By Beth Schneider and Sandye Linnetz
Does any of this sound familiar? "Hey, I really want to be in on the next go 'round, let me know when it's available, will you?" "I don't have time right now, but I'm interested. Will you call me in two weeks?" "My friend is on vacation, but she'd love what you have. Call her next week." "Get back to me on that, will you?" They want what you have, but not yet. They're interested, but not now. They think they want to buy, but they want to think about it.
This is it folks; the number one system for making sure that there's no money being left on the table - your Follow Up System. If you remember to make that call, return that call or make that contact, you stand to bring in the bucks. The operative word here is IF, and, IF you're like most of us, you won't be wanting to depend on your memory and the little notes scattered all over your car and desk!
At a networking event a while back I met a woman who had a service that really interested me, really. We had a great chat, she took my card and actually called me. Problem was, she called as I was rushing out the door. I told her that I was ready to sign on the dotted line but that we'd have to pick up this meeting a few weeks later - when I was back in town. I've been back for a long time, did she call you by mistake? I still have my pen poised to sign, and there's nothing to sign. She lost a sure thing sale by not following up on a really hot lead!
All the great marketing and advertising in the world does nothing if you're gathering names and then losing those prospective clients. And it's not just about a database system here, either. Yes, you do want to have set places to make customer notes, write down referral information and calendar future calls and contacts, but if there is no follow through system in place - a process to ensure that you actually follow the necessary steps to be complete with each person - your money falls through the cracks, leaks through the pipe and falls off the table (so to speak)!
You have a pretty clear choice here. Either you can create a system - a step-by-step process to make sure that there is excellent follow through with every contact - or you can sit don't and make up a list of reasons why you simply can't handle all that "stuff". What do you want, REASONS or RESULTS???
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© 2009 Beth Schneider, Process Prodigy, Inc.
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Beth Schneider, President of Process Prodigy Inc., www.processprodigy.com, along with her team of highly sought after operations consultants, reveal the insider secrets billion-dollar corporations pay thousands of dollars for. Specializing in process creation, Process Prodigy tools and techniques have helped entrepreneurs increase productivity by as much as 600%, and revenues by as much as 250%. Visit www.processprodigy.com/ezine and grab your FREE systems starter kit valued at $297.00
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