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Speaker: Welcome back to yet another episode of The Commercial Leader Podcast. My name is Bram Lagrou, and today we're unpacking the topic of following up versus following through. It was only the other day that I was speaking to someone back in Europe that recently had experience with two different types of people.
It was in a sales and, property-related context whereby she was shopping for a property or she was selling a property.
The conversation went in such a way that it was very clear that some people in a sales context do an extremely good job, whilst other people are not. And I thought it was an interesting conversation to open up here on the podcast and walk through a couple of things that are so different. First things first [00:01:00] is something that I've witnessed myself whenever I, for example, work with venues.
Some people have a habit of what I call the lazy way of following up. The lazy way is basically where an inquiry is coming in and the salesperson starts an email ping pong game. They're getting the inquiry, and rather than jumping on the phone and speaking to someone, they're just responding, giving some information, trading stuff and back and forth.
On the flip side of that, the people that I see that do really well is that they are not necessarily playing email ping pong, but they actually are on the ball, which means they recognize an opportunity, they're responsive, they're following up pretty quickly, but they also do it in a professional way.
And what do I mean by that? They do their due diligence. They think first, "Who is this buyer?" And [00:02:00] before they even reach out by email or jump on the call, they try to find, "What can I find about this potential buyer or client that would help me to be ready and straightaway resonate with them?" This is buyer psychology 101.
Some people prepare, other people just rock up unprepared, and obviously professionals like the former. The second thing that I see is also where follow-up, for example, is by default using the salesperson's pace. E- for example, if I'm an easygoing or relaxed, person, I might follow up in two or three days' time, right?
And sometimes, once I've sent them the information, I might not follow up until I expect them to hear back from them, where they call me. This, to me, is not professional. It's really using the [00:03:00] salesperson's default style of how they would like to buy, rather than giving people the treatment that they are after, which might be a very different style.
Example, back to the person that I was speaking with, this lady overseas. She was confiding in me that when she shopped around for a property in Spain, the salespeople were on the ball. They were quick to respond. They were very professional in how they position it. They provided the information, and they said, "Look, in all transparency, there is a lot of demand right now for this type of off-the-plan properties.
it's very selective on how to get in. So If you'd like to proceed with this, we would need a formal expression of interest still today, because this particular property that you just said that you'd will only be available for a very short time. So if you would like it and you're seriously about this one, we will need to see your expression of interest within 24 hours."
you could say that this might be a bit high [00:04:00] pressure-like, but if the content is true, and to create some urgency and see how serious people are, it was very successful because this lady and her, partner decided to actually express their interest formally, and they are now actually buyers of that property.
So being on the ball is very different than email ping pong, right? So quick, responsive, professional, it does help, and it actually shows how serious people are. The other thing is also is that when you read a client and you position yourself in their shoes, and you start thinking like, "Is this somebody who is a fast-moving person?
Will they think fast, inquire fast, act fast?" have conversations fast, process information quickly? Yes or no? If they [00:05:00] are yes, that means that the salesperson's job would actually have to be one of very fast-paced too, to match the clients. What I also see, though, is that people misread this, and they just keep falling back to their own default pace, which is not necessarily great if you are more like an order taker or an easygoing person For a lot of people, that might potentially work, and it's okay to do it with a client that is like that.
'Cause being too fast and too pushy might obviously then backfire. But it's all about adapting to the client's pace, not just going by what suits ourselves best. And this is again where the golden rule always creeps in as one of those, what I call bugs in the system. if you have a computer and there's certain bugs coming up that have to be, reprogrammed and software being updated it's the same in our head.
We got taught wrongly to [00:06:00] treat people the way that we wanna be treated personally. But if you go by the stats, that probably only works 25% of the time, which means it- it's more wrong than it is right. This is just basically using general population stats. But what I would rather then say is treat people the way that they wanna be treated, right?
Slight nuance on words, but massive difference. If you adapt to people's style and pace and treat them the way they wanna be treated, you might get as high as 100%, meaning there is no wastage. Every opportunity converts or close to, as long as they are serious ones, right?
adaptive is really important. The next thing I wanna say about following up and follow through is that I sometimes see that salespeople get really into a rut of what I call waiting. They have settled with a comfort zone and a mindset that is [00:07:00] reactive and more along the lines of order-taking. So instead, what we can also do is create opportunities that didn't exist previously.
And business development people, sales professionals and the likes, the hunters that we typically refer to are the ones that create something out of nothing. They are proactive, they always think on their feet, and they look for opportunities and doors that currently are shut and open them, and they're deal makers rather than order takers.
Big difference there again. The next thing that I'd like to share with you is that some people are passive and following the client. Again, back to the example of the lady overseas She was explaining how she hired a real estate agent to represent her property on the market, and what she thought was really unpleasant is that the salesperson who had [00:08:00] taken over from the initial person that she did business with was friendliest and a nice person, but she wasn't on the ball.
She wasn't responsive. She wasn't chasing people up after they went and just saying, "Hey, how did you go on the property, earlier today?" She wasn't following up in a fast framework to gauge where people were, and therefore she was missing opportunities and leaving money on the table for the vendor.
Obviously, the same lady then, as in the vendor that we were talking about, had an experience with someone else who was on the ball, quick, following up the same day, latest the next early on, and constantly moving things forward to ensure that the customers had the information needed. She could gauge where they were and how serious they were about putting an offer in and shaping and influencing decisions.[00:09:00]
One is following the customer, the other one is shaping it. In the exact words of the vendor, she said that the initial salesperson or the initial real estate agent had misread her because she said, "When the first offer was presented to me at X amount of euros, the salesperson or the real estate agent would've, should've picked up on the fact that I didn't need a lot of convincing to accept that offer or slightly negotiate a little bit more, but not go for a lot more.
