It doesn’t matter what your business is, the structure and operation is up to you to organize, implement, monitor, and fix, if it needs fixing. In short, you are the person in charge, and everything is your responsibility. Does this mean that you are alone? No, it doesn’t. You have employees, family, and friends. All these people are included in the networking partners that you have developed over time. Make sure that you utilize their knowledge.
You are the person who is responsible for all the follow up
that will mean success to your business. It may be follow up on a referral from
one of your networking partners, on an inquiry from a prospect, with the person
whom you met at a networking event, or on an inspiration that you got from “out
of the blue”. Following up is one of the most important things that you can do
as a business owner. You must be responsible to either follow up yourself or
make sure that someone in your organization does so, and in a complete and
professional manner.
Did you receive a referral from one of your networking
partners? Did someone call with an inquiry about your services or products? You
must follow up and get in touch with the person that you should call. The
referral needs to be contacted as soon as possible to determine if they are a
person that needs your product or service. The person inquiring must be
contacted to determine what their need is and if you can fill it. You will
never know until you contact them. Make repeated attempts, maybe asking the
referring person for assistance.
Maybe the inquiry is not about a possible sale, but it might
be someone who can become a networking partner. Perhaps it is someone whom you
met at a networking event, calling to follow up and gain more information about
you. Even if it is someone who wants to market to you, it is an opportunity to
market to them also. You never know until you make the call to follow up and to
respond to their inquiry. Meet them and find out all the details.
We have said before that you need to follow up with everyone
whom you meet at networking events, calling them to meet and get to know each
other better. If you don’t like making cold calls, these calls are not cold
calls. You both should remember each other, having met even for a short period
of time. But, you must call, make arrangements to meet face to face, and get to
know each other. If the other person calls you first, answer the call, and
follow up with a meeting. Networking relationships should reward you with
referrals, clients, or both. All three help a business succeed, often beyond
your original expectations.
Let’s not forget voice mails. When anyone calls you and gets
your voice mail, listen to their message, and return the call. This is another
form of follow up. We all interface with others through voice mails each and
every day. We also do not care for people who ignore our voice mails and never
return our calls. Therefore, don’t be guilty of that negative practice
yourself. In other words, return all calls to you. You never know what the
outcome will be. Explore the future and follow up with a stranger. You may be
pleasantly surprised with the results.
Followup is something we all can improve upon. I am trying a client relations software to try to keep up - will let you know how it works out!
ReplyDeleteJim- I am a one man show, just like you. If I don't follow up on every lead...I lose. I have rarely missed following up with someone. But even after the sale it's still important to call and see how the client is doing with their new product or service.People really appreciate that.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to make a splash when you say "Thank You"...you'd better call jim. he can provide a great system of "Hello", Thank You" and "Let's Get Toghether". You can call 360-314-8691 or click Jim @SOC4Now.com. You'll be very pleased you did. Bob Bonnell.