How's your sales follow through?

Anyone can follow up once a sale is made. "Did you get the product or service?". "Are you happy with what you received?". Our task managers and calendars can automate this type of low-value follow up contact with a customer. In fact these types of follow up are increasingly being automated because they require no judgment, thought, or expertise and communicate no value whatsoever to the customer.

So commit to sales follow through instead of merely following up.

Here are a few keys for you to actually follow through each of your sales:

Did you say thank you? Often overlooked but it is basic courtesy to express thanks genuinely to those who have just purchased from you. Did you call and express your appreciation? How about a personal hand written note?
Did you re-state the value that you and your product delivered? Remind them of the value you sold and make sure they continue to recognize why they bought from you in the first place.
Did you show them where to go to get ongoing information about you and your company? How can they join your community? Read your blog? How do they continue to hear about what you doing and learning?
Did you show them how to come back for more? Is it easy to buy more from you?
Did you connect them with engineering, service, support, and any other post-sale contacts that they need to know? I am not talking about a simple email hand off but a conference call or better yet a face to face visit to start the relationship with the post sale support team.

Did you ask for a referral? If they are happy many people want to help you help their colleagues with similar issues. Make it easy for them to help you.

Did you ask for feedback on the sale and the process and how it could be made better and valuable for them? What did they like, dislike, would do differently? Many salespeople are just so happy to get the order that they are afraid to ask these types of questions.

Follow through on your sales, don't be satisfied with simple follow up, your customers won't be!