While working with growing companies, we see a big stall after a successful initial meeting and then the B2B sales follow-up. It can be very frustrating after a great meeting to then not progress with the opportunity. This happens frequently as part of the B2B Sales effort. Growing companies can not count on a prospect driving the opportunity forward as they may have many other priorities and challenges that occupy their time. Here are a few tips on how you can help to drive forward the opportunity after a sales meeting or call.

 

Leverage your CRM

A CRM is a must have for any growing organization. Use your CRM to plan future and record completed tasks and activities. This will help your team stay organized and make sure that next steps are getting followed up on. For a live opportunity, a new task should always be scheduled once one is completed.
 

Connect with Linkedin

After an initial call or meeting, connect with your prospect through Linkedin. You and your customer facing team should be posting regularly to your Linkedin account. Making the connection and posting regular updates can help keep your organization top of mind.
 

Understand the Next Steps

Try to understand not just the specific follow-up from your organization side, but what the prospect needs to do. As an example, if your organization is tasked with sending over some information after the call: what does the prospect plan to do with it? Who might they share it with? When can we setup another call/meeting to talk? The prospect should commit to some time frames.
 

Reach Out

Using your CRM you should schedule a task to contact the prospect 2 days after they make a commitment for the next step. The team should then use a mix of emails, calls, and Linkedin messages to engage the prospect with next steps. Mix up the method of contact to find what works best for each contact.
 

Be Nice to the Gate Keepers

Many prospects will have Executive Assistants or an administrative person tied to the team. Try and use the Executive Assistant to get on the prospect’s calendar. Treating this gate keeper with respect can be extremely helpful in moving opportunities along.
 
VA Partners can help your organization build out your sales processes and tools. Contact me directly for an introductory conversation on how we can help your organization grow your sales.