- Semi-automated follow-up
Follow-up is the single most important part of the sales process. When lead volume gets high, it can be difficult to service all those leads without a strong follow-up system in place.
This does not mean hammering people with sales messages over and over again, however. Telling people to “buy now” or to “act fast” because time is running out is not as effective as helping people through the buying process. Instead, try to engage people in conversations to give them the information they need to find the right hot tub and make a purchase.
While having conversations is still a human activity, there needs to be a system in place to get people to respond. This can only happen through automation, especially during spring, when pool and hot tub inquiries are peaking.
On one hand, automation saves time and effort in following up with new prospects. However, there is such a thing as over-automation. Individual buyers have specific needs and questions that need a human response to make them feel heard. The goal is to always engage people in conversation; the more conversations one has, the more sales one can make.
A higher ticket purchase like a pool, hot tub, or swim spa still needs conversations to convert interest into sales. A semi-automated follow-up system is a hybrid approach that offers the benefits of both. This mainly happens through email, but retailers can also use short message service (SMS) messages and phone calls to get conversations started.
Most retailers have an email system in place, but are not necessarily effective in getting people to respond. Examples of email platforms are ActiveCampaign, MailChimp, Constant Contact, or AWeber. There is a long list of email service providers, and nearly any of the major platforms available are capable of handling simple automation, prospect segmenting, and sequences.
The goal of this simple automation is to identify which prospects are ready to engage in a conversation right now. The majority will not respond, and this is perfectly acceptable, because additional automated content can be sent indefinitely until they are ready to engage in a conversation. When someone does fill out a form and responds, templating common responses that can be 90 per cent copied and pasted is a worthwhile time investment as it will save hours of follow-up time or salespeople.
The following examples are what the author’s company uses for hot tub inquiries:
Phase 1: Test responsiveness (automatically sent 15 minutes after prospect fills out a form)
Subject: Quick question, <first name>
Email: Hi <first name>, I saw you were interested in some hot tubs from us. Have you ever had a hot tub before?
Email Signature
Phase 2: Qualifying (once prospects have responded)
Email 1: Ok, great! Did you know how many seats you’d like, or not sure yet?
Email 2: <Personalize by responding to what they said>
If you could help me out with a couple details, I can figure out what we have that would be a good fit and get you some accurate pricing.
- Were you looking to get one soon? (we have some special deals on a couple right now if so)
- Is jet power or a therapeutic massage important to you?
- Were you thinking of paying cash/credit card or doing a payment plan? We can usually get you a great interest rate OR a cash discount
Thanks!
Your Signature
