Handling responses
Want to know the most important thing when it comes to responding to prospective customers? It’s speed.
Responding to someone within five minutes makes them 21 times more likely to buy from you than if you wait 30 minutes. Yep, it’s that important.
So when you reply quickly (and politely) to people who reply to your emails, it shows you’re professional and helps keep the conversation going. Even if they’re not interested now, being friendly could make them more likely to think of you later.
Replies can also teach you stuff about your approach, how you’re talking to people, and who you’re trying to sell to. This feedback can be really useful in improving your prospecting and helping you sell more in the future!
Prospecting tip
Keep your CRM up to date!
To get the most out of your prospecting, you need to have a Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) – and keep it up to date.
Your CRM is like a digital filofax where you keep important details about your customers and how they connect with your company. It helps you build on your relationships to keep customers coming back for more.
Psst… Outbase plugs directly into HubSpot CRM (you can get started for free!) so you can manage both your potential customers and existing customers across both platforms, seamlessly.
Typical replies and how to respond
The replies you’ll get from prospects will range from “heck yes” to “hell no” with a few different shades in between. While there’s always opportunities to turn things around, keeping things polite and friendly will go a long way to keeping your reputation peachy.
“No thanks” (decline)
You should reply to all responses, even if it’s a blunt “no”. They could have just ignored you, but instead took the time to reply, so thank them for it! You never know when they might be interested again, so being polite and friendly will keep that door open for the future.
“Not right now/we’re sorted at the moment” (deferred interest)
And if they’re not interested right now, thank them and set yourself a reminder to contact them at this later date. If they have a specific objection, be ready with a friendly response (here’s some common sales objections and how to tackle them).
If they already have a supplier in place, ask when you should check in again. If they give you a specific end date for their current contract date – winner! You’ve now got a solid timeline for getting back in touch. Remember not to be rude about competitors – just show why you’re the best!
“Speak to so-and-so” (referral)
If someone refers a new person, thank them and contact the new person right away. Include the referrer’s email in the reply so they know it’s legit. Trust is key!
“Sounds good, let’s chat” (positive)
The best response ever. Just make sure you don’t sit on this! If they’re interested, set up a call as soon as possible and make it easy for them to book a time in your diary. Don’t try to sell everything over email – save that gorgeous pitch for the sales call.
Prospecting tip
Prioritize your leads!
Not all leads are created equal! So save time and effort by focusing on the ones most likely to become customers.
Create your own scorecard to measure your leads by, giving points based on things like whether they’ve checked out your website, downloaded some content, or followed you on social media.
The more points someone has, the more likely they are to buy. While it feels like a lot of work, it’ll save you so much time and effort in the long run. Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting up your own lead scoring system.
Managing your customer responses with Outbase
At the touch of a button, you can set your prospecting campaign live, and your email sequences will start sending automatically to your bespoke audience. Any replies will go straight to your designated inbox, meaning you can pick up genuine sales enquiries as soon as they come in.
Don’t yet have a sales superstar on the team? No worries! Your dashboard has lots of clever insights and notifications that help you turn those leads into customers.
Outbase’s intuitive dashboard insights and smart notifications will suggest actions to take next. Store all of your sales stuff within the platform (videos, crib notes, sales scripts etc) to have everything you need to bag new business at your fingertips.
