Yes, I know what you are thinking. The F Word! Really? Let me share a story.
A friend of mine works for a business to business furniture supplier. She walks into an appointment. The customer is very standoffish. She is wondering what is this guy’s deal.
Halfway through the appointment the customer starts to laugh. She is now wondering..what the heck? She professionally asks him, “What’s so funny?”
He responds with, “I told my sales people this morning about you. You impressed me on how much you followed up with me. I blew you off at least 5 times. Yet, you kept up on following up with me. When you finally got me on the phone you went for the appointment. You then followed up with a calendar invite. Your follow up is impressive!”
“I also told my sales people that I was going to be standoffish to you. You didn’t bat an eye. You simply keep following through with your questions. Most salespeople give up after a few attempts! You kept following through! ”
The F word is follow up and follow through.
My friend has only been in outside sales for a year. Yet, she believes in the value she can bring to her customers. She gets it! Success doesn’t happen by being willy nilly. You have to have pig headed determination and discipline in follow up.
Following up is more art than science. The more you do it, the better you get at it. Nothing can replace building strong follow-up habits. To give you a starting point, here’s are some ways to follow up.
- Phone
- Text Message
- Voice Text Message
- Short video message
- Social Media
- Fax!
- Hand Written notes
Follow up it will not only help you make more sales it will also help you develop stronger relationships and be a better leader. That’s how you get things done that others don’t. That’s how you get meetings that others don’t. That’s how you get results other’s don’t. You follow up. Because let’s be honest here. Alot of people suck at follow up.
Want to separate yourself from the crowd? Get good at the F word! Follow up! Life is all about the follow-up.
Tony Jalan
Better Relationships, Better Leadership, Better Results
