The hardest part of any sales process is making that first sale.
Then, it gets more difficult.
That first sale costs the most in time, energy, and money. Most
people are satisfied with that first sale, and then go on to the next
prospect. They ignore the existing customers in favor of that next
shiny sale around the corner.
The reality is that once sold, that customer needs to be retained.
More than one study has shown that the customer who just bought is
the one most likely to buy again, and buy more.
So, why would someone ignore this fact?
Because it is complicated and presumptuous to ask for another,
bigger sale, when the customer just satisfied our desire and bought
for the first time.
We’re too polite to make that second ask.
Selling is scary to most folks. They think they can’t sell. But,
selling is just asking if the customer wants a particular something.
Years ago, I had a real store. I had one vendor who would come
visit once a month. I’d tell him I didn’t need anything. He’d
patiently turn to his catalog and ask if I needed anything on page
one, then the next, the next, and the next. He didn’t “sell” me
anything, but I ended up giving him a good-sized order – every time.
I didn’t remember that I needed anything. He simply reminded me
that I did. And he did it month after month after month.
So, instead of making the sale and moving on to the next prospect,
it’s important to invest time and effort in the Followup.