True confession – I really don’t enjoy answering the phone or making phone calls. But, as we all know, it’s a necessary evil in life and business.
A couple of weeks ago a colleague referred someone to me. I sent the proper follow up email right away and suggested we schedule time for a call the following week. (Yes, a scheduled call is TOTALLY fine by me) I didn’t get a response so I decided I needed to put on my big girl panties and pick up the phone. And guess what? They answered! And we talked for 20 minutes, and then they needed to go to a meeting but called back later to finish the conversation. And then I sent over a contract 2 days later and now I have a new client.
No, it’s not always that quick and easy. But you do need to make sure that making phone calls is part of your follow up process. I know I’ve missed business because I didn’t call. And I know that I’ve not hired someone because they didn’t call me back or do the follow up they said they’d do.
Not everyone feels the way I do about phone calls. I know a lot of sales folks who LOVE making calls, they can smile and dial all day long. Which is great for them! But also make sure you’re using email.
If 80% of sales are made on the 5th to 12th contact (no joke) you need to find a few different ways to follow up with folks. My suggestion? It’s a combo of email, calling, social media, and networking.
If you hate writing emails or hate making phone calls, you’ll have to get over yourself at some point and start doing one or the other consistently, and occasionally both.
Follow up, it’s like I’m a broken record about it. But you know what? I have a new client this week that proves it works.
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