When it comes to earning new business, there is nothing more disheartening than continuing to follow up with leads that requested information without any response. This happens in every industry, even software (trust us). However, on average it takes 5 or more contacts with a prospect to close over 80% of deals. That is a lot of outreach when there doesn’t seem to be much movement.

Here is the sticky part:

• 50% of salespeople give up after one contact
• 65% give up after two contacts
• 80% five up after three contacts

If it takes 5 contacts but we are stopping at 1 or 2 or 3 contacts, there is a huge opportunity to close that gap and close the deal.

Sales automation is software functionality that automates the repetitive tasks that are key to building simple and profitable customer journeys. It's often included as a feature of CRM software, lead generation software, and email marketing software such as Bitumio's Software Solution.

Customer Experience

It is worth noting that this does not solely deal with prospect follow up.  Better communication with your customers improves customer experience and in-turn produces repeat business and positive word of mouth.

Where Do We Start

Let’s breakdown both scenarios of following up with prospects and impoved customer communication. Both need to have a well thought out plan of when and what to communicate. Below are some examples.

We’re going to have both Internal Communication, highlighted in Blue,

and External Communication, highlighted in Green.

Here is an example of a sales follow up loop. Knowing when the proposal was sent, if the email was opened, if the proposal was viewed, and when the proposal is signed are key indicators for the state of the prospect.

If the proposal was sent, but the email was not opened. Maybe the prospect just missed it because they were busy. Or it went to spam. Either way, a follow up would be appreciated.

If the proposal was viewed but not signed, there may be questions or changes desired with the proposal.

Based on these different steps, you can craft your message to make sure you are breaking barriers to close the deal.

Here is an example of a Customer Follow Up Plan. The key here is keeping the client informed at all times ensuring they have all the information they need when they need it. This is critical to achieve a phenomenal customer experience.

The Good News

Now for the juicy bit. Bitumio automatically tracks these various activities from drafting a proposal to completing a job. This makes it easy to set your Notification Triggers within Bitumio and let the platform handle the follow up and communication.

To see our Notification Triggers, check out this video. (Spoiler Alert: We’ve added SMS messages to the notification option since this video was created!)

We hope the above is informative and helpful. We do not just want to help you put together estimates and schedule jobs. We want to increase your pipeline, provide exceptional customer experiences, and really grow your business. If this hits home. Let’s chat!

Personalized Content for Every Contact

Bitumio's Sales Automation allows you to customize email templates and email content for each step of the sales process. Tailor your emails to help encourage prospects through the sales funnel. 

Feel free to check out our blog post on this subject as well: https://bitumio.com/sealing-deals-turning-prospects-to-clients/

Next Article: Creating an Email Trigger