The Secret to Success: Why Follow-Up Is Key
Have you ever wondered why some sales reps consistently close deals while others fall short?
The answer might be simpler than you think.
In this episode, The Girls of Grit wrap up their three-part series on what it takes to succeed in medical device sales by revealing the crucial role of follow-up. They dive into the power of thoughtful, personalized follow-ups in building trust and deepening customer relationships.
They share six essential reasons why follow-up is a game-changer: building relationships, increasing conversions, addressing concerns, showing persistence, gathering feedback, and nurturing leads. Overcoming barriers like fear of rejection and lack of motivation, encourage sales reps to dig deep and act.
Don’t miss this final installment, where they unpack the secret to turning follow-ups into a strategic advantage that leads to lasting success.
Tune in now to learn how mastering the art of follow-up can transform your sales journey!
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
02:03 Series Recap and Today's Focus
02:57 Understanding the Importance of Follow-Up
03:16 Effective Follow-Up Strategies
06:43 Overcoming Follow-Up Challenges
15:59 The Secret to Successful Follow-Up
27:01 Conclusion
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
The Importance of Personalization: They emphasize that follow-up is not just about checking in—it's about making it personal. Referencing past conversations and tailoring your approach shows clients you truly listened, building deeper trust.
Overcoming Fear of Rejection: They discuss the most common reason sales reps avoid follow-ups—the fear of hearing “no.” They encourage listeners to shift their mindset, reminding them that fear is just “false evidence appearing real.”
Building Stronger Relationships: The discussion highlights how consistent follow-up fosters trust, helps address client concerns, and ultimately strengthens long-term customer relationships.
Persistence Pays Off: Illustrates how persistence is a core trait of successful salespeople, using follow-up as a way to demonstrate dedication and reliability.
The Secret to Effective Follow-Up: They reveal the ultimate secret: timely and thoughtful follow-up, tailored to the client’s needs, can be the difference between a lost opportunity and a closed deal.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
"You can’t expect a customer to say yes right away, but what are you doing with that follow-up? You are nurturing that lead." — Anneliese Rhodes
When we operate out of fear, we just underestimate what we’re able to do." — Anneliese Rhodes
"Persistence is an underlying characteristic of a very good salesperson." — Anneliese Rhodes
"What’s your why? Because if I don’t follow up, then where am I going to go? — Anneliese Rhodes
"Sales are relationships, it’s the largest portion of what we do and this regular follow-up gives that little bit of establishing trust and rapport." — Cynthia Ficara
"When you follow up and then they see you as the hardest working person in the room because you bring value and now you’re following up again." — Cynthia Ficara
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A Team Dklutr production
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Anneliese Rhodes: Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening to everyone out there. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Secrets in Medical Device Sales. We are so happy you guys keep tuning in to us.
Cynthia Ficara: Hey, everybody. We are very excited to be back here again this weekend, and we hope you all had a good weekend. As you know, we are the Sunday girls. Lisa, did you have a good weekend? I haven't even had a chance to ask you.
Anneliese Rhodes: Yes, I did. I had some family come into town. I got to see my niece and nephew. Busy football weekend, although we didn't win.
Cynthia Ficara: Oh, yeah, my team too. Anyway, well, good. I'm glad it's always fun. How was your weekend? We ventured to an oyster festival, something different.
Anneliese Rhodes: Oh, that's awesome.
Cynthia Ficara: Really fun. Had some great oysters and crab soup, and there was music. It was just fun being outside, something different, but I enjoyed it.
The Art of Follow-Up
Anneliese Rhodes: That's so nice. And now, we are back to discussing with you all our third episode of the three-part series on what it really takes to become successful. If you all remember, we had that discussion with Patricia Choquette, who is absolutely the epitome of a stellar rep.
And why? Because of the actions she takes. This is the last episode where we cover the three most important actions she believes are necessary to be a successful rep.
The first was being the hardest-working person in the room. The second is to always bring value. And today, we are discussing the third portion, which is follow-up.
