Why Your Follow-Ups with Prospects Fail

Why is following up with prospects so difficult? There was a time when we all thought that Client Relationship Management (CRM) systems would solve the follow-up dilemma. You’d have an initial conversation with a prospect, then you’d schedule that prospect in your CRM for the appropriate follow-up at the appropriate time. At the scheduled time you would take the appropriate follow-up action and so on.

While CRM is certainly a piece of the solution, unfortunately it is not the entire solution. Sales professionals today continue to struggle with following up, and prospects continue to fall through the cracks. Here are five reasons why:

1. Lack of Prioritization

If you’ve been in business or in sales for a while, it is impossible to touch everyone personally by telephone. You simply don’t have the time. Many sales people, however, treat every prospect exactly the same way. They follow up with every prospect in exactly the same manner. They follow up with a teeny tiny opportunity the same way they follow up with huge opportunities.

The harsh reality is that all prospects are not equal.