How to close more cases through better follow-ups

When COVID-19 happened in 2020, we had a lockdown for two months in Singapore. It was tough, but the year 2020 was the first time I qualified for Court of the Table. My three simple follow-up methods led me to close nearly all of my cases.

1. List pending prospects

I open my Notes app on my phone, and after meeting any prospect, I note their name and where I met them, so I always have a list of pending prospects and where I met them. We meet so many prospects that we can forget someone we met two weeks ago.

2. Text after the first meeting

A couple of hours after the first meetup, maybe on the train or bus home, I always send a text to the prospect thanking them for taking the time to meet me. And then, most importantly, I recap the meeting.

For example, if we talked about income protection, I would say, “I hope you understand the importance of income protection, as you are the sole breadwinner and your whole family depends on you.” I would then end the text with “Let me create a proposal, and I’ll see you next week. Have a great day!”

This allows the prospect to remember what we talked about, but at the same time, I have already told them that I would be meeting with them again next week.

3. Stay in touch

Most importantly, always stay in contact with prospects until you meet them the second time. For example, if I meet a prospect on Monday, I may send them an article or two on Tuesday, perhaps about the importance of insurance. I would say, “A good read on the importance of income protection.” There’s no pressure on the prospect. It’s just an article.

Maybe on Thursday, I’ll send another piece of news, or maybe a link to my Instagram work account or my webpage. Once again, there’s no pressure since I’m not asking for a meeting.

This is what I would call a subtle follow-up. Subtly, I am sending them things to read to reinforce the importance of what I have proposed, which in this scenario is income protection.

By Friday, I would do a non-subtle follow-up. By non-subtle, I mean that it must be direct. I’ll say, “Hey, Mr. Prospect, I’ve done the proposal that you requested. Would you be available this coming Monday?”

The probability of them saying yes would be high because I kept popping up in his WhatsApp the whole week! It is critical to end with a non-subtle follow-up because you can’t be subtle forever. Anyone would get bored with it after a while.

I hope these three pointers work for you as much as they have worked for me.

This was excerpted from Lim’s 2022 MDRT Global Conference presentation and MDRT member-exclusive content “Importance of follow-ups for case closure.”

Yismin Lim is a Top of the Table member and a six-year MDRT member from Singapore.

Discover ideas to close more cases:

• Watch “A cross to close” [MDRT member exclusive]
• Read “7 phrases to close the deal”
• Read “Closing more than your competition”