Cynthia Ficara: If you remember, she mentioned that in the episode.
Anneliese Rhodes: Yep, she did. It's going to be fun. We’re digging into what this means in different aspects.
Anneliese Rhodes: So, everybody listening probably knows what follow-up is, but we're going to go a bit deeper into what it looks like, why it’s important, and give you some great examples. Because sometimes, you think you're doing good follow-up, and maybe you are. But other times, you forget altogether. And what are the consequences, right?
Honestly, Cindy, if I'm going to be a good follow-up rep, let’s use an example from our last episode. You mentioned that you only buy Advil or Motrin and refuse to buy generic, which I found hilarious.
But if I was the good follow-up rep, and I saw you in the pharmacy buying your Advil or Motrin, I’d say: “Oh, Cindy, hey! Great to see you again. Hope you had a great weekend. I see you’re picking up another bottle of Advil. Remember we had that conversation? You told me you don’t think the generic ibuprofen is as effective as Advil or Motrin.”
So, I did a little digging for you. I pulled some data from one of our recent studies where we went head-to-head with Advil and Motrin. And you can see here that it’s just as effective in the exact same amount of time. I hope this information helps you make an informed decision. You know, I don’t want to push you to do something you don’t want to, but I truly believe in our product and that it’s just as effective. So, happy hunting, good shopping!
Cynthia Ficara: Okay, that was classic because I even forgot we talked about that. You’re right, it’s so easy to forget. I’m so glad you said that because you’re exactly right. It takes a conversation and then a continued conversation to keep things moving. Look, I didn’t even want to consider generics, but now Lisa just gave me some food for thought.
Cynthia Ficara: So, maybe I’ll read what she has, and then one more follow-up Lisa could do is come back and ask me if I’ve read the information. Then it becomes the fun part. She could ask me to try it and then say, “What do you think? Did it relieve pain? Do you feel better?” and have a way for me to give her a definitive answer. Honestly, that's how people change decisions—or make decisions for change. That’s what happens.
But if she never followed up, I’d be going to that pharmacy buying Advil and Motrin for the next couple of years.
Anneliese Rhodes: And it's not that it's super easy, you know. Sometimes, I think you have to put yourself out there a little bit when you’re doing this follow-up, and it can be uncomfortable. For me, it was easier because, obviously, we’re just using this as an example.
But when you’re following up with a physician or a customer you’ve only had a brief moment with, and they mentioned something that was important to them, you need to follow up.
Hopefully, you’ve done your homework and figured out an answer to whatever they were asking for something that was important to them. Now, you need to go back to them, put yourself in a bit of an uncomfortable position, and say, “Dr. Smith, you and I had a great conversation last week. I wanted to follow up on what you told me was really important to you.” Here’s some clinical data on our product that exemplifies why it does what it does. It's as effective as—or even better than—what you currently use.
But sometimes you have to put yourself out there a little. I think that can be a bit hard for people when trying to do a quality follow-up because it requires stepping outside your comfort zone just a tad.
Cynthia Ficara: And I agree. So, let’s simplify this because it’s a very important topic. If we break it down to dive deeper into follow-ups, we’ll start by discussing why we should follow up. I mean, we’ve touched on it, but we’ll really get into it so that you’ll walk away knowing why you should follow up, what prevents people from doing it, and how you can follow up effectively.
So, beginning with why—and you kind of touched on it—I think I’m going to summarize it in a word.
Building Strong Client Relationships
Cynthia Ficara: One of the most important reasons you should follow up is, number one, to help build relationships because, you know, sales is relationships. It's the largest portion of what we do. This regular follow-up helps establish trust and rapport, whether it's with a current customer or a future customer. And again, Lisa just talked about that simple example. She's a familiar face, she saw me again, she called me by my name.
And now, I’m starting to trust her. Now, I know her as the generic ibuprofen representative, but I’m more likely to speak to her again because we’ve started to build a relationship. So, I think number one is building relationships.
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah, 100%. And you're right. I feel like with every medical device out there, to some degree, you need to build a relationship with your customers for them to use that product.
