How do you like it when you call someone and they don’t call you back? Email with no response…..a customer, a prospect, a vendor? Makes you think they don’t want your business? If you find this to be true it should make you think about your customers – how do they feel about you?
I read about a man that met a beautiful young women that would have nothing to do with him. He followed up that first meeting by sending her a rose every day for 3 weeks. (The delivery charges cost him more than the roses!) She finally gave in and married him, reluctantly, but she did. The first meeting was a transaction. Now it’s over 30 years later! That’s a relationship! And it was all in the follow up!
When a product or service is similar, it’s the Follow Up that can make the difference in building your business. If you’re good at it you don’t compete solely on price or service, and you have built an enduring relationship.
How is your follow up with your current customers/prospects/vendors? What do they think when they never hear from you after a transaction? Do they think you had a one-time fling and now it’s over? We can all do a transaction but are we building a long term relationship?
Consistently follow up with every customer or prospect call Set a plan and timetable for your next step – 24 hours to 48 hours maximum Follow up to ensure you meet every deadline or let them know why not Do it again, and again, and again
To maximize the use of your ITEX account you should follow up with every ITEX member. They can easily generate new cash customers because they are business people and they talk to their business owner friends and love to spread the word about YOU when you treat them like they are the keys to your success!
Openly communicate with your Trade Director! She reaches out to help you sell or buy to fulfill your needs so don’t ignore her, talk with her! Did she find something you wanted? Did you then follow up and make the purchase? Did you let your Trade Director know when you needed help to close a deal, find options or tell them what went wrong with a transaction? They are only as good as the information you provide to them!
And if you don’t follow up, shame on you. And if we don’t follow up, shame on us. Build a relationship with everyone you deal with in and out of your ITEX network. Build a business, not just a transaction. It’s all in the Follow Up. Just ask my wife!