Yesterday I received an interesting question from a new consulting client about how to follow up with prospective, new or past clients. She was somewhat unsure of what I meant by the term "follow up" and what techniques or tasks I would suggest. (See my last column on this issue Dealing with Follow-Up Phobia.) Personally, I don't think the particular method of checking in with new, old or prospective clients matters quite as much as the act of just connecting with them somehow does.

So is "follow up" the same with all types of clients? Probably not, but it makes a lot of sense to have a plan or system for doing this with each group of people. Here are a few examples:

Prospective clients - These could be people who stop by your business or that you meet at an event and who give you their business card. If these folks have added their names to your email list, put their business card into a hat for a drawing or registered for an event, you can connect with them afterward to ask if they had any questions about what you do, tell them about any current or "new client" specials or offers, suggest an appointment or free consultation or simply say thank you for stopping by. This can be done by email, a handwritten note or phone call.

New and current clients - The first follow up to do with these folks is immediately after they come out from their session. If you have a one person shop, then this will be up to you completely. However, if you work in or own a larger facility, your front desk staff can be enlisted to help here. Whoever it is, the bottom line is to find out how the client enjoyed their services and visit. You can provide them with a comment card or simply ask them directly. And with new clients or those trying a new service or product for the first time, following up to see how they are doing with a phone call or email a day or so after the appointment is a very nice touch.

Past or inactive clients - The goals here are simple. First, you want to reactivate these people if at all possible and get them in the habit of coming in regularly if possible. They've already experienced your work and the overall atmosphere and will be easier to get back in than getting a new client to come the first time. Second, if they don't want to come back in or seem resistant to talk to you, there may have been a problem with their past experience(s). Then the task becomes finding out what the problem was or how you could improve things to regain their patronage. True this is scary, which may be what holds people back from following up in the first place. But by making the effort to follow up with past or inactive clients, you may learn a lot of valuable information about how to improve your business.

The bottom line? Following up will improve your client retention, client satisfaction and the amount of cash in your pockets. Now go make a list of who you need to get in touch with today!

Need some help getting your client follow-up procedures organized? Contact me at Felicia@spalutions.com to set up a free initial coaching session. You'll also want to download my Ten Question Business Assessment to get an idea of what areas you'd like to improve in your marketing and discuss on our call.