The Importance of Following Up...

 I was chatting to Damien earlier this week who laughed to say he was in Birmingham last weekend and left his keys in his car. 

First a call to the local Lockforce technician who couldn’t help. Car locks are a special type of work and some of the team can open car doors.

Then a few calls to some other locksmiths who quoted £200-£300 to gain entry!! 

Eventually he found someone who was offering a reasonable £75 but was on a job and couldn’t make it until 9pn {about a 2 hour wait). 

Damien didn’t want to wait so ended up ringing his brother to arrange the spare keys to be driven to Birmingham.  

However, just before 9pm the locksmith who was busy sent a follow up text to Damien to see if he had got the situation sorted. 

And guess what, Damien told him that he was still waiting to get a solution and a short time later the locksmith has retrieved the keys and Damien was sorted.

This local locksmith was a very wise man to send a follow up text to see if his customer (Damien) had found a resolution…. And bag another job before he went home..!!

 

So, lets chat through a little about the importance of "Following Up"…. A simple task that costs nothing.

 

Do you spend time completing a quote / tender to send to a customer to try and win work…?

 

And, how many times do you send in your quote and never hear from the customer…? 

You call, you email and no response…? It can be like they have gone into the prospect (witness) protection program.

 

If so, then you are not alone.

 

However, the result is the “Follow Up” feels like a worthless exercise and you stop doing it consistently.

 

The fact is that if you are not consistently “Following Up” then you are leaving money on the table………..!!

 

So, when should you follow up…?

 

You should always follow up when you submit a price / quote to a customer in writing…. 

And you should do this until you get a result – and a result is a “Yes” or a “No”..!! 

You may not like to hear a “no” but isn’t it better than getting no response..?

 

After all you have put in the time and effort so you would like to know an answer.

 

If you have followed up a few times then we would recommend using the “crocodile email” – we shared this in the “25 Things” talk by Sean at the conference. We know 2 franchisees that have used it and  got a response.

 

But you should also follow up when you give….

 

• a verbal quote over the phone..?

 

• some advice to a customer..?

 

If you ever decide to provide a price indication or give some advice to a potential customer, you should always follow up with a short text to the customer. 

Are you following up consistently..?

If not, then you are missing out on potential new customer.