Friends are great!

I had a Friend tell me that feedback from my clients was not favourable regarding my follow up. Not having my notes in front of me puts me in an indefensible position so I could not rebut the assertion.

Then I thought about it and thanked them for the information. It helps to know what you do wrong because if you do it right all the time you never get a chance to improve.

I admit I was not the best at follow up. I was always focused on the next sale and I let the process of getting the product to the end user slide. The good news is that I recognized I was doing that and was already moving to correct the flaw and prevent it from becoming a bane of my existence.

How you may ask? Well I did even if you did not.

I started using what we had for a CRM so there was a central place for information for everyone involved in the sales process. I put every note in there and every contact attempt so that when things went pear shaped I was ready to help.

I started apportioning my time to ensure I did call backs or sent replies via email BUT I found that email is not the best way to work. It often took a couple of days for me to find out that a message had not gone through for whatever reason. I had become enamoured of the technology and forgot the people I was dealing with. Recently I heard a story that set it permanently for me......

A friend has a retail store where people are coming in every day seeking donations for worthy causes. He rarely donates because the event is not related to his business and the sponsorship would not make any benefit to his company. However, a 'cool' gentleman one day was able to secure a small donation for his event. After, he sent a HANDWRITTEN note expressing thanks for the donation. Jamie has supported this event every year since yet it has nothing to do with his business; the man still sends a handwritten note every year expressing thanks.

Sometimes it is not in the action of the follow up but in the method that sets us apart. I started sending handwritten notes of thanks and would telephone where I would have emailed just to make certain the information I provided was what they wanted.

It is NEVER too late to learn nor to change nor to have a friend tell you where you have made errors so that you can improve for everyone. Ultimately, everything we do is judged and how we do it influences the result.

Choose to be proactive and different and above all honest.

Thank you.