And he misread that, and therefore he didn't even try and straightaway went back to more visits, more people coming through the property, and later on the deal then didn't really happen so many months later." Once again, some people are waiters, others are creators. Order-taking versus deal-making is very different [00:10:00] Next one that I want to share then in this context is that some people, I've seen it time and time again, that some people have a bias for action initially, which means when it starts, okay, they'll follow up once.
They might follow up twice, but when the going gets tough and the sales cycle gets longer, they drop off easily Following up means that you do it once or twice. Following through means you take people across the finish line. You just hang in there and do what it takes to keep moving deals forward and influencing stakeholders and clients and decision makers all along the way until you finally have a solution and an outcome.
That's following through, and not everybody is made for that because some people think that selling and BD is a sprint, whilst often the more complex it gets, the more [00:11:00] money is at stake and the more decision makers are involved or influencers, the more it is a marathon and it requires more consistent effort The next thing then is that I see sometimes people defaulting into a sales role where they think that their job is to provide information to potential customers.
So customer says, "Can you show me exactly what products you have?" "Sure, here's our product manual. Here's our brochure. Here's our price list," sharing information. The good salespeople though, the professionals, the BD experts, so whether B2B or B2C, it doesn't matter, the good people, they understand that you cannot just sell products, prices, and a company.
You gotta inspire people to wanting to do business with you, motivate [00:12:00] them because you uncover what really drives them, and speak to those motivation so that they are willing to do business with you over another, and not necessarily Pay on price. What you want is them paying a premium. You protect your margins, you explain your value, you speak to people's needs and wants really well, and therefore, you differentiate yourself from competitors that are price-driven.
Let's be honest. If we sell on price, unless you are, let's say, a Walmart that goes for big volume, It's a race to the bottom, and you cannot really do really well over time. Protecting your margin is a smart way forward, especially for premium products and services, especially in B2B contexts, but also B2C.
Again, properties is the same thing. You could sell it with a tiny margin, or you could sell it with a [00:13:00] healthy margin. Obviously, the healthy margin is gonna keep you in business for longer. It's gonna allow you to give a lot better customer service. It's gonna help you feel valued as a sales rep, and it's gonna pay you healthy commissions and bonuses, and it's also gonna make people feel that they're part more of an exclusive rather than you trying to flock everything to everyone, because you're more inspired by getting a little bit of money rather than doing really well with a small group that you can look after better.
Again, different business models obviously require different approaches, but I do like the idea that we invite people to be motivated to work with us rather than shopping on price and sharing information back and forth. The next thing to share then is that some people are so indoctrinated to speak just to the head of a potential customer.
So what I mean by that, it's benefits and features. [00:14:00] It's selling on price or, selling on whistles and, gadgets and whatever, and just following a process, speaking to steps and whatever, and just really making it logical If you followed my previous episodes, particularly the one on the brain elevator, you know that neuroscience and psychology are unequivocal about how people buy, which means it's a brain elevator that starts first with two levels of emotions.
One really basic levels as in fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. Level two then about trust, rapport, goodwill, and likability, And only then after we've satisfied those emotional needs of a buyer where they feel safe, where they feel engaged, only then can we even talk shop and talk about terms, conditions, pricing,
Only then. Unless people are [00:15:00] emotionally hooked There's no point even in entertaining anything logical. Engage the heart first, then the brain, This is how professionals sell.
So they engage both the heart first and then the mind, not just the head, which other people tend to do. Next one then, and we're almost there for today, is that some people are so focused on selling on price that it's very difficult for them to differentiate themselves from their competitors. So they become a commodity.
They become one of many. They become just one of those where, you put 10 people next to each other, and you cannot tell the difference really. So therefore, then it becomes almost like a lottery ticket where ... Or let's say a little game where you do, rocks, paper, scissor or something to pick one of the 10 because you cannot really see why you would go one over or the other.
I personally like to say let other people [00:16:00] go into what I call the sausage factory. They ask for a quote, for a proposal, for a bid, for a tender. Everybody follows the steps and processes that are designed to create a sausage on the other side, which means it's standardized, it's uniform, and it's designed to squeeze margins on the side of a solution provider.
And it's standardized, which means you cannot really make it work for you long term. Other people are clever. They step outside of that process. They find ways to influence, to shape the deal, to shape the specifications upfront so that they position themselves as the only provider that can meet those requirements long before the sausage machine even comes in.
This is different thinking. It's different acting, and obviously it's about value [00:17:00] creation over selling on price. Last one then, it's not about product selling as such. The idea is first of all, to understand the client. Focus on the client, and then make the product or the solution fit that client like a glove.
Tailor-made, bespoke. If this is how it feels and comes across to one buyer or a whole panel of buyers, you can imagine that it's so much easier to get these people on board and make them pay a healthy margin rather than selling on widgets, products and features, and price.
A couple of ideas, thoughts, notes on following up versus following through. And in summary, the great people understand in sales and business development that following up is not necessarily where [00:18:00] it is. It starts there, but it's about closing things off, which is follow through.
Do the things that are required, that also are value add, but keep influencing and moving deals forward until you reach the finish line together with the clients. This is where professionals set themselves apart. The marathon runners rather than just the casual sprinters. My name is Bram Lagrou. Any thoughts or questions on this, I'd love to hear from you.
Otherwise, thank you for tuning in with The Commercial Leader podcast, and I look forward to seeing you again very soon.
