You marketed your business.  You reached new leads.  You closed some sales.  Now what?  How do you continue the conversations you just started?  Unfortunately, a lot of small business owners don’t.  It is so easy to become focused on chasing new leads that you might lose sight of the prospects already in your pipeline.  And it is in the ones you are already talking to that have the greatest potential.  So, how do you tap into the power of your existing customers?  The profit is in the follow up.

You may be familiar with the Pareto principle that 80% of the effect comes from 20% of the causes.  Applied here, it would mean that 80% of your revenue comes from 20% of your customers.  While this is a generalization of percentages, there is logic to the principle.

Marketing is an exercise in building trust.  The goal is to continue to grow the relationship with a prospect, introducing new information about your business and learning more about their pain points.  In most industries, this is best done in the long-term. Although you could make an immediate sale from someone who happens to need your offering right now, it is the customers that spend more time with you who become most loyal.

#Marketing is an exercise in building trust. #smb #smallbiz #smallbusiness #entrepreneur Share on X

So, once a lead starts to progress through the tiers of your marketing funnel (if you don’t know what a marketing funnel is, read here!), doesn’t it make sense to spend more time with them?  More time learning about them, acknowledging them, thanking them?

The more you nurture the leads in your pipeline, the stronger they will be. The strongest customers are going to take advantage of your best offers. They will be your brand ambassadors, referring you to their contacts and sharing the experiences they have had with your business.

The more you nurture the leads in your pipeline, the stronger they will be. #salestips #smb Share on X

But none of this can happen if you don’t follow up.  For you, the profit is in the follow up.

When you go to that next networking meeting, what do you do with the business cards? When you get that great comment on your Facebook post, how do you respond?  When someone writes in to your website with a question, how do you follow up?

The profit is in the follow up. #salestips #smallbusiness #smallbiz #smb #entepreneur Share on X

If your answer is that you are not following up as fully as you could, maybe it’s time to start!  And this process becomes MUCH easier if you have a plan for it.  It will seem less random and overwhelming to follow up if you have thought through your strategy in advance.

Let’s say none of this has convinced you that customer retention and follow up should be a priority. Here is my question to you: How do YOU feel if you are in the middle of a conversation with someone, and the other person walks away?

The profit is in the follow up.  It is there that we build our strongest relationships and grow our businesses.

To learn more about building your customer retention plan and creating a strong marketing funnel for your business, check out my Marketing Funnel Worksheet. This guide will help you set up the levels of your funnel so you know the path you will lead your customers down and identify all the opportunities for follow up.