So, you're right, Cindy, that's number one, and it's huge. Another reason is that, in a way, if you're not directly saying it, you're asking for some business. You’re going to increase your conversion rate, you’re going to increase the chances of getting that business by asking you and referring to what you told me was important in terms of data.
I then presented you with that data and asked you to make an informed decision based on it. That, in and of itself, is asking for the business in a roundabout way, and it’s increasing your conversion rate.
Let’s hope that might be all your customer needs—just that little bit of follow-up you gave them. It might be the switch to tell them, “Hey, you know what? She did her job. She did what I asked her to do, and here she is asking for the business. Now I’m going to give her that next case.”
Cynthia Ficara: I love it. I love it because we all want everybody to have much higher conversion rates. I think another thing it does—so this would be number three—is addressing concerns.
What a great opportunity for her to return. I’m just going to use the example again. Let’s talk about data. What are my concerns? Is data my concern? Is it my personal concern? Do I have the same amount of pain relief? What is that? But this really gives you that opportunity to never assume and to make sure you’re on the same page and alleviate any doubts you may have.
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah, exactly. And along with that, I think this is kind of throughout the whole story and the entire narrative—persistence.
You know, when you're following up, you’re showing your customers that you are persistent and that they’re important to you. By default, you’re going to work for them and give them what they’re asking for. It shows them you are dedicated to them.
If you tell them you're going to do something and then you just don’t do it, well, you’re kind of telling your customer they weren’t that important.
The Power of Follow-Up in Nurturing Leads
Cynthia Ficara: You're right. Persistence is just an underlying characteristic of a very good salesperson. Why follow-up is important is because now you get to collect feedback. And what that actually does is tell you if you're on the right path. Everything we’re doing is just laying down the breadcrumbs.
I mean, you could start in one direction, and then maybe there's something different, maybe there's something you've missed, or maybe there’s something even more important.
But all this allows you to tweak your approach. And again, sales is about customer needs, right? So, collecting feedback on what’s in it for them, what works for them, and what they need is a great opportunity to do so. A hundred percent.
Anneliese Rhodes: And, you know, I think the last thing is really that you can't expect a customer to say yes right away. But what are you doing with that follow-up? You are nurturing that lead, you’re nurturing that customer. You’re showing them persistence and giving them the information they requested.
Even if they’re not ready today to say, “Okay, Lisa, I’m going to try the generic instead of Advil,” at least I brought you what you requested. I showed you that I cared and wanted to build a relationship with you.
You're beginning to trust me. All of these actions nurture a relationship so that at some point, you’re going to give me an answer. And I hope the answer is going to be yes.
Cynthia Ficara: It's such a vital part, and I mean, I know this sounds kind of simple, but I'm just going to summarize why both Lisa and I truly believe follow-up is important. We talked about building relationships, increasing conversion rates, addressing concerns, persistence, collecting feedback, and nurturing leads.
That’s why it’s so important. Sounds simple, right? Yeah. What do you think prevents people from doing what we just talked about?
Overcoming Fear and Lack of Motivation in Effective Sales Follow-Up
Anneliese Rhodes: Well, I think the biggest reason honestly, is something that you and I talk about a lot in our episodes. I think we did an episode just on this subject, but it's scary. It's you too, you don't want to do it because you're scared of them, no, you're already assuming that the customer is going to say no.
And I swear, Cindy, I think a lot of times when we operate out of fear, Man, we just really underestimate what we're able to do. You know, we assume answers, we think things are going to go bad, we think they're going to say no. We're scared to do it, we're uncomfortable in our skin. Maybe we feel like the doctor doesn't like us, I mean, I don't know.
But it all boils down, it all boils down to fear. And we always say this, but fear is false evidence appearing real. So don't believe the hype. You know, don't play on your fear. You know, just suck it up and do what you're supposed to do. Because I truly believe your clients want you to do that.
You know, they give you those breadcrumbs. They put that out there so that you will take that information and run with it. And they're going to see how far you're going to take it.
