Personal & Business Solutions

I know I know we’ve all heard it a million times. Follow up and follow through. We’ve heard it ad-nausea, right? It is the #1 thing that we know is sure to grow our businesses. We all have our list from whether we are afraid of the “no” (I’m guilty of that one) to we are afraid of being a pest if we don’t get a response the first time.

The question of how do we follow up and what is the protocol often is not discussed enough.  So, that is what I would like to talk about here.

1. When you meet someone and they clearly say they are interested in a product or service you are offering, you instantly know it is ok to contact that person. DO IT!!

2. There are two questions that should be asked at that point, actually three. When would you like me to follow up with you? How would you like me to follow up, by phone or e-mail? Some people operate better one way or the other. Third, what time is best to reach you if by phone and if by e-mail do you have a time of day that you ordinarily read e-mail. If you communicate by e-mail be sure to mark it with a return-read notification if you have that capability in your e-mail settings.

3. There is a third special way of following up which I use personally and adds a more personal touch and it will surprise them every time. I send a greeting card which I will elaborate on a bit later.

4. Take the initiative to ask if you can follow up with them and go through the steps in #2. In fact, you can say I would like to learn more about what you do and see how we can possibly support one another and may I follow up with you… Take a genuine interest in what they do and who they are.

5. Don’t give up upon after making your first follow up attempt and you do not get a response, anything could have happened. Do not assume that they are not interested.  I used feel like I didn’t want to be a pest. Until I was told numerous times how grateful they were for my persistence and perseverance.  If you feel it is worthwhile persist until you get a “No”.

6. How long after the first attempt to reconnect should one wait before contacting them again? Good question! First, if I e-mailed the person, I’ll follow up with a phone call after a couple of days. You never know if the e-mail went into the junk folder or they just didn’t get it for some reason. Then I’ll give it a week. After that I’ll usually give a couple of weeks. You never know, timing just might not be right. Then I might follow up the next month. You must determine for yourself if it is worth persisting.  They might be working on a major project and they are down to the wire on time and putting everything else on the back burner. You just never know what might be going on in a person’s life.

It is important to have systems in place that are efficient and enable you to be  consistent with your follow up.  While your business grows and your networking world expands a systemized way of staying connected becomes more and more important.  Don’t wait till you are so overwhelmed that you feel you can’t add another thing on your plate even if it would help you.  Get a system in place now, it is never too early.

There are many reasons for why we may want to stay in touch with people.

1. To inform people of a new service or product.
2. Saying thank you for one’s loyalty to your business
3. Extending a referral to someone (Very Important, as much as you can reciprocate, DO)
4. Reminder that you are always welcoming referrals
5. Special occasions in clients and/or business associates lives
6. Welcome to the team.
7. Invites/announcements to your home party or showcase

If you already have a system in place good for you and keep it up!

One of the programs that I use to accomplish both follow-up and staying connected is a greeting card system called Send Out Cards. I don’t know of anyone that does not appreciate getting a card in the mail. Without fail, when I send a card to someone I always get a response. E-cards are great but they still don’t tug at the heart strings like getting a real physical card in the mail. It shows that you took that extra effort out of your own busy day for them. It can be quite magical. It not only touches them, but when you get their response you will feel good too for having made a brief difference in their life. Numerous times I have been told my card came just at the right time and that it was so uplifting to have received it. That is priceless!

Send a card, free of charge to someone you know and see how it feels. http://www.sendoutcards.com/becauseumatter. Just click on the banner to open your free account.  Turn up your speakers and follow along with Kody Bateman, the Founder of the company.

Carol Pilkington

661-298-1229

Personal & Business Solutions