You Had a Great Sales Meeting. Now What?

Wouldn’t it be great if you met with a new marketing lead, and that potential buyer was mesmerized by every word you said? In just one meeting, you convinced the prospect you were the perfect fit for their company. Best of all, you walked out of the meeting with an opportunity to quote for a project where the buyer urgently needed to make a purchase!

Just thinking about that situation gives me a dreamy sense of happy sales anticipation. Unfortunately, the following scenario is a lot more common.

You meet with a new marketing lead. They give you thirty minutes. It’s a good conversation, and the buyer is politely interested — but they are far from buying. At the end of the meeting, you ask to schedule a follow-up meeting so you can share additional information. The buyer politely declines because they are busy orchestrating the company’s biggest tradeshow of the year. They ask you to email them additional information and stay in touch. You smile, thank them for their time, and tell them you will send the email.

It is what happens next and in the coming months that separates top performers from average salespeople.

Top performers email the buyer, thanking them for their time and with the requested information within 24 hours of the meeting. They understand trust is built by following through on commitments, and speed signals responsiveness.

Within 24 hours, top performers send written thank-you notes. They know it makes them stand out and this practice offers tangible proof that they care about building a relationship with a buyer.

They also send a LinkedIn invitation to link to the buyer with a personal note, also within 24 hours, because they recognize it is another way to connect, share content, and stay top-of-mind.

Top performers review conversations while they are fresh and jot down ideas for providing additional value to the buyer. What did the buyer say about their pain points? What do they want to improve? How will you prove that your company is a better option?

Top performers don’t just file their notes away. They act on their insight and devise a series of next steps. They know that if they want to convert leads into customers, they need to stay top-of-mind, increase mindshare, and be remembered when the buyer needs information or is ready to buy.

Top performers know how to maintain a visible presence. They touch buyers at least three times a month, whether through email, texting, calling, sending a piece of mail, or a LinkedIn message. They recognize that each touch:

• Reminds buyers you exist (keep in mind you probably give more thought to leads than they give to you!).
• Increases their understanding of the benefits and value you can provide.
• Demonstrates you will work hard to earn their business.

Further, today’s top performers are learning to use tools like ChatGPT to streamline communication, personalize outreach, and provide more relevant information to leads — ultimately leading to more efficiency and effectiveness in sales cycles and closing more deals. (Check out “Sales in the Age of ChatGPT: Adapt or Face Extinction” for more thoughts on this topic.)

Nothing mentioned in this article is beyond the reach of the average salesperson. In fact, it brings to mind one of my favorite Warren Buffet quotes: "It is not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results." In sales, top performers typically excel by executing ordinary tasks a little better or more often than their competition. In sales, as in life, consistent mastery of the basics usually leads to extraordinary success — and more success when turning leads into customers, too.