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I encourage the use of a strong follow-up email after phone call sales template.
Customer contact is a fickle thing. No matter how charismatic you are, it can be difficult to make an impression on a customer quickly. This difficulty is multiplied when you are working with multiple customers, especially when the conversations are on the phone.
The Role Of Follow Up
All salespeople should be spending thirty minutes to an hour every day (at a minimum) doing sales follow up calls. These calls will be going out to customers who they have never spoken to, customers who they are currently working, and their past customers.
These phone calls keep the salespeople fresh inside the mind of your customers and enhance retention after the sale has been completed. Follow up is gardening, spending the time to water the plants. Planting the seeds of the next sales.
It’s well known that many salespeople don’t do follow up, most often because they make enough without it. If you make enough money to survive, it can be difficult to keep working. Once your immediate needs are met, why not just relax?
The reason is your future self. Follow up is doing work now to make life easier for yourself in the future. The follow-up email after phone call sales template is a tool in that follow-up toolbox.
Quick Tip: Saving Contacts with Company Name
Hopefully every customer that you sell a car to is added to your phone’s directory. I consider this a minimum requirement for a successful sales career.
Taking that one step further, by adding some notes into the phone book’s other sections, can be very powerful. This simple thing, which takes only a few seconds, can instantly improve your follow-up.
Take this example. Let’s say I sell Mr. Corneliust from Corneliust Steaks a car in 2013. I sell him a 3 series BMW. Happy customer, quick transaction.
As he leaves the store, I add his contact info from the CRM into my cell phone. I utilize a digital phone book that is connected to a non-work account. I need my book of business to come with me if I ever leave!
added, took me 5 seconds
Fast forward three years. Let’s say that I’m selling Porsche now. I’m doing sales follow up calls, and I finally reach my target customer, Jeff Turner. Jeff and I exchange some small talk, during which he mentions his wife just started a new job at… Corneliust Steaks.
BRING IT HOME!
As I keep the conversation moving, I jump into my phone and search the familiar sounding name of the company:
would you look at that
As I finish up the call, I name drop Steve and Jenny, both previous customers of mine. My value just skyrocketed to this customer.
Now, your CRM probably has this information if it’s half decent. That being said, car salespeople, and salespeople in general move jobs frequently. By keeping your book of business in your phone, separate from your work CRM, you maintain access to your history of sales even if you leave.
Selling Jeff Turner That Porsche
Ok, so Jeff likes me now. My follow up strategy was targeted, with an offer and a call to action. I shared with him some answers to questions he had, offered him a price, and gave him a 72-hour window to decide.
How much of that is he going to remember? Buying a car can be stressful for customers. Have you ever seen a customer tense up in your office during the negotiation? Every time. Eyes dilate? Super common.
It’s my theory that the stress and excitement can start up their “Fight or Flight reflex“. During this, it can be easy to forget bits of information. They can become flustered.
What can you do to provide value in that situation? You guessed it, send a follow up after phone call sales template with a review of the call!
Day 1: Example Follow Up After Phone Call Sales Email Template
After the phone call, I would send this email below to Jeff. This email will reinforce what you talked about and show that you are customer-centric.
Perfect!
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for chatting. Pretty wild that you know Steve and Jenny as well! They have been great customers of mine for a few years now.
Just wanted to review what we chatted about. On the Porsche you are interested in we can offer you $3200 off of MSRP. I was able to get you 72 hours to take advantage of that discount, so let me know today or tomorrow if you can.
We also touched on your questions regarding Apple Car Play and Android Auto. Our Porsche that you want to buy has both, meaning that you and your wife can both take advantage of that feature.
Looking forward to closing this up,
Andrei
LINK TO MY YELP
Simple, efficient, friendly.
If I was to make a template, this is what I would put in my CRM:
Hi CUSTOMER FIRST NAME,
Thanks for chatting. Pretty wild that *THING THAT CONNECTS YOU TWO*.
Just wanted to review what we chatted about. On the Porsche you are interested in DISCOUNT OFFER. I was able to get you 72 hours to take advantage of that discount, so let me know today or tomorrow if you can.
We also touched on your questions regarding REVIEW ANSWER TO ANY QUESTION.
Looking forward to closing this up,
SALESPERSON NAME
TARGETED YELP LINK
Plug and play.
Day 2: Example Follow Up After Phone Call Sales Text Template
I love contacting customers via text. Text messages are personal, text messages are fast. Most of all, texts get read. Here is the text I would send to Jeff on the day after the phone call:
Andrei from Audi. Thanks for chatting yesterday RE: Porsche pricing. Let me know if we can wrap this up today, I have time at 615pm today.
Texts should never be more than 160 characters, so this one is ok with only 138. It’s got the right info, acting as a gentle touch. Here is the template I would use:
Andrei from Audi. Thanks for chatting yesterday RE: SUBJECT Let me know if we can wrap this up today, I have time at 615pm today.
You can set up text templates on your iPhone using this app. That way it’s just a click-click, a few edits, and you are good to go.
What If Jeff Was A Non-Response Customer?
What if I never got a hold of Jeff in the first place? He put in an inquiry, but let’s say he never picks up the phone. What templates should I use in that case?
Good news, I wrote an article recently about that here.
To summarize:
Plenty of reasons exist for the your no response customers. Certainly some never wanted to inquire in the first place, and see your constant tries to contact them as just part of the daily deluge of spam emails.
The people we want to concentrate on are those who want to buy, but haven’t yet:
- Found Someone They Like To Work With (Rapport)
- Found A Deal That Suits Them (Value)
- Had Their Interest Piqued (Unique)
- Found The Time (Opportunity)
Check out the article to learn more if you are struggling with that non-response customers!
Why Doesn’t Everyone Send a Follow Up After Phone Call Sales Email?
Great question, pretty easy answer really. Laziness, lack of active management, lack of knowledge.
Getting your salespeople to be uncomfortable enough to want to expend extra effort can be difficult. What can motivate them? What can get them to think this is a good idea?
Unlike the BDC, most car salespeople are not actively managed. There is an unspoken wisdom that any input will be misconstrued as “micromanagement” and salespeople will leave.
The secret is, most salespeople are lazy. Lazy people don’t like to job search. I don’t have to say much more. If you are a manager, you should make sure that your salespeople are using template strategies like this one to make more car sales.
How To Make Them Uncomfortable
Your salespeople that is. If you are an individual contributor, then skip this section. If you are managing salespeople, then this should hold value.
The greatest tool a manager has rules.
rule
/ro͞ol/one of a set of explicit or understood regulations or principles governing conduct within a particular activity or sphere.
Set the expectation now that sending a follow-up email after phone call sales template is a rule. When checking out at the end of the day with your salespeople, check their CRM. Are they logging their calls? Should be very easy to see if they are sending a template to coincide with successful calls.
Lead by example. When your salespeople ask you to make a “manager call” for them, show that afterward, you send the template. Highlight the value of these emails.
REVIEW: Follow Up Email After Phone Call Sales
Build templates that solidify your processes. The follow-up email after phone call sales template is an underutilized tool to spur sales.
Use them to:
- Protect against memory failure from customer’s “fight or flight reflex”
- Revisit strong rapport building from the call
- Allow for easy continuation of the conversation
Let me know what other templates you guys use in the comments below!
