FaFing: the communication process you need to adopt right now

FaFing or fire and forgetting is a digital communication process that makes for great business practice and could possibly be the most valuable process to invest in during 2015.

In an information saturated world, hard selling and cold calling are beyond redundant and can present a significant risk to businesses if pursued incorrectly. Inappropriate and irrelevant means of driving a traditional sales strategy could very well dent a brand’s reputation rather than resulting in the intended business growth. What’s more, digitally connected and empowered customers of today set the rules in terms of how they expect to be communicated to.

Then, there is the issue of time. Time has become a commodity — it has a price attached to it and it has become more pressurised than ever before to maximise and monetise time. One of the biggest challenges behind making a traditional sales strategy work is the fact that there is a limited amount of time available for sales reps to really nurture leads.

The majority of sales reps tend to pour all of their attention into leads who hold, what they believe, to be the most financial promise. In reality this may seem like a sound and logical approach, but what about all the other prospects that are being neglected? Let’s take the real estate industry as an example – how many leads get generated during show house days, only to be lost or neglected?

FaFing creates an automated Communication Journey that nurtures leads in a highly personal manner. At its core, FaF is an Air Force term. It is the name given to guided missiles that use their own in-built radar to track and attack a target. You push the button and the missile does the rest.

Bringing automation and personalisation into the sales process, specifically designed to nature all leads in the background is the next big trend. FaFing creates a gateway for customised communication journeys to happen in the background with very little direct interaction from sales reps. The experience created is both highly personal and memorable for the individual on the receiving end of the FaF Journey.

The fact is that businesses are simply not FaFing enough. In view of this, let’s explore how FaFing actually works in practical terms:

Every time a new business connection is made, they are added to the database and the FaF button is pressed. Each person is then immediately started on a digital sales pitch called a Journey. This Journey is completely automated, highly personalised and it nurtures the relationship with the prospect in an informative and credible way. It is not sales pushy as it contains value-added content. While the prospect is on the Journey, they can re-engage and pre-qualify themselves by filling out a pre-populated online form. This form is sent back to the sales rep who initiated it.

Here is an example: Tom spends about an hour a day just FaFing. He searches for old prospects, makes a few cold calls and hand picks some old clients that the company has not traded with in some time. He captures their details into the system and FaFs.

Immediately, a personalised e-mail from Tom is sent to that prospect. Tom did not write or send this mail himself. It was written on his behalf by a copywriter who strategised and formulated the FaF Journey for all the sales staff. This is what makes it so easy and enticing for Tom, he simply fires and forgets and he knows his leads will be taken care of.

A second email, a few days later automatically follows up on the prospect. It may contain a link to an interesting article or perhaps an informative YouTube video. This keeps Tom at “top of mind” with the prospect.

It gets more interesting when a third email in the FaF Journey goes out. This time it does not come from Tom, it comes from the Sales and Marketing Director who references and endorses Tom in the letter. This positive reinforcement from a senior person gives Tom additional credibility in the space with the prospect.

When the prospect is ready to re-engage, they are completely familiar with Tom and the relationship has been nurtured. Tom can then quickly pick-up with the prospect and take them to the next step of the sales cycle quickly and easily. Tom can put his feet up, knowing that the FaF Journey is nurturing every single one of his prospects in a personal and informative way.

Professionally written and with value added information that is not sales-pushy, the digital portion of the sales pitch is carefully measured and maximised by the marketing team.

FaFing is not just used for sales, but can be used for a host of other business operations. For example, an accounts person can simply push the “FaF” button if a customer falls behind on their payment. FaFing can also be used for customer service, invitations and RSVP’s, surveys and data gathering, to name a few.

Hellmann Worldwide Couriers is one progressive company who has wholeheartedly embraced FaFing. Their sales force is under mandate to FaF and they enjoy a 16% response rate from just the first three episodes of their Journey. Considering an industry average of around 0.5-2% for digital direct mail, there is no doubt that FaFing makes good business sense because it is not just responsive, it highly measurable.

If you are not FaFing, then you are really just F-ing. This is not good. One must not just fire, one must fire and forget! It’s the forgetting part that makes for that extra special touch.
So the key question is this: will your staff be FaFing enough in 2015?