Let me guess—you don’t just want leads for your clients. You also want forever customers. Am I right?
Yup, I thought so. Who the heck wouldn’t?
We’ve talked about putting time and energy into training your client’s front desk staff. And, you can do that all you want. But, if you don’t help them implement a dependable, yet simple follow-up system, you can expect all your efforts to virtually swirl down the drain.
I know—cue the *womp, womp* sound effect.
Hey, I’m not trying to be a Debbie Downer, here. I’m just telling it like it is. And, unfortunately, that’s not the only problem.
Without a lead closing follow-up system, you’ll end up merely treating your clients’ potential customers like just another number.
Ugh.
Who in the world likes that kind of non-royal treatment, anyway? We get that enough as it is when we have to visit the DMV and pull a number to wait our turn.
Therefore, it’s time to break down those concrete walls holding up that infamous intimacy barrier so you can help your local clients turn leads into not only customers, but also their BFFs. Let’s just say today’s all about “no lead left behind.”
Are you with me? Let’s dig in!
How to Create a Follow-Up System That Will Close More Leads for Your Local Clients
Hold up. What’s all this commotion about turning leads into your clients’ BFFs?
In the digital world we live in, chances are, you grab your phone to check out Facebook just to see what family and friends are up to. Only, something unexpected happens. You become bombarded by a slew of ads offering “special deals” on subscription boxes, apparel, shoes, and so much more.
I’m not saying these ads don’t work. The problem, however, is that as soon as you actually opt-in for the offer, you become just another number. And, if you were paying attention to what I said just a minute ago, you know I don’t like that. At all.
Why? Because the brand on the other end is herding leads like cattle and, as someone on the receiving end of that, you just can’t seem to get the personalized experience you so desperately crave.
So, naturally, the last thing you want to do is treat your clients’ leads the same way! And, to prevent that, it’s time to turn them into an ultimate BFF by:
- Expressing compassion.
- Garnering trust.
- Providing accountability.
That’s great and all. But, how do you do that? We’re talking about a sales funnel here.
Typically, with a sales funnel, you’re usually focused on moving your leads from top to bottom—to ultimately become your clients’ new customers.
So, is it really possible to inject humanity into the funnel and turn them into their BFFs? Especially when they have yet to walk through your clients’ doors?
Why, yes! I’m happy to say it really is possible. And, that’s if, and only if, you tackle these simple steps:
- Add an image of the staff “point person” to the Thank You page. This wouldn’t (and shouldn’t) be your client. Instead, it should be the gatekeeper who’ll personally be reaching out to the leads that come in. And, it doesn’t have to be a super polished photo. It can be a candid snapshot of them behind the desk, as long as it’s high-quality!
- Explain the personal level of contact on the Thank You page. Mention the name of the “point person” the lead can expect a call from to schedule their appointment, consultation, etc. And, the number they’ll be calling from. That way, it won’t be some unknown number showing up on their phone that they’re not expecting.
- Get permission to contact the lead via text message. The “point person” should then send a short and sweet text message to the lead to see if they’re available to talk via a qualifying phone call. As soon as they do, the level of intimacy is kicked up a few notches—all before they’ve stepped foot inside the office! We’ll dive into this in greater detail in just a bit.
If you’re familiar with our JDO funnel series, you’ll notice there are overlapping elements in these steps. In this case, however, there’s an added element of humanity as you’re giving an introduction to the person within your client’s office who’ll they’ll be interacting the most with—delivering paperwork to, calling them to schedule another appointment, and so much more.
Okay, you sold on the idea just yet? I thought so. Let’s walk through the entire follow-up system from top to bottom.
You’re now in the loop on how crucial it is to inject a human element into the follow-up process, and that it’s 100% doable when you have the support from your client’s staff (especially after your training efforts!).
So, now I’m sure you’re on the edge of your seat impatiently waiting to hear about this so-called follow-up system that will convert more leads for your local clients. And, I won’t keep you waiting any longer!
Let’s run through it from top to bottom.
- Thank You Page with a Personal Connection. A few minutes ago, we ran through this component, which lays the foundation for a successful follow-up system. Just be sure your clients designate one (and only one) “point person” to help create that personal connection with leads.
- Permission to Contact Text. Once a person opts-in to accept your client’s offer, they’ll receive a confirmation text message and email right away. This is pretty standard, especially if you use LeadKit. Where this process gets a little bit different in terms of following-up is, once the “point person” is notified via text and email with information on the lead who opted in (more on this in a bit!), they should reach out to the lead via a text message. Within 10 minutes is the goal to keep conversion rates high! Take a look at the template text below to get a feel for what the “point person” should say:
“Hi [Lead Name]. This is [Staff Name] with [Office Name]. Congratulations on receiving the [Offer].
Are you free for me to call you in a couple of minutes?”
