5 things to do after you’ve closed a sale

So, you’ve closed your sale. What now?

Well, first, congratulations. Closing a sale is a great feeling. You get a tremendous sense of satisfaction and achievement, and if you make a commission on sales that only compounds the excitement.

But before you book in for celebratory drinks at 5:01 PM on a Tuesday, here are 5 things you should still be doing after you’ve closed a sale.

1. Thank your customer

Depending on your sales process and its complexity, this step could be as simple as a sincere verbal thank-you, or as elaborate as a handwritten note and a personalised welcome gift. But whatever level of formality you need, you must take the time to say thanks.

A good thank-you is sincere, personal and specific: use the customer’s name, thank them for the specific thing they did—the purchase, usually—and mention any reasons you might have particularly enjoyed working with that person. Make sure you use the actual words ‘thank you,’ too.

There are good reasons to make sure you’re thanking your customers: it’s polite, it acknowledges their value to the company, and it encourages their loyalty. Your next sale to this person or company begins with how you treat them after this one!

2. Add the sale to your CRM system

Chances are, you’re keeping track of your sales in something a little more complex than Google Docs. Make sure you log this new milestone in your relationship with the customer in that system.

This will have plenty of benefits for you and for your company in general. It keeps track of particulars and ensures all relevant team members are aware of information that might otherwise only exist inside your head. You can set up reminders, so you remember when to send your thank you message or when to follow up. Keeping track in your CRM will also allow your organisation to add the data from your sale to other data points, creating a complete image of the company’s performance and financials—and that’s one area where you’ll really want to be counted!

3. Introduce the customer to the next step on their journey

Closing the deal might mean this customer isn’t your personal responsibility anymore, but it’s unlikely to be the final step in their journey.

The best practice here is to make sure that the customer feels valued and confident, not discarded or confused. Take the time to introduce them to the next step, whether that’s a customer success team, a dedicated account manager, or part of an onboarding process.

Both your customers and your colleagues will thank you for making sure new customers don’t feel cut loose.

4. Check in and follow up

A ‘love them and leave them’ approach to sales—not exactly classy in the first place—is bad for customer satisfaction and damaging to your business reputation.

Set a reminder in your CRM or calendar software for a few days after you seal the deal and let it do the heavy lifting of telling you when you need to follow up. When you do get in contact, be prepared to actually assist if there’s a problem, or at least know to whom you’ll refer your customer for more support. The practice builds trust, helps make your customer feel valued, and paves the way for further sales and a stronger relationship in the future.

5. Get feedback

Each new sale is a golden opportunity to get information from a brand new customer about how the sales process they just experienced went for them. Take advantage of it!

One method that’s seen a recent rise in popularity is to send a follow-up survey to customers asking them to rate their experience. The use of email here provides an indirect and non-confrontational way to deliver feedback. But be cautious with this, because its very easy to court dishonest feedback depending on how your business uses it. We’ve all had sales staff act desperate to get a positive rating out of a customer before, and it’s hard to improve your processes if your customers think their sales professionals are dangling by a thread suspended from a 5-star review.

Seek out authentic, honest feedback from your customers, and use it as an opportunity for positive growth—not a stick to beat your sales staff with.

Did you get all that? Great!

Now you can book in those celebratory drinks. 🙂