How To Follow Up Like Coca-Cola

August 24, 2022

How to follow-up like coca-cola

Let's face it. Following up with clients can suck. It can be demoralizing, stressful and incredibly boring. I would know. After all, I spent the majority of my sales career 'checking in' on my customers, only to be completely ghosted or rejected. I remember feeling confused, incompetent and worthless.

If customers did respond back to me, they would tell me to stop reaching out, that I was being annoying or that they decided to move in a different direction. Then I did what most salespeople do: give up.

I finally realized that changing my approach to following up with customers couldn't hurt - it's not like what I was doing was working anyway.

So, I started following up with customers a bit differently.

On average, Coca-Cola spends $4B per year on advertising.

As one of the most recognizable brands on the planet, nearly every single person knows who they are and what they sell. So, why do they advertise?

Well, Coca-Cola continues putting it's logo, bottles and brand in front of you to stay top of mind. They understand that you might not drink a Coke today - but they are banking on chance that you will... sooner or later.

All that Coca-Cola wants to do is make sure that when you are ready to enjoy a soda, you're only thinking about drinking a Coca-Cola product. That's it.

Salespeople need to understand that follow-up isn't about getting a deal today, it's about making sure you get the deal when the customer is finally ready to make a decision.

The only problem is: most salespeople aren't able to predict the future. They don't know when a customer is actually ready to make a purchase. So, 48% never even bother following up. They cross their fingers and hope the customer calls them back - like they said they would.

For the salespeople that do follow-up, most quit way too soon because they know their follow-up efforts aren't providing either party any value. Or, they are told to stop following-up because they aren't providing any value.

Here's the 3 things you need to close anyone (sooner or later):

Entertainment. I believe that proper follow-up is 75% entertainment. Look, if you can entertain your customer, they are going to open your emails, read your texts, pick up your calls and maybe even respond to you. If you are entertaining your customer, then you are holding their attention - something you'll need to do throughout the follow-up process.

Education: The reality is that only 2% of buyers you speak to are actively in the market for your product or service and ready to make a decision. That means that the vast majority of prospects are still looking for information and gathering the details they need. If you are able to use educational content, videos, emails and other resources as a reason to connect with your prospect, sooner or later, they will become certain that they are making the right decision.

Relationship: Trust is the natural byproduct of establishing a relationship with another person. If your prospect trusts you - they are going to do business with you, no matter what. If you can stop thinking about your commission and the money that you're going to earn and start focusing on the person you're selling to - you'll never have to worry about money ever again. Relationships can do more for your sales career than anything.

You can find over 30 incredibly effective follow-up techniques with my Follow-Up Black Book.