I highly suggest the “point person” doesn’t use their personal cell phone number for these efforts. Your clients can purchase a cheap cell phone or add a line to their current plan. Or, if all else fails, check out the Burner App. It creates a second phone number for calling and text messaging.
- Qualifying Phone Call. If the lead responds to the text with a “Yes,” the “point person” should call them immediately. Get a “Not available right now”? They should ask to schedule a time that works best to call them. Get a “No”? Give it a couple of hours and try calling. The main benefit of this phone call? Your clients get to vet the leads and “pre-qualify” them for additional services. Consider it “incognito research” in prep for the “point person” to sell the lead additional services during their first office visit. It’s also a chance to verify the email used to sign-up for the offer, ensuring it’s the best one to send them new client paperwork.
- Confirmation Email. After the phone call, the “point person” should make a note as to the status of the lead on the Lead Tracking Google Sheet (we’ll discuss this in a bit!). Then, email the new client paperwork so they don’t have to arrive at the office 20 minutes early to fill it out. And, the appointment time should also be included.
- Reminder Text and Phone Call. On the day of the lead’s appointment, a reminder text should be sent from the “point person,” and a reminder phone call should also be made.
- What happens if the lead can’t be reached? If the “point person” reaches out and fails to get ahold of the lead, they should always leave a message. This can be done on a “three day on, one day off” basis. Call, text, then call again.
Take a look below to see what the scripts look like for the qualifying phone call, confirmation email, and reminder text and phone call.
Ultimately, this process should only take your clients’ “point person” a few minutes each day to complete. And, as a result, they’ll reap so many benefits!
Awesome, right? Now, how can the “point person” be notified at each stage of the follow-up system so no lead is left behind?
Now, I may be a bit biased. But, this follow-up system works wonders. To be clear, however, it’s only as good as the notification system you put in place. You know, so your clients’ “point person” can stay in the loop on new leads that need to be followed-up with to quickly get them into their system.
After all, the last thing you want to do is force them to take extra time out of their day to dig into the funnel and track every potential customer that comes in. Therefore, you need something easy to put into place. And, your clients need something easy to integrate with their current processes.
Luckily, we’ve worked hard to put together a notification system that works. Take a look:
- Lead signs up for the offer.
- Lead is added to the Google Sheet.
- Client’s “point person” is notified via email.
- Client’s “point person” is notified via text message.
You’re probably wondering, however, what’s powering each of those actions? Well, we’ve tried many things, and ultimately landed on Zapier.
(source)
Zapier is an automation tool that connects your favorite apps (two or more) to automate repetitive tasks.
What does that mean for you?
You won’t need to spend hours upon hours trying to learn how to code or relying on developers to build out the integration. So, basically, it’s your new ‘bot (short for robot) sidekick. (Check out this blog post if you want to learn more about specific automation hacks for your Facebook ad agency.)
For your follow-up system, you’ll need three different “zaps” (aka a blueprint for a task you want to do over and over again) per client. And, if your client has offices in different locations, each location will need a total of three “zaps.”
*Before you get started, be sure the information your zap is pulling is the same as the information your client’s requesting within their opt-in form (ex. Email address, first name, last name, and phone number).
For each of the three zaps, you’ll have the same trigger, which will be: when a new contact is added to your email marketing list.
In this walkthrough, I’ll show you how to set up a trigger for ActiveCampaign. (If that’s not what you use, you can take a look at other email marketing apps Zapier integrates with here.)
- Choose the autoresponder to trigger an app. In this example, it’ll be ActiveCampaign. Then, click Continue.
- Next, select the ActiveCampaign trigger—New Contact Added to List.
- Connect the ActiveCampaign account you want to work with this zap (the email account you’re sending the lead information from).
- In the Edit Options section, choose the list from the email autoresponder.
- Finally, Test this Step to make sure everything looks good to go.
Once you’ve completed those steps, it’s time to set up the three zaps (aka actions)! Again, for each action, the trigger will be the same (when a new contact is added to your email marketing list).
Here’s a quick and straightforward run-through as to how you successfully tackle each one:
- Email lead confirmation—as soon as someone fills out your client’s opt-in form, a zap will trigger to send an email lead confirmation to the client’s “point person.” First, make sure you have a list created for the opt-ins in your funnel. Then, pick the “zap” for that specific autoresponder. The steps to get this zap up and running are as follows:
1. Choose the email app the “point person” is using. I chose to go with Gmail.
2. Next, select the Gmail Action—Send Email.
3. Select the Gmail account of your “point person” or connect it to Zapier.
4. Now, it’s time to Edit the Template. This is where you’ll really need to pay attention. The “To” should be your client’s “point person.” And, you can also Cc your client’s email address if they’d like to be copied on everything. The “From” can be your email address, and the “Subject” should be Facebook Lead. From there, it’s time to set up the body of the message. For the Body Type, select Plain. And, the body of the email will be where the information must match the information your client’s requesting from their opt-in form—Contact First Name, Contact Last Name, Contact Email Address, Contact Phone Number, and I also added Contact Tags (if you’re running a couple of different offers for your client so you can keep things organized).
