Many times, employment consultants have the contact details of an employer or hiring manager, but only try to reach them once or twice. Usually, they give up and move onto the next lead. Often, they end up losing many opportunities when they move on too soon, as studies show that 80% of the sales are made on the fifth to twelfth contact.
Here are some following up statistics that will show you the importance of following up with a lead.
2% of sales are made during the first point of contact.
3% of sales are made on the second contact.
5% of sales are made on the third contact.
10% of sales are made on the fourth contact.
80% of sales are made on the fifth to twelfth contact.
48% of salespeople never follow up.
25% of salespeople make a second contact and stop.
12% of salespeople make more than three contacts.
So, this means, that the more contact you make through follow-up, the higher your probability of having a conversation with an employer and helping someone into work. Your goal is to speak to the decision maker and give them the opportunity to say yes, no or maybe.
Here are 7 best practices when following up
1) Define your follow-up objective
Don’t just call them up to say, ‘I just called to follow up.’ Have a purpose to the follow-up. What is your goal for this follow-up?
2) Use a CRM at every step
Keep good records of calls and follow-ups by using a CRM. Using a CRM in your follow-up strategy will help you know where an employer is in the recruitment journey. It will also assist you with follow-up reminders, next steps, being on top of previous conversations, as well as prioritising your leads, and opportunities.
3) Create a follow-up sales cadence
A sales cadence is a sequence of activities to increase contact and qualification. What is the sequence of touchpoints that you will create to reach the hiring manager? It is important to have a plan from the first point of contact, until the prospect either qualifies as an opportunity or exits the cadence.
4) Have a value proposition at every touchpoint
It is important to continue articulating value at every touchpoint. Continue to put yourself in the hiring manager’s shoes so you can enter the conversation that is already happening in their mind.
5) Personalise communication
Perhaps remember something unique about the employer based on your research about their company. Be the domain expert and use their industry terminology and jargon. Or mention one of their recent successes, media appearance, or posts on LinkedIn that you liked.
6)Use LinkedIn to stay on top of mind
A fantastic way to continue to create touchpoints and stay on top of mind is to connect with some of the hiring managers in your target accounts through LinkedIn. Keep adding value by posting content that is useful, educational, and relevant. They may not be ready to hire right now, but when they do, you want to be one of the first job service providers that crosses their mind.
7) Follow up Phone conversations with an email
Once you reach the hiring manager, it is good practice to follow the conversation with an email thanking them for their time and briefly putting into writing what you shared, or what you wanted to share. Also, it is useful to have a well-designed email signature that provides your contact details and links to any further marketing material you would like them to click on.
Come join our Business Development for Employment Practitioners Workshop to learn how you can gain access to hard to reach recruiters and hiring managers.
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