Imagine a writer who has 10 $100 bills on the table in front of them. That’s $1,000 in total — fun! But, as you watch, they put $100 in their wallet… and then rip the remaining bills into pieces.
That writer just wasted $900!
Now, you might be thinking that writer is out of their mind. But, you know what?
This scenario perfectly illustrates what happens when we don’t follow up with prospects.
Why Don’t We Follow Up?
There are four reasons why we don’t follow up with our prospects:
- We think following up is a waste of time.
- We don’t know how to do it.
- We worry about bothering the prospect.
- We’re too busy (hopefully with writing projects!).
But, no matter the reason, not following up means you’re letting money-making opportunities pass you by. Unless you already have enough writing work to achieve your financial goals, that’s not something you want to let happen.
If you keep reading this until the end… you’re going to be more eager (and bolder) than ever to follow up with potential clients — including those who initially said “no.”
Because, I’m going to share with you some of the follow-up secrets I’ve learned from Dan Lok — one of the world’s foremost experts in marketing, sales, and business. But, first…
Why Would You Want to Follow Up?
Have you ever heard of the Buyer Pyramid?
The Buyer Pyramid tells us that out of every 100 people you contact… only three are ready to buy a given product or service right now, and seven are open to buying now. But, the other 90 are not going to buy (yet). They’re not thinking about buying, or they don’t think they’re interested in buying, or they know the product isn’t for them.
The same concept applies with potential writing clients. Around 10% (or less) of them are ready to move forward with your services when you contact them. The other 90% will most likely decline your offer.
But, a few weeks (or months) later… a portion of that 90% may suddenly become eager to work with you. That’s why it’s so crucial to keep in touch with them!
To make this concept more concrete…
Let’s say you’re offering to write an autoresponder series for $2,000. You make this offer to 10 people. One of them says “yes” immediately, but you get a “no” from the other nine people.
Now, those “rejections” might feel daunting… but, keep in mind, they’re not personal. Those buyers simply aren’t ready for your service yet… for whatever reason. Perhaps they’re not sure about your offer. Or, maybe they don’t trust you… yet. Or, maybe they don’t have the budget just now.
So, what do you do next? Do you avoid them and never contact them again?
Absolutely not! Because, even though they aren’t wanting to work with you now, a portion of them will likely want to work with you in the future. Not following up is the same as throwing out the window up to $18,000 worth of income.
That kind of big money is in the follow-up.
Which is why it’s smart to create a follow-up gameplan — a timeline — to make sure you’re there to help those possible future clients when they’re ready for you. Now, the first question is…
How Many Times Should You Follow Up?
The number of follow-ups varies from writer to writer and expert to expert.
But, according to Desmond Soon — the “right-hand man” of Dan Lok — he typically connects with a prospect 12 times before converting them into a paying client.
I know 12 times might sound like a lot… but, you know what? Taking the time to do that pays off for him in a big way. Because, approximately 90% of Desmond’s total sales comes from his follow-up efforts!
Whether you choose to follow up five, seven, nine, or even 12 times, you can spread those touch points out. Perhaps you’ll follow up once a week for 12 weeks, or twice a week for six weeks, or once every two weeks for six months… you get the idea.
Having a timeline in place is just the first step. You also want to plan for what you’ll say in your follow-up messages… and this is where a lot of writers are less effective than they could be.
The Wrong Way to Follow Up
Just as there are deadly sins in marketing that lose sales… there are also “forbidden words” you’ll want to leave out of your follow-up messages.
Some of those words are:
- I’m calling to follow up…
- I want to check in with you…
- I’m curious if you’ve made a decision yet…
- Just wanted to touch base with you…
- I haven’t heard back from you…
I know. These words might seem harmless. I know I’ve used them countless times, and maybe you have, too. But, it turns out there’s a better way… because, these kinds of phrases can be off-putting and may lead to your prospects’ avoiding you.
The problem with these types of messages is they sound like you’re reaching out only to get a sale from the prospect — instead of truly connecting and treating them as a human being.
When you follow up in a way that offers value, your prospect will start to look forward to hearing from you.
Try This Approach Instead
When you first decide to reach out to a prospect, you should do some initial research first. You might learn a little bit about their website, product, competitors, and audience. And, from that, you’ll probably learn something about their goals, desires, needs, problems, and aspirations. With those in mind, ask yourself…
“How can I provide value to my prospect, even if we’re not working together yet?”
It can be as simple as sharing some ideas, telling them about a newsletter you think they’ll find valuable, or maybe sharing a link to an article you wrote that talks about a solution to their problem.
No need to do something crazy and grand. Just keep things simple and valuable.
Focus on providing value… and you’ll build trust and trigger feelings of reciprocity.
Even when you’re just sharing value in your follow-up, you still want to include a call to action (CTA). Your CTA could be as simple as: “Let me know if you found this helpful!” When they respond to you, it deepens the relationship and strengthens the connection… and that’s a good thing!
Who Will You Choose to Follow Up With?
With all that being said, you’re not obliged to follow up with every single prospect you interact with. Because, in living The Writer’s Life, you have the power to choose your clients.
Which is why it’s important to qualify your prospects. It’s not just about the money. It’s about your overall working compatibility with them.
How do you qualify prospects, you ask? Here’s an exercise.
I want you to go through your list of prospects and, based on what you know about them, ask yourself these questions…
- Does this prospect seem like they’ll respect you and your work?
- Does their work add value to people’s lives?
- Do you truly want to work with them?
- Will your services truly help them?
- And, as Jen Adams would ask… Is this potential client good enough for YOU?
Using those questions as a guide, you can sort your prospects into two categories…
One would be “Prospects to Follow Up With” and the other, “Thank You, Next!”
After all, you want to protect your time and energy by focusing your follow-ups on the best-fit prospects.
Your Next Step…
Now, it’s time for you to follow up!
While keeping everything we’ve discussed in mind, I want you to…
1 – Choose 3-5 qualified prospects (or more, if you want).
2 – Create a follow-up schedule for them.
3 – And then, nurture your relationship with them according to that schedule.
I hope you’re now feeling pumped to follow up with prospects. If you have any questions or insights, please feel free to post them in the comments section below. We’d love to hear from you!
