What’s the most important thing you can do for your business? No, it’s not to make more sales, although that is important. And, it’s not building the biggest network you can, although that is also important. The most important thing you can do for your business is follow up. Making sales and building your network are virtually impossible if you don’t follow up. Following up is critical to your business. Unfortunately, many network marketers don’t do it. Why not? That’s what we’re getting into today.

Why Following Up is Important

Following up means checking back in with the people in your network that you have communicated with. When you’ve had a conversation with someone about your business, following up means reaching back out to them with answers to any questions they had or to just say hello. Following up means popping into their text messages to say hello and make their day. It also means getting in touch with them to remind them of the opportunity that you have offered.

Connecting with the people in your network is vital to social selling. You cannot have a network marketing business without a strong and growing network. The foundation of your network is built upon relationships, and you can’t build relationships without connecting consistently with the people in your network. Following up is more than just an activity that you need to do to grow your business; it is an act of love. It is a way to show your network that you care about them enough to take the time to reach out. It’s showing that you care about them enough to answer their questions. To address their concerns or just send positive vibes for a great day.

So, Why Don’t You Follow up?

Although network marketers know that they have to follow up, many of them don’t. Or, they don’t do it as frequently or consistently as they should. There are many reasons for this. Like many things, there’s always an excuse for something that you don’t want to do. However, it’s impossible to expect your business to grow and thrive if you do not follow up with your network. Here are the most common reasons why network marketers do not follow up.

Don’t have time

Time is the most convenient excuse to get out of tasks that we don’t want to do, whether we are too anxious to do them or we’re just not sure where to begin. Many of us pack our days full of activities so we’re very busy. However, just because you’re busy does not mean you’re being productive. We look at our to-do list and become overwhelmed by the number of tasks we have on the list. So, it’s easy to say that you can’t follow up with your network if your list just keeps growing and growing. This is why it is so important to prioritize your day.

Although a to-do list is good, it doesn’t differentiate between tasks, giving everything equal weight. But not every task on your list is as important as the rest. By prioritizing your list, you can ensure that you’re spending time on the things that matter the most. For example, it may be important to do laundry. However, laundry isn’t more important than your power hour, especially if your goal is to grow your business. Each day when you create your to-do list, put a star next to you or circle the three activities you need to complete that day. Once you’ve completed these activities then move on to the next most important activities. This way you will have time to follow up with the people in your network and grow your business.

I don’t know what to say

Another reason people don’t follow up is they just don’t know what to say. They don’t want to sound silly or salesy when reaching out to people they know and care about. And, since network marketing has garnered a reputation for pushy salespeople, at least in the past, many current network marketers want to avoid sounding like pushy salespeople. They don’t know how to approach the conversation or may feel funny connecting with someone out of the blue.

Scripts are a great way to start the conversation. We’ve created scripts to help you talk to anyone in your network even if you haven’t connected with them in a long time. We encourage you to practice the scripts to get comfortable with using them so that they sound more natural. As with anything, the more you practice the more natural you’ll sound. At that point, you can feel free to adjust them based on your e and to connect better with your network.

I’d love to but I don’t know how

Many network marketers would follow up if they just knew how. Although the concept sounds intuitive, many people want to do it perfectly. They don’t want to sound salesy, they don’t want to interrupt anyone, and they want to feel like they’re honoring the relationship. Often, they’re new to network marketing and aren’t sure about the process of following up. The truth is, if you can send a message, you can follow up. That is what following up is; it is sending messages to the people in your network to check in with them, especially if you have told them that you would look into something or reach out at a later date.

By doing what you said you were going to do and following back up with them, you are building trust. You’re showing that you’re the kind of person who does what they say they’re going to. You keep your word. And, you’re being consistent. This helps to build your relationships and grow your business. Although there may not be a specific process for following up, the first thing you can do is log into your dashboard. You will see a list of people to connect with, as well as follow-ups you may have set. During your power hour, log into your dashboard and start connecting with the people on your list. That’s it. If you want to follow up you just have to get started.

I tried but no one gets back to me

Another reason people don’t follow up is they try to do it before but they didn’t get the response they were expecting. Often, when we reach out, we expect that the other person will reach back instantaneously. In reality, people are busy. Sure, they may see your message and mean to get back to you, but something else pulls them in a different direction. Maybe they see your message and they’re about to respond and then the dog throws up, or their daughter needs help finding their socks. Although they mean to respond, they just forget. Life happens and they forget to do it. It’s no slight to you. However, many network marketers take it personally. And if it happens when they try to follow up a second time, or even a third time, then they start creating stories as to why the person isn’t following up.

Our minds are great at creating false narratives. We’ll go from thinking that a person is just busy to becoming convinced that they didn’t like our tone of voice and they hate us. In truth, people are just busy. A common stat in sales is that you have to follow up at least seven times before a sale is made. So if you are following up once or twice and then writing off the person then you’re giving up much too soon. Remember, each time you reach out to someone and your network you are building trust in your building your relationship with them. Each time you follow up, even if they don’t respond right away, you are showing that you care. Your network will appreciate this, even if they don’t get back to you right away. Chances are, you’ve made their day by reaching out. So, when you’re feeling discouraged that no one is getting back to you, remember that it’s not about you, it’s about helping to improve their day and making them smile.

How to Follow Up 

Following up is easy once you get the hang of it. To do so, make it part of your power hour. To grow your business and meet your goals, we recommend doing a power hour every day. However, if that’s not possible, doing one three times a week will ensure that you stay in touch with the people in your network that you are supposed to. In addition to reaching out to people in your network to maintain the relationship, also reach out to the people who you’ve promised to follow up with. If they ask you a question or made a comment a few months ago, and you haven’t gotten back to them, reach out again.

Apologize for not following up sooner and give them the answer they were waiting for. Or, if you offered an opportunity and they said they’d think about it, reach out to them to say hello and see if they have made a decision. They may not have yet, but by reaching out to them and following up, you are pushing the opportunity to the forefront of their minds. Perhaps they forgot about it and by following up you’re reminding them.

Teamzy Makes it Easy to Follow Up 

We make it easy to follow up with your network. By making it part of your dashboard, following up can be easily integrated into your power hour. If you’re not using teams what are you waiting for? Click here and begin following up with your network today.