MRL #066- How Often Should I Follow Up?

Almost once a week Micah or I get asked some variation of the following question:

“How often should I be following up with prospects?”

While it’s a valid question…

I couldn’t possibly answer that question as is.

More must be unpacked to properly answer it.

For example:

• What do you mean by “prospect”?

• What is their interest level?

• What part of the sales cycle are they in?

I could try to slice this topic a million different ways…

But, I think the MOST helpful way to tackle “follow up” and “frequency” is by simply divvying up our “prospects” into 3 different buckets.

Let’s start with…

Bucket #1: Pre Contact Prospects

These “prospects” you could also just call “leads”.

These are the people on your list who you’ve never spoken with.

Maybe you haven’t called on them yet, or maybe you have called them and never been able to connect.

Either way, they’re in your “Pre Contact Prospect” bucket.

The frequency for this type of prospect looks like this:

If you have their x-date, follow up 5-10 times, over 2-3 weeks, 150-120 days out from their renewal, with the goal of setting a first meeting. If they don’t answer in that window, punt until next year.

If you don’t have their x-date, follow up 5-10 times over the course of any 2-3 weeks during the year with the goal of uncovering their x-date or setting a meeting, and if you don’t connect move them to the bottom of your list.

Statistically speaking, if someone doesn’t pick up after half a dozen calls during a two week span, they’re probably just not a “phone picker upper”. They (or their dreaded gatekeeper) screen calls and only answer numbers they recognize.

Once you’ve made contact, you then move them to one of the following “post contact” buckets.

Bucket #2: Post Contact Interested Prospects

These are the prospects you’ve spoken with that have expressed interest.

For example…

You call into a manufacturer and speak with the decision maker, Mike. Mike hears you out and agrees he should probably do due diligence. Mike asks you to call him back in a few weeks.

The name of the game here is “respectfully persistent”.

Mike gave you the thumbs up (or partial thumbs up)…

Therefore, you have every right to consistently and persistently reach out to Mike.

Mike opened the door, now it’s your job to close it.

Don’t be a stalker, of course.

Nobody likes a weirdo.

But, I’d say calling them as often as daily during that time period is fair game.

Bucket #3: Post Contact Uninterested Prospects

These are the prospects you’ve spoken with that did not express interest.

For example…

You call into a manufacturer and speak with the decision maker, Mark. Mark hears you out but explains he’s happy with his agent. You field his objection, and counter with your best rebuttal. Mark deflects and still expresses he’s not interested, so you thank him for his time and hang up.

The name of the game here is “persistent infrequency.”

Lots of agents would just move Mark off their list—but that would be a mistake.

Still other agents would continue to beat Mark’s door down quarterly or even monthly—but that would also be a mistake.

Somewhere near the latter is best.

Now, I’m not saying to never call Mark again (especially if he’s in your niche)…

But for God’s sake don’t keep calling him weekly!

Pick a date or two throughout the year to follow up with Mark. Set a task in your CRM to remind you. Maybe try him around his mid year mark or right after his renewal date.

You’ll be surprised how many of these prospects change hands over the next 2-3 years if you don’t follow up with them.

Just because he’s happy now, doesn’t mean he’s always going to be happy.

In Closing…

Just be a human.

Sell people how you want to be sold to.

If they’re not interested, don’t be a pest.

If they are interested, keep following up.

It’s really that simple.

Speaking of simple…

If you’re new to this Producer game, or a veteran looking to sharpen your saw…

Check out The Producer Playbook.

It’s our 5-module course on how to build a book of business from scratch via cold calling and BORs.

I wouldn’t say what you’ll learn inside is easy, but it damn sure is simple.

A few cold calls every day plus diligent follow up plus proper positioning equals success.

Stop making this job more complicated than it has to be.

There’s plenty of successful Producers out there far less talented and far less intelligent than you.

As my coach used to say…

“Keep it simple, Max! See ball, hit ball.”

See you next Sunday.

Kick ass take names,

Maximus F Revenue IV

P.S. If you liked this newsletter, there are 2 more ways we can help you:

1. Go check out The Producer Playbook 

   It’s our step-by-step guide to building a $1,000,000 book via cold prospecting. It costs less than a night out with friends.

2. Join Max Revenue HQ

   It’s our community by Producers in the trenches, for Producers in the trenches. We’ve got almost 400 Producers already inside. Oh, and it’s FREE (for now).