What’s the most important thing you can do to grow your business? Of course, you need to ask your network for introductions and keep in touch with your existing customers, prospects, and team members. However, the most important thing you can do is follow up.

You’ve heard us talk about it before and we keep focusing on it because it’s so vital to do. It’s one of those activities that network marketers know they need to do but often it falls to the back burner, especially when life gets busy. Network marketers will say, “I’ll get in touch tomorrow” or “I’ll get in touch next week.” However, when that time comes, it gets pushed off again until it’s totally off the list of things to do. Why is it pushed aside? Many network marketers don’t realize how pivotal it is to growing a business.

Why a regular follow up is so important

A follow up is more than reaching out to the people in your network to say hello. It’s more than trying to make their day. Following up is separate from a regular connect; it’s something to do in addition to connecting with them. 

Let’s say a customer has a question about a product and you’re not sure of the answer. A follow up allows you to provide that answer. More than that, it shows that you care enough about them to remember to find the answer. This helps you build trust. Since you followed up with the customer when you said you were going to, it adds another brick of trust to the foundation of your relationship with them. 

Similarly, let’s say you offered an opportunity to a prospect and they said they needed to think about it. Not everyone is certain they want to become network marketers right away. Most people need some time to think about it. Following up allows you to answer any questions they may have regarding the opportunity or the product or service. It shows that you’re invested in their success and care about them. Additionally, it also builds trust. 

Following up doesn’t end once they’re on your team. Checking in allows you to find out how they’re doing and if they have any questions, concerns or frustrations you can help with. If they are experiencing a challenging situation, following up with them shows them that you care enough to check in on them. It also allows you to share you knowledge and expertise in a mentorship-type of opportunity. This also builds trust and character with your team and network. 

Consistency is key

Doing the follow up is only part of it, though. The other part is doing so consistently. It’s not enough to follow up with them eventually. If you let too much time pass, they’re going to forget why you’re following up in the first place. Set a time for yourself to follow up. For example, say you’ll follow up with someone within three days. That way, people will come to expect that you’ll follow up with them within three days. The exception is if the person says to call them next week or they otherwise give you a time to follow up with them. Then you can break your three-day rule; however, for everyone else, adhere to the rule and follow up within that time. 

Consistency also builds trust. Your network knows that when you say or do something, you’ll do it for sure. You don’t flake or forget. They can count on you! By following up consistently, you set the expectation of trust and reliability and that’s how you build a strong foundation for your network marketing business. 

How following up helps you grow your business

Following up helps you build a business based on trust. However, it can help you grow your business too. How? Your network will be so impressed that you reliably follow up with them that they’ll introduce you to people they know who can benefit from the products or services you provide. 

Although it may take some reminding on your part, your network will be happy to introduce you to the people they know who can benefit from your business. Simply ask them to introduce you. In an ideal world, your network wouldn’t need any prompting and would automatically introduce you without you even asking. And, that may happen in some instances. However, more often that not, you have to ask for an introduction. 

Ask them if they know someone who would benefit from the products or services you provide. Although they may not have a name off-hand, they may think of one over the next several days. That’s where following up comes in. Reach out a few days later to see if they thought of someone. After you’ve connected with the person, follow up again to thank them for the introduction. 

What if they can’t think of someone?

It happens; sometimes the person can’t think of anyone to introduce you to. Don’t write them off just yet. You can still follow up with them later; just a wait a bit. Or wait until they pop back up on your dashboard. They may think of someone to connect you to in the meantime. 

Tips to make a follow up easier

If you find it difficult to follow up, here are some tips to make it easier.

Make it part of your day

It’s easier to do a task when it is part of your day. Therefore, make it part of your Power Hour. Once you’ve connected with everyone you need to in your network, go to your follow ups and reach out to everyone you need to follow up with that day. If you make it part of your productivity time, you’ll be more likely to get it done.

Give yourself a pep talk

Often network marketers avoid following up because they’re nervous. What should they say? Are they following up too soon? What if the person doesn’t answer? What if the person doesn’t remember that they said to follow up? 

These are all valid questions. However, the only use they have is to convince a network marketer NOT to follow up when they should. This not only hurts their confidence, it can also successfully talk them out of following up, which hurts the business. 

The best to combat this is to give yourself a pep talk before following up. Listen to a song that gets you energized or say aloud a mantra that gives you confidence. Whatever it takes, do something that makes you feel energized and motivated to reach out and follow up.

Your network wants to hear from you!

After all, if they didn’t want to hear from you, they wouldn’t be in your network! The people in your network want you to get in touch with them. This is true whether you’re just saying hello or you’re following up about a question they had. They want to hear from you! Don’t let that little nagging voice in your head tell you otherwise. Although the people in your network may get busy, they still want you to follow up, especially if they told you to do so in the first place. Don’t let that little negative voice win – follow up.

Follow the scripts

Teamzy created scripts to help network marketers say the right thing at the right time. Often, network marketers don’t follow up because they don’t know what to say. Teamzy has taken the guesswork out of the process by offering scripts that will help network marketers build confidence while they build trust with their networks. 

Read the scripts, and once you get more confident, alter the scripts to fit your voice and personality. Play around with them and see which ones work best for you. Practice them in the mirror so they sound natural and allow you to improvise. The scripts will help you gain confidence so you can focus on connecting with your network. 

Teamzy makes it easier to follow up

We created Teamzy to make network marketing easier and more fun. We’ve taken the guesswork out of building the foundation for a thriving network marketing business. In addition to telling you who to contact each day, you can also set follow up appointments so you’ll never let a question or concern fall through the cracks. Once you’ve connected with the person in your network, set a follow up to reach back out to them to answer a question or give them more information. You’ll always know who to contact and when. Click here to learn more.