Cynthia Ficara: Oh, absolutely. I think that is so important that I'm going to ask all of you right now, there is somewhere you're driving today.
There's something you need to be done this week or the end of next week. What is something big that A, you forgot to follow up on or you need to and ask yourself why? Is it fear? Because right now, it might be. Now, if it's not fear, I really think there's only one other really strong, I mean there are probably many reasons.
But I feel like. One other common reason, and don't laugh when I say this to everybody, it's lack of motivation. So, this is where you gotta dig deep. Why are you not motivated? Are you, you know, there's something underlying that. It might be something as maybe this is a new product. You would believe it now.
That wouldn't be good. So do some homework. Recognize what you're representing. Maybe you had a previous conversation with this customer that you need to speak to that didn't go well. So you don't really feel like dealing with it again. Well, guess what? You need to go back to that conversation, figure out what's wrong, and move forward.
Maybe it's that you're tired and maybe it's that you're like, Oh, this is just one of these weeks. I just don't feel like doing anything. Guess what? That's never going to get you anywhere. You know, you're going to have a customer that's going to continue to forever use Advil and Motrin if you don't find the motivation to get them to change.
Anneliese Rhodes: Oh my gosh, they're there. That's such a good point, actually, you're so right. I mean, it can, you're so right. You go, sometimes you say this and it's so important, it's like, what's your why? So if you're having that lack of motivation, then remind yourself. Okay, well, what's my reason? Because we're, if I don't follow up, then where am I going to go?
Well, it's not going to go, not going to get better. It's only going to get worse. Your customer's probably going to think that you're ignoring them. And even if it's an uncomfortable situation, it's better to just face it head-on than try to continually ignore it and think it's going to go away because it doesn't.
It never goes away. It just stays there. It's like the stagnant little thing hanging out, you know, waiting for you to acknowledge it. I mean, and it can even be as simple as shooting, I forgot to email that doctor this week. Well, now when I email her, she's going to be like, oh my gosh, Lisa, you're such a slacker.
Maybe, but maybe not. Maybe they got busy too. Maybe they didn't remember that you were supposed to follow up with them. And then when you do, it's like perfect timing and they're like, Oh my gosh, I was just thinking about you, you know, so you're right. That lack of motivation, man, kick yourself in the butt on that one.
Just, just go and do it. I mean, there's, we realize you're putting yourself out there and maybe that's one of the reasons, but I don't know, you're in sales, you know, it's kind of your job to do that, to put yourself out there and like go after it. So, yeah,
Cynthia Ficara: It's so true and motivational, be careful, you know, you could justify and remember, if you go back to an episode that we did probably a month ago, it was all about excuses.
It's all about making excuses. And, you know, this is all a domino effect. So, if you lack motivation, don't make excuses, go back and listen to that episode and that may make you see where you are. So. I think overall I don't really talk too much about why we don't follow up, but I think it's important for the discussion.
So you kind of understand where we're coming from and hands down fear of rejection is by far why I believe most people don't and least as well. And then a lack of motivation. So now for the fun part, remember what is this episode? What is the title of our podcast? Secrets and medical devices. It is time to reveal the secret.
Mastering Follow-Up Through Personalization and Perfect Timing
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah, I think you've gone on long enough. And I love this secret, and I think that you should reveal it because I love it when you reveal the secrets. But this one is so awesome, you guys, because when she said it, I was like, "Dang, ding, ding, ding! This is so perfect for follow-up."
Cynthia Ficara: Okay, everybody. So, what is the secret to follow-up? The answer is personalization. Yes, personalization. We’re going to expand on that because, you know, we always explain, but how you make follow-up amazing and the secret to making it work, to progress in the sales process, is to do exactly what Patricia Choquette was talking about—that’s personalizing the follow-up.
So, now this is where it all gets fun. There's no generic in this. Something we say in many of our episodes is about authenticity, right? You want to authentically be yourself; it builds trust and helps them know who you are. So now, we’re going to give you some examples of how to personalize your follow-up to make it impactful for your sales.
