The Sound of Silence
March 12, 2008
Ever faced this situation?You are invited to bid on a project. You happily respond right away with an intelligent bid, and you’re feeling confident that it’s in the bag. Then a few days go by, and you don’t hear from the buyer. You contact him, but he doesn’t respond. You wait a few more days and contact him again. Still nothing. You’re left scratching your head, wondering what is going through the buyer’s mind and how you should handle it.
Ilise Benun, national speaker, author of several marketing and self promotion books , and co-founder of a one-on-one coaching program for small business owners called Marketing Mentor, offered this advice, originally published in Graphic Define Magazine, “It takes an average of seven (some even say 10) sales calls to close a deal. So if you always give up after the first couple of tries, you’ll never sell your service to anyone. It’s your responsibility to remind your prospects (sometimes again and again) that they are interested in your proposal. It’s your responsibility to be persistent until they’re ready to continue the conversation.”
How many times have you followed up? Once? Twice? Never? Ms. Benun goes on to outline 5 followup techniques for those who are timid or uncertain about how exactly to handle the silence:
- Ask for a simple “yes” or “no.” People are very busy. Make it easy for them.
- Put “Second Request” in the e-mail subject line. This will remind the buyer of their silence and hopefully elicit a response.
- Give the buyer a deadline to respond. Some people only take action when a deadline is looming. So ask your prospects to respond by a certain date, even if that date is arbitrary.
- Express concern. On a second or third try, express concern by saying “I hope you are all right.” This works especially well with people you know personally. It brings the interaction to a human level, reminds them that there’s a real person trying to reach them, and usually provokes a response.
- Put them on auto-drip. Whether or not you have a deal pending, you should have an automated marketing tool in place to help keep your name in all your prospects’ minds such as a monthly or quarterly e-mail newsletter, a print newsletter, or a direct-mail postcard.
And lest you feel like you’re ‘bugging’ your customers by following up, the rule here is to use good common sense when walking the fine line between harassment and persistence. This line will be different for every customer, depending on how well you know the person. Remember to remain professional in your approach, and ask leading questions that require the buyer to think and hopefully respond, such as:
“When shall I contact you next?”
“May I stay in touch with you every month or so?”
May I put you on my list to receive my newsletter?
Following these simple but effective communication strategies may break the silence and push the project forward. But if not, your professionalism and efficient followup techniques will keep you in the forefront of the customer’s mind so that you are the first one they call when the time is right.
For more information or assistance with bidding and followup, contact me directly at victoriaaipri@yahoo.com.
