In business, the saying goes that it’s all about who you know. It’s not just about what you know. This is especially true regarding networking and building relationships with other professionals. As important as making a good first impression, it’s even more crucial to maintain that relationship over time. Unfortunately, many people give up too soon when follow-up attempts yield results after some time. In this guide, we’ll explore average follow-up attempts and provide tips for increasing your chances of success.
What are Average Follow-up Attempts?
The Average Follow-up Attempts metric measures how many activities your sales reps undertake to try and complete a sale, either successfully or unsuccessfully. It can be further refined by calculating the average follow-up attempts only for closed leads.
The average amount of attempts can vary depending on the type of product or service you offer, the customer’s preferences, and other factors. Ensure your attempts are targeted and well thought out, rather than just sending a one-size-fits-all message to every customer.
Why Is It Important For Startups To Track This Metric?
Tracking the success rate of follow-up attempts is essential for startups because it helps them measure their customer engagement and understand which tactics are most effective in converting leads into customers.
Tracking this metric can also help startups identify areas of improvement, such as which topics generate the most interest and how customers respond to certain messages. All of this information can help refine a startup’s strategies in a way that maximizes customer engagement and leads to better conversion rates.
Finally, tracking the success rate of follow-up attempts can also provide insights into customer behaviours and preferences–invaluable information for startups looking to optimize their customer experience. By tracking this metric, startups can better understand their market and develop the strategies necessary for success.
Research conducted by Brevet found that most sales require five follow-ups to be successful. Unfortunately, only 44% of sales reps follow up with a prospect more than once before giving up. After four attempts, most salespeople have already abandoned their pursuit. Clearly, mastering the art of following up is a must for any successful salesperson.
To maximize your chances of closing deals, it is essential to persistently follow up with potential customers. Doing so helps build relationships and trust and shows that you value their business. Additionally, following up allows you to provide answers to any questions and address any concerns a customer may have.
How do you calculate Average Follow-up Attempts?
Here’s the formula:
Total (#) of Follow-up Attempts / Total (#) of Leads = Average (#) Follow-up Attempts Per Lead
So, if you had 10 follow-up attempts spread out among 3 leads, your Average Follow-up Attempts would be 10/3, or 3.33. The average follow-up attempts can be found by dividing the total number of follow-up attempts by the total number of contacts. This will provide you with the average number of attempts needed to contact someone. This calculation can be useful for understanding overall customer engagement and success in reaching out to potential customers.
What factors affect Average Follow-up Attempts?x
A few factors can affect the Average Follow-up Attempts, such as lead profiles, customer response rate, and time frame.
Lead profiles:
Different lead profiles require different levels of follow-up. For example, a customer who is active in the market for your product or service may require fewer follow-up attempts than a customer who is not actively looking.
Customer response rate:
The customer response rate varies by industry and customer segment. The customer response rate directly correlates with the number of follow-up attempts required to make contact.
Time frame:
The time you have to convert a lead into a customer can also affect the number of follow-up attempts. Fewer follow-up attempts may be necessary if you have a longer time frame. On the other hand, if you have a shorter time frame, more follow-up attempts may be required to convert the lead
What are the effects of Average Follow-up Attempts on a startup?
Average follow-up attempts on a startup can positively affect increased sales, strengthened customer relations, and improve customer service. It can also help startups get more exposure and build brand awareness.
Regular follow-up attempts can help a startup to stay on top of their customer’s needs and requests. This will lead to increased customer satisfaction, resulting in a higher level of loyalty from existing customers. Additionally, keeping track of customer needs can help to identify new opportunities and potential areas for growth.
Having an average follow-up attempt rate also allows startups to show customers that they are serious about their business and care about their customers. This can help build trust and credibility, which is essential for gaining and retaining new customers.
What are good Follow-up Attempts?
When it comes to follow-up, timing is key. It’s generally best to wait about 48 hours between attempts. But just as important is the medium of follow-up. A combination of different methods, such as phone calls, emails, voicemails, and social media messages, can help you get the best results. Don’t limit yourself to just one method – diversifying your approach can make all the difference.
Follow-up attempts should be personalized and tailored to the individual. Ask questions that demonstrate a genuine interest in understanding the customer’s response and needs. Be sure to give customers a sense of urgency and an easy way to respond — via email, phone call, or even text message.
Additionally, try to use a positive and friendly tone in your follow-up message to make the customer feel at ease. Some examples of good follow-up questions are:
- What would need to change for you to make a decision?
- What information do you need to make a decision?
- What are the most important factors in making your decision?
- Is there anything else I can provide to help you make a decision?
- What timeline are you working with for making your decision?
- Are there any potential risks or concerns that you have about making a decision?
What is a bad Follow-up Attempt?
A bad follow-up attempt includes sending out generic emails or messages, not taking the time to personalize the communication, skipping an acknowledgment of the issue or request, not following through on promised updates, and failing to respond in a timely manner.
Additionally, if the communication does not accurately address the issue or request and is unclear, this can be considered a bad follow-up attempt. A bad follow-up attempt ultimately will fail to resolve the issue or provide the desired outcome. It can also leave a negative impression on customers and potential prospects.
What are tips to achieve Follow-up attempts?
Here are the tips to achieve better follow-up attempts:
Set a reminder:
It is important to set reminders for yourself when it comes to follow-up attempts so that you don’t miss any important opportunities. Use whatever system works best for you and stick to it.
Create a timeline:
If you have multiple follow-ups that need to occur, create a timeline to track when each one needs to be completed. This will help you stay organized and ensure that all follow-up attempts are made in a timely manner.
Utilize technology:
There are many tools available to help you better manage your follow-up attempts. From email automation to a CRM system, plenty of options can help you stay on top of your follow-up attempts.
Be persistent:
Following up with someone is not always easy, but it’s important to be persistent in your follow-up attempts. Don’t let a lack of response stop you from trying again. Keep trying and eventually get the response you’re looking for.
Be patient:
It can be tempting to give up after a few failed attempts, but staying patient is important. Give it some time and continue following up until you get the answer that you’re looking for. Through patience and persistence, your follow-up attempts will eventually pay off.
Tools to measure Average follow-up attempts
There are several tools that businesses can use to measure average follow-up attempts, such as customer support tracking software, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and web analytics platforms.
Customer support tracking software allows businesses to easily measure how long customers are waiting for a response, how many attempts it took to reach them, and how long it took for each attempt. Customer relationship management (CRM) systems allow businesses to track customer interactions and follow-up attempts over time.
Finally, web analytics platforms allow businesses to measure the number of emails or calls sent and the response rate for each. By using these tools, businesses can gain valuable insights into their customer service team’s performance and where improvements can be made.
Conclusion
All in all, average follow-up attempts is a great way to increase sales. By sending more emails, you can create a sense of urgency and encourage customers to buy your product. Furthermore, it also allows you to build relationships with potential customers. Hopefully, this guide has helped you understand the basics of average follow-up attempts so that you can start using them in your own sales process!