You’ve just had a great first meeting. The new client was warm and receptive (much unlike he was on the phone) and you really felt you began a bond with this person. Handshake’s were exchanged and as he walked you to the elevator, he re-affirmed he would “like to know more”, and would await your next communication.
Maybe you get in your car or perhaps you jump on the subway but there is no way to avoid it, you feel good.
A few days pass, maybe a few weeks and you have something to talk to your new client about. You phone, you leave a voicemail. One day, three days and now ten days later, no returned call?
Ok, now you send an email – the client probably doesn’t like the phone much. One day, five days and weeks again later no response. What gives?
All too often, sales people think that just because a new client prospect was gracious and open that they are now “in”. Not the case.
Where most sales people generally go wrong is that they assume one meeting is enough, enough to all of a sudden give them status and priority on the client’s agenda. Enough to now make them the one person the client will drop everything for in the future, returning all calls promptly, emails virtually overnight.
It takes time and patience to get that kind of status with a new client and it can’t be rushed. Just because they said they may be interested in something you spoke about the day of your meeting just doesn’t get you there.
Valuable prospects lead hectic lives, their calendars and priorities changing rapidly. Maybe a deadline was missed or a problem arose with a customer?
Maybe their budget was rejected or a key employee quit? You can never tell.
So, what to do?
The answer lays in being respectful of your status as a new contact for the client. It can take some time to establish the kind of relationship where it’s reasonable to expect a client to return messages, voice or otherwise.
If you’re going to contact them again, make sure it’s for a very valid purpose. Remember, the client is only just starting to trust you; this isn’t a good time to appear to be just another sales person.
Next, use the same method to to re-connect as you did to make the first contact. I.E., don’t leave voicemails and don’t send emails. Make sure you get them on the phone, live.
In my business, even if a client has asked for some kind of follow-up, I always make sure I contact them directly. I don’t leave or send a message.
Finally, never re-approach a new prospect client with an extensive and labor demanding wish list of “next steps”. Make it short and sweet.
It’s not enough to want to with someone new; they have to want to do business with you to.