Here’s a great way to CLOSE MORE GIFTS: FOLLOW-UP!!!
I have pulled together some THOUGHTS… ON FOLLOW-UP, from my own experience as well as those from Nick and The Suddes Group coaches. READ. SHARE. USE.
In our world, there are three parts of a great ASK:
In the real world, this third piece is mostly an afterthought. “I met with them. I’ll wait
for them to call back.” UGH! This could be the worst mistake of any VISIT/ASK.
Going through the effort to Get a Visit… Share the Story… Present the Opportunity… and
then NOT Following Up is not only wrong – it’s disrespectful!
Why? Because it’s not about you. It’s about them! They’ve given you their time and their attention… and it’s up to you to help them move from Success to Significance and be truly happy that they have been able to make a difference/impact.
The secret to success in high-end relationship-based selling is simple:
PREDISPOSE… PRESENT… then PROFESSIONALLY FOLLOW-UP.
*It’s probably impossible to misquote or butcher one of Yogi Berra’s malapropisms, but
here goes:
An Important Story.
Here is a personal story that I think supports this whole idea of FOLLOW-UP.
I have been working with the Unreasonable Institute since their founding four years ago. Amazing people and amazing program, run out of Boulder, Colorado on University of Colorado campus. Teju and his team are world-class supporters of Social Entrepreneurism!
I do a two-day ‘workshop’ during their five-week course for the 25 Fellows from around the world selected to be part of this program.
Last summer, I had four conversations (out of 30 or more) that actually led to me strongly recommending specific prospects for seed investments. These were prospects I knew, and felt would be a perfect fit for these nascent Social Enterprises.
I was in my ‘speed-dating’ mode, with Fellows lined up to meet and get coached by the Old Guy. I told each of these four to follow-up with me for more info and help on these referrals.
Only one of the four followed up… two months later with an email. I did not respond right away and ultimately it got lost in email backlog.
Again, three did not follow-up at all. One did not follow-up on her follow-up.
ALL of these Social Entrepreneurs were great people… with great potential… and a great opportunity to change the world. ALL were perfectly positioned for seed investment. ALL said they really, really, really needed the money/investment to scale and grow.
Sadly, I did not make a big enough deal during our time together about the importance of FOLLOW-UP and PERSEVERANCE.
