Follow Up And The Priority Pole

It’s no longer a secret. Most sales professionals, entrepreneurs, businesses and non-profit organizations today recognize the value and importance of relationships. They also appreciate that effective and consistent follow up supports that. Yet despite very best intentions, many don’t do nearly as good a job in that area as they would like.

Why?

There are a multitude of reasons but ultimately it comes down to the fact that they haven’t yet made it a priority.

The reality is that these days we live very busy lives and there are a million things that need doing, many of which have little to do with generating revenue or adding value to our business or organization. Yet because these things often appear urgent and time sensitive they tend to rise to the top of our priority pole and get done first. Interesting.

Unfortunately, this leaves little time for important but not urgent activities, activities that bear significant fruit further down the road. Following up, staying in touch with clients, prospects and others, is one of these.

In his book ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ author Stephen Covey talks about the 4 quadrants that our daily activities typically fall into and he identifies the quadrants in which most of us tend to spend much of our time. Very enlightening. If you haven’t read the book, or have read it but not recently, I strongly recommend that you revisit it and do a lot of highlighting or note taking. It can change your life!

But let’s say we do get our act together and make it a priority to block out time for follow up. Where do we go from here? Who is it that we should even be following up with?

During the very early years of my sales career I thought it was just prospects. They hadn’t bought from me yet so it seemed obvious that staying in touch would probably be a good idea until they did. Then later I came to understand that it was also important to follow up with them after they had bought from me … what a novel concept.

But that was only the beginning. Through a combination of time, experience and learning from others I gradually came to see the value and importance of staying in touch with almost everyone in my life. I came to understand that people know people who know people.

The person you meet at a networking event that doesn’t appear to have any potential of becoming a customer may have a friend, family member or associate that could become your most important client if they only introduced them to you. The prospect that chooses one of your competitors today rather than you could become a solid client down the road if you made even a modest effort to stay interested and connected. And the fringe client that currently does business with you only occasionally could, with nurturing, develop into a referral generating machine.

Despite the obvious benefits, following up effectively and consistently may seem a daunting task initially but in today’s world we have many wonderful tools that can help. So maybe it’s time to deliberately push it up your priority pole. Block out time for it in your calendar on a regular basis. Do a little homework. Seek out people that are already good at following up and pick their brains to learn what they do and how they do it. Experience has taught me it’s an investment well worth making.

Following up after you get connected.

Are you an active networker like I am?

Networking today is easier than ever before and it can be a highly effective way to expand your circle of influence through accessing the circles of others … if you do it well that is. If you’re interested we’ll expand on this subject in future posts.

Today however we’ll touch on a followup related subject relevant to anyone who is out there in the community connecting and getting connected.

Personally, I am always actively expanding my network and one of my great pleasures is connecting people whom I believe will benefit in some way from knowing each other. In fact, I have a designated ‘Resource’ file in which I store the contact information of people I have come to know and respect so that I can quickly and easily pull up their info and share it with another when appropriate, and I do this quite regularly.

Has anyone ever done this for you, connected you with someone in their circle that might benefit you (and the other) in some way? If so, did you followup appropriately? With both parties?

If so, congratulations because speaking from personal experience I can say that many people don’t think to do this.

Oh, I’m sure they’re grateful for the introduction, and hopefully they follow through with the person they’ve been connected to, but for some reason they don’t think to also followup with the person that did the connecting. Unfortunately, by neglecting this, they significantly lower the chances of that person ever again connecting them with anyone else. What a shame!

So, how should this followup be done? There may be many ways but here’s what I do.

Let’s say that Bill has just introduced me to Allison because he felt it would be mutually beneficial for us to know each other.

First, I immediately acknowledge the introduction and express appreciation to Bill, either by email or telephone.

Next, I keep Bill informed as the relationship between Allison and myself develops. I let him know that I emailed Allison yesterday but haven’t heard back yet, or that she and I have exchanged emails and are planning on connecting in person, or that Allison and I have met for coffee, had a phone chat, or whatever. The point is, I keep Bill in the loop.

Also, at some point in this process I will typically send Bill a physical thank you card, through the postal system, demonstrating again how much I appreciate and value his thoughtfulness and the effort he went to.

Then, if something concrete develops between Allison and myself, such as the two of us doing business or collaborating on a project, I again let Bill know and once again express gratitude. And if it turns out that the relationship between Allison and I results in profit for me then I for sure will  acknowledge Bill’s contribution in some appropriate way.

Pretty simple isn’t it? Not complicated at all, nor difficult, and it only takes a few minutes. What it does however is acknowledge Bill’s gift of the introduction and lets him know that I value and appreciate it, and him.

The consequence? Well, there’s a good chance that the relationship between Bill and myself will be even stronger than before. The odds are also high that Bill will be inspired to connect me with someone else should it ever be appropriate to do so. All good, yes?

So if you’re not already doing so, stand out from the rest by being thoughtful, considerate and appreciative … you’ll love how it makes others feel and what it does for you.

How to followup?

Interesting about followup. For some reason many people think of it as being far more complicated than it is, even intimidating. Actually, effective followup is just about applying common sense and being thoughtful, considerate, and respectful … and there is no ‘only one way’.

I’m often asked, “What’s the best method for following up? Is it Email? Phone calls? Text messages? Cards or letters?” Once again, I don’t believe there’s only one answer … simply apply common sense and do it in a way that is meaningful and appreciated by the person you’re following up with. In other words, don’t be an annoying pest and do stand out from the norm by demonstrating thoughtfulness, consideration and professionalism.

I personally like to use more than one method depending on the person and situation. For example, if I meet someone at a networking event and we exchange business cards I will typically followup the next day with a very brief email letting them know I appreciated meeting them and expressing a willingness to stay connected. That same day I will send them a physical greeting card that will then arrive in the mail a few days later. This almost always elicits a response of some kind (either email or phone call), which sets the stage for another step in the relationship building process.

One of the great things about sending a physical greeting card through the postal system is that it really stands out from today’s clutter. All most people get in the mail these days are bills and unsolicited marketing materials, so when a personal card arrives it’s like a breath of fresh air. Greeting cards as a followup tool are great also for anyone that finds making followup phone calls intimidating.

The downside to greeting cards is the cost, inconvenience, and time requirement but I use a method for this that bypasses all of these … if you’re interested in learning more drop me a line at reg@followupguy.com.

During the course of the relationship development process I tend to use several methods including emails, social media, phone calls, greeting cards, and frequently, in person coffee meetings. I try always to be thoughtful, considerate, and respectful, and keep my focus on the other person and how I might bring value to them in some way. My intent is to give the relationship a fair opportunity to develop because through relationships come opportunities for all concerned.