Anneliese Rhodes: And one of the things you just said—and it’s so worth repeating—is that personalization is about making it personal, making it about that person and their needs. Let’s be honest, everybody to some degree loves to hear their own name being said. They love being talked about, they love talking about themselves. So, as a sales rep, you should be putting your customers first in your life.
For example, when Cindy came to me as the generic rep she said, “This is important to me. I use this brand because this is what’s important to me,” as a sales rep, it should go, "Ding, ding, ding! Okay, this is important to Cindy." When I follow up with her, I need to personalize it and say, “When you told me that this specific thing is important to you, this is what I did for you. Here’s the information that relates directly to you and your needs.” A hundred percent, you guys, that’s going to pull that customer back in and make them say, "Wow, they were really listening—they made it about me."
Cynthia Ficara: And on the flip side, if she had just come back in after two or three weeks and I hadn't seen her, and she just said, “I have some data for you,” what would that be about? I would have no idea what she was talking about. If she just came in and said, "I came here to follow up; I have some data for you," and left it, that wouldn’t do anything for me. I’d have forgotten our conversation.
But what Lisa said, spot on, is that she personalized her follow-up. She came back, said my name, reiterated the conversation we had, and included the details. It was almost like I was back in that same conversation. Now I know what’s next. And, yes, you know, personalizing that is so important.
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah, it's them. You’re tailoring it to them, their needs, and their journey. You keep it on the same wavelength as what they need. Sometimes it's perfect timing, right? Maybe you only had $20 in your pocket, Cindy. The Advil was $21.99, but the generic was $18.99.
And in a timely manner, brought you the follow-up data you were asking for and presented it in a way that was clear. And you say, "You know what? I actually only have $20. I thought I had $22. I can’t afford the Advil today, but I can afford the generic. I’m going to give it a shot."
Cynthia Ficara: That’s awesome. You know, the word you just used—timely matter—is so important in personalizing. You remember the information you brought in because that’s very relevant content. And the timing keeps it cutting edge. You don’t want too much time to go by where it doesn’t matter anymore because things change.
Timing is also an individual decision based on your conversation. Maybe, for certain customers, you can only see them on Tuesdays. Maybe for others, they need something in 24 hours or even 30 minutes. When it comes to follow-up, you need to triage in your head and prioritize. When it comes to medicine, is this something they need right away? Is it something I can deliver in a week? That timing makes it even more relevant.
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah, that’s a great point. It reminds me of so many times early in my career when I was in the OR working with surgeons. I’d get asked a question and sometimes, I didn’t have the answer, or I wasn’t 100% sure. So, you never say something if you’re not completely sure. My answer was always, “I don’t know, but I will find out and get back to you as soon as possible.” And I always did.
Immediately, I would take a note, even if it was on a notepad before we had smartphones. And when we got Blackberries or early iPhones, I’d put a note in my phone. Then, I’d call the person who would know the answer and get it. Sometimes, Cindy, I’d literally track that doctor down—not like stalking them—but get them the answer they asked for. They’d be like, “Oh wow, that was quick, Lisa.” I’d say, “I told you I’d get you the answer.”
That’s timing. When you show them that their personal need is that important, you make it your priority to get back to them. A hundred percent on that timing.
Cynthia Ficara: And they'll value that. And then, yes, there was a stylus with a Blackberry, but now we have iPhone notes. You pull it up in your notes, and you have it right there, and you're able to follow up.
Alright, let’s take a minute and be real here, okay? If you're driving and you're thinking, "I get this, this makes sense," and we talked about fear, right? What if you’re like, “Okay, I need to do this, but I’m kind of stuck. Now I’ve dropped the ball; I went too long.” So, you know what? Why don’t you personalize it, personally? What do I mean by that?
Well, did you just have a holiday? Like, for instance, it was Halloween. You can follow up by saying, if you know maybe your customer loves Halloween and always takes her kids trick-or-treating, you could say, “Hey, I just wanted to know, how did everything go with your kids? Because I remember last year you absolutely loved Halloween.” That might just give you a way back in if you really are stuck. Again, it's about personalizing if that was something you had done in the past.
