By Kristin Laffrey, business coach for women leading impact in fertility, birth, postpartum, motherhood, parenting and matrescence.
As a doula, your main goal is to provide excellent care and support to mothers whether that be pregnancy support, postpartum planning, birth support, or postpartum care. However, in order to provide that support and work with clients you firstly need to secure those clients.
One important step in the process of acquiring clients is following up with potential clients after the initial interview or after they have reached out asking for support.
In this article, we'll discuss the importance of following up and how it can help increase sales and grow your business. We will discuss how to create a follow up process that effectively turns more client interviews into clients and I’ll provide templates for email or direct message (DM) communication to support you by making following up as simple as possible.
But firstly, I want you to see why following up is actually an ESSENTIAL part of your business and needs to become a standard process you replicate within your business.
Why is following up important?
Following up with potential clients is important for three reasons:
Builds trust: Following up with potential clients builds trust because it shows them you take action when you say you will. This makes them more likely to choose you as their doula when you can demonstrate that you are professional and trustworthy.
It shows them you care: You’ve just had a conversation with your potential client where they have shared their vision for either their birth or postpartum with you, potentially spoke about fears they hold and why they really want to intentionally create the experience they desire for themselves. Following up is such a genuine way to show them you heard them when they spoke about what they most wanted and you care about them having the support to make that happen.
Increases sales: This is such a big part of following up because if you want to work with clients and serve them to create a difference, you need to be following up with them! By addressing any remaining concerns and demonstrating your value as a doula, you can increase the likelihood of a client choosing to work with you. This can result in increased sales and a growing business.
But what can make following up feel difficult?
The process of following up is not difficult however it’s something that I see so many people avoiding within their business so it’s important to acknowledge the mindset shifts that needs to occur when looking at following up clients within your business.
The first place this starts is recognising that you are not hassling or pressuring your potential client by following up with them. Most people feel uncomfortable following up because they are worried they will come across as pushy however the reality is that it’s more awkward not to follow up. When you’ve had such a beautiful conversation with someone, why would it not be ok to follow up and check in with them?
It’s important that you see following up not as pressuring them to make a decision by rather checking in and getting curious with how they are feeling and whether they are looking to move forward so that you can clarify those next steps for them.
As with anything when it comes to sales, it’s important to connect to the beliefs you hold around sales and shift your perspective to see how selling is such an integral part of your business and plays an important role in being able to serve more people and create more impact.
How to follow up effectively:
Be timely (Don’t leave it for weeks!):
Following up within 24-48 hours of the initial interview is important to keep the conversation fresh in the client's mind. Although I always suggest to follow up within the 24-48 hours, it’s important to use your conversation with your potential client as a guide (e.g. if they said they had a big week of family events so wouldn’t be able to get back to you until next week, then wait until next week to follow up OR tell them you will send them an email with all the key details and check in once they are through the busyness of their week).
Be personal, and bring your personality and excitement:
You’ve just had such a beautiful conversation with this client, hearing what it is they want most, their concerns and fears and how they desire support in that process so it’s extremely important to ensure your follow up is personalised to show them you care! This shows that you listened and are invested in their needs. Don’t underestimate how powerful this is with building trust and connection.
This is so important when following up with potential clients because the follow up is just an extension of your call with the potential client and it’s important for them to see that continued excitement and energy coming through in the follow up conversation.
One of the biggest mistakes I see when it comes to following up is that you’ve just had this beautiful conversation with your ideal client, you’ve jumped off the call and messaged your partner or best friend immediately to tell them how much of a perfect fit that would be to work with BUT when it comes to following up you don't share your excitement with them and instead go into a robotic state rather than authentically expressing how you feel. Remember that you are a human communicating with a human and this is your permission to bring your personality and excitement to the conversation.
Address any concerns and clarify the next steps:
In this stage of the decision-making process it’s important to recognise that they already have all the information and are now truly in the process of deciding whether this is right for them. It’s important to ensure you are addressing any remaining concerns and then always directing the conversation to the next step. (E.g. let me know if you are ready to move forward and I can get everything sent through to you so that we can finalise the onboarding process to start working together). This isn’t about pushing your potential client to make a decision or take action quickly, it’s rather about focusing on the next steps moving forward to ensure they know what needs to happen to be able to lock in their place and have that support confirmed.
In summary, following up with potential clients after the initial interview is an important step in building trust with your potential client, showing them you care and increasing sales within your business through turning more interviews into clients. By following up in a timely manner, brining your own personality and excitement to the conversation, addressing any concerns and ensuring that you are clear on the next steps, you are follow up effectively with potential clients to ensure you are increasing your client conversion.
Don't forget the importance of following up and ensure it is part of your daily/weekly processes to follow up every conversation you have with potential clients.
An example of how to improve your follow up:
Hi [name],
I hope you had a nice weekend. I just wanted to follow up and check if you’ve had time to think about whether you still needed support?
I’ve attached a copy of my packages with all the details of the support in case you need it.
Speak soon,
[doula]
Ways to improve this follow up message:
Hi [name],
I wanted to send you a message and say how much I loved our call today and how beautiful it was to hear your vision for birth and the role I would play in supporting you to create that calm, empowered experience you’ve been dreaming of since finding out you were pregnant [connect to the outcome your client shared they were looking for].
As discussed, my [package name] package would be a perfect fit to ensure you have both that education/knowledge leading up to your birth to reduce any fears that come up but, most importantly, having me by your side as a key birth support during your birth and also having that contact leading up to your birth and immediately following your birth to ensure you have that ongoing support throughout this whole journey [this should outline your support you provide as discussed with your client].
I know you wanted to speak with your partner before confirming, so let me know when you are ready to move forward and I can send through everything to get us going and moving forward towards creating this beautiful birth experience.
Speak soon
[doula]
Whether you currently have a follow up process or not, take the opportunity to create a process that works for you and your clients to ensure following up is front of mind in your business.
Ready to start attracting more potential clients, booking more client interviews and converting more doula clients into your packages?
My free Massively Intentional Action Plan breaks down my step-by-step client attraction process to support you in building visibility, cultivating connection and selling your services with confidence to your potential clients. Download now to start implementing your action plan immediately.
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