350 - The Fortune Is In The Follow-Up!

0:00Welcome back. Let me ask you something. How many deals have slipped through your fingers, not because you were told no, but because you simply never followed up. I have seen that over and over again in mentees. Someone makes a great impression, their first impression, the seller shows some interest, then silence. And the opportunity dies not from rejection, but from neglect. And I've talked about a person who had a great conversation with a potential seller, was asked to call back, forgot to do that. And when he finally remembered and called back, she said, oh yeah, I'm not interested anymore because since we last talked six weeks ago, I've acquired two businesses.

0:45She was in the business. It made it easy for her, but lesson learned, and he learned that lesson. So today, let's talk about why the fortune is in the follow-up. Here's the truth. People are busy. We all know that. They forget, they get distracted, they hesitate, and your first outreach is almost never their top priority. We hope it is, but it's not. They have other things to do. But consistent follow-up keeps you in front and center with them. And sellers, especially those nearing retirement, often need time to warm up. They want to see if you're serious, and following up shows them that, if done well.

1:28In fact, persistence alone can separate you from 90 % of the bots out there. Most people quit too early, which brings me to some important numbers, and you should pay attention to these, the statistics. So, 48 % of people never follow up after the first contact. 25 % stop after two contacts, and then only 10 % make more than three contacts. But here's the kicker. 80 % of sales are made between the 5th and 12th contact. So if you stop after one or two messages, you're likely walking away before the real conversation even starts. In acquisition, I've seen mentees finally close deals after 8, 10, or 14 follow-ups.

2:21I had a deal that I banged on the door for five years until the person finally said yes. It's not annoying either if it's done professionally, persistent, and respectful. My mentor actually talks about way back in my property tax days, a follow-up that I did with a CFO of a Fortune 500 company, and I called 100 times. I know that sounds crazy. Finding a way to keep in contact 100 times was difficult, but I did. So what follow-up really communicates? It's a good question. When you follow up, you're doing more than reminding them you exist. You're demonstrating professionalism, and you're someone who follows through.

3:09You're showing persistence, which is absolutely critical in this game. And you're reinforcing your value, reminding them you're offering a path to exit that respects their legacy or whatever else is important to them, employees, etc., etc. On the flip side, when you don't follow up, what they assume is, I guess they weren't serious. And that's absolutely true. So we know following up is important. So how do you follow up effectively. So here's how to do it right. One, be consistent. Follow up every five to seven days in the beginning. Space it out later, but stay on their radar. It can be as simple as just sending an article that you thought they might find helpful, and just a simple email that says, I saw this article and thought it might be helpful.

4:03Use multiple channels. Email's fine, but mix in calls, LinkedIn messages, even a handwritten note, certainly, or a letter. And then always add value. Instead of checking in, share something, like what I talked about in terms of an article, a relevant success story, or even a comment on market trends. It begins to build a relationship. And then track your follow-ups. Use a CRM. I don't like a spreadsheet that becomes too many of them. So a CRM, something like HubSpot, and then set reminders and be intentional. Don't rely on your memory. Rely on a system to do that for you. And if you treat follow-up like a system, not a chore, you'll get results.

4:52So final thought, and maybe a challenge. Here's what I want you to take away. Deals don't die from a no. They die from silence. In this market, where fear and uncertainty are certainly slowing people down, your persistence can win deals others leave behind. And you don't need to be perfect. You just need to be present. So here's your challenge. Look back through your pipeline. Who did you give up on after just one or two tries? And then reach out again. That deal you thought was dead, it might just be waiting for the next follow-up. Like that five years of follow-up that I did on the deal that finally closed.

5:34I hit that person at the right time. They were in the right circumstances. So I hope that you take away from this how critically important follow-up is. Those statistics, again, 80 % of sales are made between the 5th and 12th contact. In fact, hard for a lot of people to believe, but that's true. And so I hope you put this into action. If you're wondering what to do, what the steps are in business acquisition, go over to brucewhipple.com and look at that. But follow-up alone will turn what you think might be dead deals into actual completed deals.