’s scheduling a call, booking a meeting, or signing up for a consultation. Make it as easy as possible for them to take that next step by providing direct links or offering convenient time slots for follow-up calls.
Day 14: Provide an Incentive (If it makes sense)
At the two-week mark, you may want to offer an incentive to push the prospect toward making a decision.
What to do:
- Offer Something Extra: Provide an incentive like a free consultation, a small discount, or an added service to sweeten the deal. For example, “If you decide to move forward this week, we’re offering a free consultation or a 10% discount on your first service.”
- Show Additional Value: This is also a good opportunity to send them something they may find valuable, like a helpful guide, case study, or relevant content related to your service. This keeps the relationship active without being overly sales-focused.
Day 30: Final Call
If a month has passed and you still haven’t heard back, it’s time to wrap things up with one last check-in.
What to do:
- Send a Direct Final Follow-Up: Frame this as your final outreach before closing the conversation. A subject line like “Final Check Before We Close Out” works well. In the email, express that you understand if the timing isn’t right but you’d love to hear back from them with a final decision.
- Leave the Door Open: Make it clear that while this is your last outreach, they are welcome to reach out anytime in the future if they’re ready to move forward.
Day 60: Re-Engage
At the two-month mark, a soft re-engagement email can bring them back to the conversation.
What to do:
- Send a Relevant Update or Resource: Share something valuable, like an industry update, a new blog post, or a case study that might be helpful. The goal isn’t to push for a decision but to keep your business top of mind in a non-intrusive way.
- Stay Connected: This keeps the relationship warm, and even if they aren’t ready now, you’ll be top of mind when they are.
Day 90: Closing the Loop
Three months later, you should send a final message to close the conversation on a friendly note.
What to do:
- Send a “Goodbye for Now” Email: Politely thank them for their time and let them know that while you won’t be following up anymore, the door is always open for them to reach out when they’re ready. This is a great time to remind them of your holiday card list as well—it’s an easy way to stay in their mind without actively pursuing them.
Customizing the Follow-Up Process
While this is a generic follow-up sequence, it’s important to note that different businesses will require different approaches. Depending on your industry, the decision-making process might call for shorter timelines with more frequent touches, or perhaps a more spread-out approach.
The best follow-up method can vary by industry—whether it’s a phone call, text, email, letter, or in-person meeting you place into the intervals. While the channel is flexible, the key is delivering the right message that prompts action.
The key is to know your customers and understand how they make decisions. Your follow-up timelines and the content you send shouldn’t be set in stone. Play around with the intervals and test different approaches to see what works best for your audience.
Doing something is always better than doing nothing. Even if your follow-up sequence isn’t perfect, it’s still far more effective than leaving leads hanging while your competition is potentially building relationships with prospective clients. The worst thing you can do is let potential business slip away because you didn’t do anything.
You don’t have to implement a massive follow-up campaign right now. If you’re not already following up consistently, just start with two simple touchpoints. Make a consistent effort to follow up twice—one soon after initial contact and one a bit later—and then expand as you and your team become more comfortable. This will allow you to gradually incorporate follow-ups into your daily workflow without feeling overwhelmed.
The goal is to build a process that grows with you. You don’t want to create a big, complicated system that overwhelms you or your team to the point that it gets abandoned. Start small, stay consistent, and then build on that success over time.
Automating the Follow-Up Process
A lot of this process can be automated through a reputable customer relationship management tool (CRM), ensuring timely follow-ups without manual effort. Most CRMs can schedule emails, track responses, and even send out personalized follow-ups based on set triggers like “no reply after 7 days.” Automating these touchpoints allows your team to focus on higher-value tasks while still ensuring no prospect slips through the cracks.
For larger teams, you can delegate follow-ups to staff members whose sole focus is managing leads and maintaining client relationships. Having someone dedicated to tracking prospects can make all the difference in converting leads, especially when they’re tasked with following up consistently and ensuring no opportunity is left on the table.
Conclusion: Follow-Up with Purpose
Following up with prospects is more than just checking a box—it’s about building trust, staying top of mind, and showing you’re serious about earning their business. By implementing a structured follow-up procedure, automating key touchpoints, and delegating where necessary, you’ll see higher conversion rates and ultimately, more business.
One Last Note
If you decide not to pursue business with a prospective client, for whatever reason after speaking with them, make sure to remove them from your pipeline and skip them on your Christmas card mailing list.