5. Lastly, you can rename the zap, test it, etc. But, whatever you do, just be sure to turn the zap on when you’re ready to run the campaign so your client’s “point person” can start collecting information.
- Text message lead confirmation—just as your client’s new leads will get a confirmation email and text, so will their “point person”! To set up the text message lead confirmation, follow the steps listed out below.
1. Choose SMS by Zapier.
2. Select Send SMS.
3. Next, you can add the SMS account to receive these notifications—aka the phone number of your client’s “point person.”
4. Edit Template—”From” number can be yours and Message can be New Facebook Lead for [INSERT CLIENT’S BUSINESS NAME].
5. Lastly, you can test the zap and click Finish.
- Add lead to tracking Google Sheet—this zap is a little more involved because you actually need to build the Google Sheet to house it. But, it’s not difficult!
1. When you’re creating the Google Sheet, the titles of the columns must match the information you’re requesting from the opt-in form—First Name, Last Name, Email Address, and Phone Number. Again, you can include additional columns as you see fit such as Tags (if you’re running multiple campaigns for one particular client) and Follow-Up Notes (to allow space for your client’s “point person” to document specifics from each point of contact—if they were contacted, didn’t respond, etc.).
2. Once you’ve finished creating the document, it’s time to get back to setting up the zap! Select Google Sheets as the action.
3. Next, select the Google Sheets Action—Create Spreadsheet Row. Every time a new contact is added to a list, it’ll create a new row with the given information that’s pulled from the opt-in form.
4. Then, select the Google Sheets Account you’ll be using. You can use the same account, but just change the privacy settings for each client’s sheet.
5. Finally, you’re at the Edit Template step. Choose the name of the spreadsheet, the worksheet (if you had multiple based on different months, etc.), and the contact fields—First Name, Last Name, Email Address, Phone Number, Tags (optional), and Follow-Up Notes (optional).
6. Lastly, you can rename the zap, test it, and you’re finished!
As soon as you’ve gotten each zap set up and turned on, I highly recommend you do a test opt-in to ensure your client’s “point person” gets all the necessary notifications for each new lead.
And, you don’t need to walk your clients through all of these steps. All they need to know is that you set up a notification system to make it easier to track and follow-up with new leads. You’re making their life easier!
As a bonus for sticking around, here’s something we like to call the “Chutes and Value Ladder” Technique.
Getting new customers in the door is only half the battle. Keeping them as long-term customers is another key component of success.
When new customers come through the door, businesses miss out on tons of potential revenue because staff members typically aren’t well-versed in upselling additional products or services.
So, how can you ensure you prevent that from happening to your clients?
You may recall we touched on something called the “value ladder” in a previous post. But, we didn’t really give away many details as to what’s involved.
That said, we’re finally spilling the beans on the three steps that make up this “Chutes and Value Ladder Technique” to teach your clients and help them avoid losing potential business!
- Watch for visual cues—when clients are absentmindedly or intentionally holding or giving attention to a specific body part. For example, if someone comes into a chiropractic office and is constantly rubbing their back (but, they didn’t mention it bothering them). That’s a signal that they may have some issue that could be treated using additional services in the office—like a massage!
- Listen for implied cues—when clients refer to symptoms or conditions that are treatable within the scope of your client’s business. This applies to members of their family as well! For example, when someone comes into a dental office to redeem a free teeth whitening session. And, during their visit, they mention they’re getting ready for their sister’s wedding. That’s the perfect opportunity to see if they’ve let their family member know about the current offer, and see if they’d be open to you contacting them.
- Listen for literal cues—when clients directly ask for advice about a symptom or condition. This is the easiest cue! But, the important part is your client’s staff needs to be aware of all the services offered and who the ideal candidate for each service may be (ex. Services for youth, etc.).
In the end, this “value ladder” isn’t overly complicated. It’s just three simple things to teach your clients and their staff to watch for, which can enhance their relationships with the leads that make their way into the office!
If you don’t already know by now, around here, we’re probably the biggest fans of following up. And, now, you don’t just know how important it can be for determining the success of your Facebook ad agency. But, you also have a system you can use to help your clients’ staff turn leads into not only customers, but also their BFFs.
If you want more of what was shared today, and are searching for ongoing help navigating the waters of building and scaling your Facebook ad agency, I invite you to join Closer’s Cafe. It’s your unfair advantage to stay ahead of the game, while mastering lead generation for your current and future clients.
Have questions or something to share about our follow-up system? Drop us a note in the comments section below. We’d love to hear from you and help you out!
