If you’ve been following me for any amount of time, you know “sales” is the bane of my existence. I hate getting sales calls and emails. I hate “doing” sales when I feel like I come across as sales-y, not conversational and relational. When I tell a salesperson that I have their information on file and I’ll be back in touch when the time is right, and then they follow up with me? Forget it. They might as well write me off as a potential client. But much to my chagrin, I’ve discovered that follow up is sometimes a necessity of doing business. To make it feel less “icky”, I’ve set up a few rules for myself.
- If a potential client says they are not interested, that’s pretty much the end of the conversation. I MAY respond with something along the lines of “If you find your needs change, please don’t hesitate to reach out.” But this is a bit of doing unto others as I’d have done to me.
- I refuse to pester anyone. If they leave it open, I’ll ask if they would LIKE me to follow up. A good example of this when I get folks saying they may be ready for my services in a few months after they receive my proposal/estimate.
- When we’re waiting on a third party – say a business partner or other agency – I’ll touch base. But even then, I give it a decent amount of time and I make it more of a conversational “check-in”. (I know. I know. Semantics. But it makes me feel better about it.)
- Any follow up I do takes place via email. I want the potential client to be able to get to it when it’s convenient FOR THEM. I’m not about to be intrusive with a text, social media direct message, or – god forbid – a phone call.
So those are my follow-up guidelines. What are yours? Any techniques you’ve found to be particularly effective? Use the button below to give us a shout and let us know!
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