Virtually every time I speak to sales organizations, I get asked, "What do I do when I don't hear back from people? I don't want to be a pain in the you-know-what." Keeping in touch is so darn hard.
So I ask to see what they're doing now. Usually it looks like this:
"I'm checking in to see if anything has changed since we last talked. I suspect you're probably busy. If you have time in the upcoming week, I'd love to chat. Let me know!"
Big UGH! Boring, pathetic, deletable.
With today's savvy buyers, we can't do that if we want to be seen as a credible resource … someone actually worth talking to about important business objectives. That's why we need another approach to our sales strategy.
1. Be helpful
It sounds too easy. Not like a salesperson — who's supposed to always be pitching. But honest to goodness, it's what works.
For example, one of my clients sells a product that significantly improves customer service. I suggested that they send out an email as simple as this:
