But at the same time, you stare at the phone or email feeling like you’re about to pester someone and it’s not a good feeling.  Here are some golden nuggets of truth and strategies around following up without pestering.

There’s a fortune in the follow-up

Guess how many times business owners typically follow-up with prospects?  Typically 1-3.  And guess how many times it takes to actually make the sale.  Typically anywhere from 7-15, or more.  So let’s think about that for a minute.  If the sale happens after 15 iterations of following up, and we stop at 1-3, we have probably hit upon one of the core reasons business owners have a difficult time getting clients.

Indeed folks, there IS a fortune in the follow-up .  I’d challenge you to take a group of prospects and commit to following up at least 12 times.  Then watch what happens.  The other thing to keep in mind is that people buy when they’re ready to buy, not when you are ready to sell.  So, yes indeed, there’s a fortune in the follow-up.

Are you being pesky?

It’s funny that even though we know we should be following up more consistently, we squirm inside at the thought of following up.  But here’s the truth.  If I’m interested in something someone has to offer, I want them to follow-up with me.  Why? Well, because I’m busy and I forget.

Right at this moment, I’ve been meaning to buy a service from another business owner, but honestly I keep forgetting to call them to follow-up.  I’d actually appreciate having them call me and I’d probably whip out my credit card and buy when they do.

So you’re pestering someone only if they truly have zero interest in your product or service.  But if you’ve done a good job of getting ideal prospects who match your target market and who have raised their hand indicating interest in what you have to offer, by all means, follow-up!  They may very well be waiting for you to call.

But then there’s “the how”

This is where small business owners often get stuck.  So you’re sitting in front of your phone and email and it’s time to follow-up.  What do you say?  Is this about how to sell services or is this follow-up  about something else?

My most favorite form of follow-up is to provide value.  This is excellent for electronic follow-up or offline (e.g. postcards, etc). Let’s say you have 12 steps in your follow-up system.  Take, say, the first 3 and simply provide value – share some really juicy tips in your area of expertise based on what you know your prospect may be facing.  You are positioning yourself as an expert and affirming that you are a great resource when they’re ready.  In the 4^th step, share the resources you have to offer.  Or, in all steps you can include some reference to your solutions in the process of providing value.

But then there’s the dreaded phone call

OK, so I’ll say up front that I’m not into cold calling.  That’s why I love driving people to my website to get my free offer, then they are on my list and there’s my E-zine for automatic follow-up.  By getting my free offer, they’re raised their hand and said “Yes, Allison, I’m interested.” so I know I’m following up with people who have an interest in my resources.

But that said, sometimes you’ve gotta pick up the phone nowadays, especially since people are just inundated with emails.  It’s also the reason offline methods complement online methods.  Every internet marketer I know has offline marketing method they use as well (myself included).

When you get on the phone, first, shift your thinking to being someone who is there to help (not someone who is there to make a sales pitch).   Envision the struggle this person may be having in your area of expertise, and see yourself as a problem-solver (not as a salesman).

You could say something like “If you are still looking for solutions to [common problem your target market has] I wanted to let you know that you can access [solutions you provide or your current promotion] by giving me a call or by visiting our website at …” Notice  I didn’t focus on me and my stuff, I focused on their problem and where they can find a solution if they’re interested.  No big long spiel about everything my product has.  No sales pitch.

Now if it does turn into a potential sale, at that point you’re having a sales conversation (not just doing follow-up) in which case you’d want to be well prepared for how to have a truly effective sales conversation.

If you enjoyed this article, you’ll love the easy and effortless sales conversation method Allison steps you through in the Ultimate Clients and Cash System.  It’s so easy and authentic, and so crystal clear that you might just end up loving sales and selling.

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Copyright © 2010 Allison Babb International LLC

Article reprinted with permission.  Allison Babb is an author, speaker and Small Business Coach to solo entrepreneurs.  Allison publishes the “Small Business Success” weekly Ezine on how to create a steady stream of clients for your small business at: www.GreatSmallBusinessAdvice.com