Another thing I was thinking about is if you’re also stuck and you need to follow up, and you're like, "Oh, shoot, now what do I do?" Well, if any of you out there sell more than one product, this is a great opportunity to leverage one of your other products. Notify a customer that you’re going to be in the hospital, and then you can follow up with them there.
That way, it doesn’t seem like so much time has passed, and all of a sudden, boom—there you are. It helps because sometimes it feels like that previous conversation was a long time ago.
I think personalizing always makes your customers feel comfortable, and makes them feel welcome. And when you build these great relationships, it’s always great to see your customers. Personalizing with something like a personal story always helps. Maybe someone just got married, maybe there’s a life event—it’s awesome.
Anneliese Rhodes: No, I agree with you. You're right. You’re bringing it back home. You’re making it real. It’s not like you're getting all weird and stalker-ish. As you were talking, it reminded me of another thing that I think is important. In many cases, our doctors have colleagues, they have peers, right?
So, maybe within your follow-up, you could say, “Did you know, Dr. Smith, that Dr. Jones also tried the product the other day and had a great case outcome?” You could even suggest, “Give him a call, give him a shout. I know you guys are partners.” It was a great case; we had a great outcome. I know you were concerned about this issue, but we had no problems. Maybe Dr. Jones can talk to you about his experience with the product.
Sometimes, sharing success stories of peers or colleagues is a good way to follow up, especially in a situation where you may not have all the answers, didn’t respond in a timely fashion, or are just worried they’re going to say no.
The Power of Personalization, Persistence, and Value in Sales Success
Cynthia Ficara: Not to fear, Lisa. Remember, false evidence appears real. Isn’t that so true? And I just think this is really fun.
When you personalize—again, let me reiterate—how do we personalize? You personalize by sharing relevant content, making it specifically tailored to what they need and want in their journey through the sale. Make sure you do it in a timely manner and always remain authentically you. I think that’s really important.
I also want to point something out. There’s always the flip side, right? When is too much, too much? We just described what we believe is important, and that’s personalized to move the sale forward. But things you really want to avoid are being very generic, just repeating, and being bothersome.
There are difficult times when you’re trying to sell something. Maybe it’s a product that isn’t as important to the customer. Maybe there’s a holdup, like the cost or a hospital issue. It’s always good to communicate and ask, “Okay, this is where we are. I understand the situation as of now. When would you like me to reach out again?”
You can establish a structure. For example, if you know the committee doesn’t meet for four months, you can say, “If it’s okay with you, I’ll wait three and a half months to reach out. I don’t want to bother you or inundate your inbox if we have a long timeline.” That’s just a little extra on how not to go overboard. Again, just bring it back to being real, bring it back to being personal, and that’s where you find the most success.
Anneliese Rhodes: Perfectly said. So, I hope everybody enjoyed our three-part series on The Secret to Success. And it was based on the three topics, or the three secrets, that Patricia Choquette talked about in her episode.
So, if you haven't listened to it, you need to listen to it. Go back and listen to our other two episodes.
How and why to be the hardest-working person in the room is so important. And why always bringing value—what that looks like—is so important to success. And then the third was what we just talked about, which is follow-up and personalizing that follow-up. Man, it is key to success. And I really believe, you guys, that these are such great, easy, super easy things to do in your everyday sales cycle that will really make you stand out, really make you that top-notch sales professional, and your customers will have no choice but to call on you.
Cynthia Ficara: Exactly. And if you haven't realized, they're all linked together. When you follow up, they see you as the hardest-working person in the room because you bring value, and now you're following up again. And now you’re seen again as the hardest-working person in the room. You will watch your numbers grow in sales.
You will feel and enjoy the rewards of building more relationships with your customers. You will open new sales doors. And when you combine all these together, you will become one of the most successful salespeople.
Thanks for listening to another episode of Secrets in Medical Device Sales.
