There are many sales philosophies, approaches, processes, methods or techniques B2B companies follow to convert a lead into a customer.

No matter what approach you follow, how many leads you cram your sales funnel with, how long your sales cycle is, the one thing you can’t afford is a good, qualified lead to suddenly go cold and unresponsive.

That’s a big part of sales leakage, a massive challenge to every sales pro and every sales organization.

Come to think of it, sales leakage is worse than losing a sale. 

When you lose a sale [yes, it does happen, even to the best in sales], you can talk to the customer, learn from the experience. You can give feedback to the company and improve yourself. 

But what if you don’t even know why a lead stopped responding? 

If you don’t stop sales leakage, it doesn’t matter how good you are, how great your company or your solution is, what pain you have taken to get a lead and nurture it, it’s a dead loss.

There are several reasons sales leakage may happen – some internal to the customer company, others within your control. One of those is how well you follow up. 

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Indeed, it is. 

But you will be surprised to know that most sales folks dont manage to do this simple and necessary thing well, often because they are busy doing too many other things which have relatively lower value. Like entering data, preparing reports, attending internal meetings, making unplanned cold calls to fill the funnel and so on. Even as the customer or the lead is waiting to be engaged.

Strong follow-ups tell your lead you care. They keep your ears where they should be – to the ground. They help you stay focused on what happens in the work and life of your lead, not your office chores.

Without strong follow-ups, every lead is potentially a dead lead, not a possible customer.