After the visit is before the visit. A follow-up call stands in direct correlation to the preceding visit. Some sales require a whole series of visits. The higher the total sale value, the longer the customer is likely to consider his purchase.

Planning of follow-up calls
- the creative opener

Recognition is an expression of your appreciation for the business partner. You signal recognition if you make a customer-oriented reference to your preceding call. Sales representative who recall their customer's verbal statements and bring them back into the conversation during the next visit show that they are interested in the customer's situation. Creative opening remarks can be formulated in this fashion:

- As you mentioned during our last conversation you were interested in a cordless screwdriver which is also suitable for the new type of carpenter's screws. I made some inquiries with our suppliers and can offer you today...
- You remarked during our last meeting that you would like to have an assortment of screws on consignment so you can determine the used-up quantity at the end of every month and account for it. My sales manager and I sat together on this and prepared the following offer for you...
- When you mentioned last time that you were looking for a supplier of X I promised to ask our purchasing department about it. They gave me 3 brochures for you ...

These kinds of opening remarks are quite different from the usual gibberish and introduce a personal note into the conversation which your customers value so highly. As a matter of fact, we have heard rumours about salesmen who still open their conversations like this:

- Since you're again on my tour plan today I wondered if I could...
- I've just been to see someone around the corner, so I thought I'd just drop in....
- What a warm and cosy office you got here. The weather is really lousy and cold today, do you mind if I come in...

The opening remarks of follow-up calls demand more creativity and quality!

Planning of follow-up calls
- keep your word

Be careful not to be too quick to promise appointments, product features, etc. A thorough examination of the situation can prevent pre-programmed disappointment and disagreement with customers. A sales representative has to keep his word if he wants to develop a positive image and good relations with the customer. Here again the saying goes: "Honesty is the best policy!" Unkept promises frustrate the customer and make the sales representative appear unreliable and untrustworthy. Before you go on a follow-up visit you should therefore check which promises have been made, in order to be able to report on progress or execution. It would be inappropriate to wait until the client asks about a specific matter. If you address the matter openly and of your own accord, you will create clarity and a good atmosphere for the further course of the conversation.

Planning of follow-up calls
- utilise positive customer statements

Good preparation is half the success. Incorporate the results of the previous visit when you are planning your next call. Positive customer statements are defined as hints made by the customer which could lead to a positive turnover development. Statements of this type could refer to the planned customer projects such as:

- A construction project
- The planned enlargement of the production
- The opening of a new branch office
- The likelihood of a large order
- The new positioning of the product range
- The restructuring of the organisation

During the planning of follow-up calls positive customer statements have to be considered and reintroduced into the conversation: "During my last visit you mentioned that you were planning to enlarge your product range by product X. We could support you in the planning and preparation of this production by ....."

Planning of follow-up calls
- announcement of the follow-up visit

You can already announce your next call at the end of the a visit. This enables the customer to make a note of this appointment in his calendar. It is known from daily practice that sales representatives use adhesive dots which the can customer can stick in the appropriate place in his calendar. Modern software such as Microsoft Outlook allows you to enter an appointment in the calendar through a network connection. Regardless how you make and enter an appointment in your calendar, you have to make sure to keep appointments by all means.

Planning of follow-up calls
- proximity in time

We already said in the beginning that the saying "After the visit is before the visit!" applies particularly to the planning of follow-up calls. The job you have to do after you have just finished a visit includes the preparation of the follow-up call in order to make sure that important impressions and information are not lost. Customer statements relevant to the follow-up visit are written down during the visit and processed after the visit. This way you can sift through the notes from your last visit before starting your follow-up visit to be optimally prepared for your call.

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