We have all been there –
We had a “great” call or meeting with a prospect and we left with action items, including the ever-present (ever-vague) promise of a “follow-up”. We, of course, kept all of our promises but, low and behold, the prospect didn’t keep theirs. They “went dark” or simply haven’t followed our script and now we’re chasing them.
I will reserve judgement as to how we got here in the first place: there are very good techniques to avoid this common scenario but even with the best tactics and preparation it still happens. And now that it has happened we need to follow-up. We need to re-create, re-engage and hopefully re-capture the momentum we had on our call. And that ain’t easy.
The most common method is to call and leave a voice-mail or send an email with some sort of weak-sounding, passively voiced message like; “Hi Phil, I wanted to follow-up/ touch-base/ ping you/ drop you a note” followed by a sad reminder of what you agreed to on your call and an invitation to talk again.
Here’s the deal: Just like your first-love in High School who dumped you; your prospect hasn’t made an error. They haven’t forgotten that they spoke to you and they certainly don’t feel bad about it. For whatever reason, they have deprioritized re-connecting with you. They could be busy, they could be inking a deal with your competitor, they could have been fired or hit by a bus. The truth is the ONLY thing you know for certain is that you are no longer a priority and sending them note to remind them of this is not going to get you any respect….at all.
So what do you do? Here’s some thoughts:
Assume its dead: I know it’s not easy sometimes, but for you to be in the right mental state to re-engage you should embrace this as a distinct possibility. You’re calling on a ghost.
Reach out: When leaving a message or sending an email – DO NOT passively scold or remind them that they are not doing what they said they would (you’re sub-consciously letting them know its ok to mess with you). Instead, call them with something new to talk about – some idea or feature or whatever. Your goal is to re-excite the dialog, not to retrace your footprints. Remember: They know who you are and they know they blew you off – if they will re-engage its because you got their juices flowing again.
Act dumb: Remember, we are not scolding or reminding. So if we are lucky enough to re-engage and actually have a conversation with this prospect again let’s make sure we start from scratch. Avoid the temptation to review what they told you the first time & ask them the important questions again; you may be surprised that some of the answers have changed or now with some additional trust and rapport they are willing to delve a little deeper and tell you more.
Don’t make the same mistakes again: Assuming you do end up having this conversation with your prospect and they assure you that there is indeed still an interest make sure you get a definable and scheduled next step(s). If you let BS slide the first time don’t be a sucker and let it happen again – At this stage (the end of the call, discussing next steps) its ok to mention your first call. Don’t be afraid to ask them why they went dark the first time and what the chances are that this could happen again – Spinning wheels are a time suck.
Review #1: For the purposes of maintaining our sanity as selling professionals I think it’s still a good idea to assume that this prospect may be dead. If someone reneged on specific agreed steps in the past, there’s a good chance they’re going to do it again.
Give it a spin, see what happens but if they burn you twice, you gotta move on. After all, they have your number don’t they?
Whatever you do, use your conversations with your prospects as wisely as you can and try to avoid endlessly pursuing them. Prospects enjoy being chased only slightly less than you do.
- Rob Torre