Do you ever think, or feel like, you are bothering or pressuring if you follow-up?
In every business under the sun, following-up is what creates most of the business. There are many reasons why this is so, and for today we’ll just focus on one of them. But first we have to deal with the initial question I asked. Most of you will answer this question with a resounding YES!
I know this is true, because I’ve had these thoughts and feelings too.
But then I learned.
You only bother or pressure if you do things that bother people or pressure people! As long as you are behaving in a nice, respectful way, you are never pressuring or bothering. You are only doing what any good business person would do. Following up! People expect you to follow up. And if you don’t, you will be seen as unprofessional and negligent, and not someone they would want to do business with at any point whether now or in the future.
Think about this for yourself. Someone who is asking for your business who is diligent, polite, and respectfully persistent will probably get your business. Statistically most business is conducted after the 4th contact. Anyone who works at their business in a nice and respectful way (which allows people to say no or not yet at any time), and who will consistently follow up and recontact, will be tremendously successful over the long run. You can learn about this in both of my books The Process and The Process II (these links are to the English Kindle/e-book version).
Your Urgency is not their Urgency
The thing to keep in mind is that everyone you are talking to has a busy life. While your business is a priority for you, the decision to be involved with your product or service or opportunity isn’t necessarily a priority for the person you are working with. This is true for any and all things from a giant corporate contract to someone buying a $10 product from you. Despite the level of need, unless it’s an emergency, people in general are slow to act.
In many cases someone has every intention of taking action on your offer right now, but life keeps getting in the way, because their priorities continue to occupy most of their time and energy. This is why you have to be diligent in continuing to follow up and you have to offer your help and assistance whenever possible to make the transaction happen.
Remember, Follow up is expected and professional….and its where the fortune lives.
