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"I do understand the illogical embarrassment of repeatedly knocking on someone’s door,
they haven’t necessarily heard your first knocks and are
waiting for or would welcome your visit,
if only you wouldn’t give up." M'reen
Follow Up.
I once sent a pitch to a former client. I hadn't worked for this client
in several months,
but she paid well and I was eager to get another piece of
business. I was certain I had a proposal
she would be interested in. But my contact didn't respond
to my first email.
Or my second one, a couple of weeks later, or my third, a
couple of weeks after that.
We had a strong history together and I really wanted to
work with her again. And so, instead of
my usual practice of giving up after a couple of tries, I
kept at it. After yet another email went unanswered, I called her office and
left a message. A week later, I left a message again.
(I was feeling more and more like a stalker, but I really
wanted the job.)
A week after that, I called one more time--and she
happened to pick up the phone.
She hadn't read or didn't remember my emails or phone
messages, so I explained once more
what I had in mind. "That's interesting to me,"
she said. And gave me the job.
As soon as I got off the phone and got done whooping for
joy, I pulled out a little yellow sticky note. "Persistence pays!" I wrote with a red felt tip, and
stuck it to the side of my computer.
For years--until I changed computers a couple of times
and the stickum wore off--that little note stayed
in place as an important
reminder that what can feel like obnoxious pushiness might actually
be the
appropriate behavior needed to get a customer's attention in this busy world.
It's a lesson I've often forgotten, but when I've
remembered and made the effort to follow up
and then follow up again, I've rarely been sorry. More
than once, it has led to an unexpected sale.
On the other hand, as someone who receives a lot of
pitches, and more than my share of follow-up emails and phone calls, I know
that there are effective ways of doing it and ways that will only annoy.
How do you do follow-up right? Here's what works for me:
1. If you
haven't followed up, you haven't really pitched.
This seems like it should go without saying. But too many
people will send one email or leave
one phone message and never get in touch
again if they don't get an answer. If something's worth
going after, it's worth trying more than once.
2. Follow
up at least two times more than you think you should.
In another case, I sent a pitch, then one follow-up, and
then gave up. Four months later
the customer got back to me--very apologetically--to ask
if I was still interested.
I was, and that company has since become one of my best
clients. It was sheer dumb luck that this particular customer remembered my
pitch or else found it again in her inbox. If she hadn't, I would have missed a
really good thing by giving up too soon.
3. Assume
your customer has forgotten your pitch.
You'll have the best chance of success if you figure on
starting over from scratch every time you get
in touch. If your original
proposal was an email, include that email in your follow-up. If you have
a prospect on the phone, or are leaving a message, remind
him or her in as few words as you can
what you proposed.
4. Don't
act like you're owed anything.
It can be tempting to get peevish the third or fourth
time you've followed up and gotten no response. Keep in mind that no matter how
many times you've gotten in touch or how perfect your offer is
for that client, no one there is obligated to respond to
you in any way.
Your fifth follow-up should be as polite in tone as your
first one was.
5.
Try multiple channels.
Not getting a response to your emails or phone messages?
Try an @ message on Twitter,
or a message on LinkedIn or Facebook.
If you have multiple contacts at a prospective client
and one isn't answering you, try someone else. (Make sure
to let each contact know who else
you've contacted, though, or this can backfire.)
6. Your
objective is an answer.
If you've set yourself a "no" quota, you know that an answer, even a
turn-down, is much better than getting a non-answer such as "I'll get back
to you." (If you don't have a "no" quota, you should.)
But some people are uncomfortable saying no, so they'll
try to put off the inevitable.
Fight that tendency by giving the person a reason to give
you an immediate answer,
such as
a limited-time discount. And if your contact says
something like "I'll get back to you,"
set a time when you'll get back to him or her instead.
7. Have a
plan.
What happens if and when you get that "no"?
Have an immediate plan. What other customer
can you pitch to next? What other product can you pitch
to this client? Getting turned down
should just take you to the next step along your planned
path. By the way, you should also
know what your next step is if the answer
turns out to be yes.
8. Say
thank you.
Whatever answer you get, someone took the time to read
your proposal, or speak with you
on the phone. They gave you some of their time and
attention, which is a scarce commodity
for every professional these days. They may have given
you information that can help you make
your product better, or some ideas about how to sell it
elsewhere. And if you thank them,
they're likely to remember how gracious you were--and
want to do business with you in the future.
http://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/why-you-need-to-be-better-at-following-up.html
Perhaps you’d like to check out my sister blogs:
www.innermindreading.blogspot.com gives many ways for you to
work with the stresses of life
www.happyartaccidents.blogspot.com just for fun.
To quote the Dr
Seuss himself, “The more
that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn; the more
places you'll go.”
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