Sales 101: Rule #5 - Follow-up (in writing… do you remember what that is blogger?)
You got an appointment to see the guy for ten minutes - with your watch down. Great. The moment you hang up the phone your brain is probably pumping huge amounts of dopamine and serotonin levels and you feel euphoric.That’s what it’s all about; Getting the meeting. It’s not exactly a sale but at least this euphoric blitz will keep the brain fooled into thinking that you actually like this whole calling thing and you’ll dial another number. That’s what you really want because bringing sales down to the lowest denominator it is “a numbers game”. The more people you call, the more meetings you will get, the more sales you make, the more money you make. Someone once told me a story about Walt Disney.
“Walt Disney came up with this crazy idea that he wants to build a theme park for kids and families. He had a vision that it will be huge and people will come visit the park and spend lots of money year round forever. He took the idea to his banker to get this financed and the banker looked at him and told him he’s crazy and should see a shrink. Walt did not stop there, he went to another banker and was told the same thing. And another. And another. He went to 301 banks. And if he stopped at that there would be no Disneyland today because it was the three hundred and second banker who gave him the money.”
Remember, you are not the only one calling on these people. The guy you just called gets at least ten calls a day from sales reps. Most likely not bloggers but still that’s a significant time he’s got to spend on the phone each day fending off people who want his money. Selling is a game of trust - I said that before already and all sales coaches will tell you that at the very beginning of their session.
You closed the meeting because you have laid a brick of trust at the very beginning of the phone conversation. Now you have to keep adding to that ‘trust’ wall by adding more bricks. That’s why it’s called relationship building. So, here’s the next brick.
After you finish your warm calling, right before you pack up for the day, write a Thank You card to the people who agreed to meet with you. MAKE SURE YOU HAND WRITE IT - do you remember what that is blogger?
Handwriting is very powerful, especially today when there’s so little of it. It means you care. It means you pay attention to detail. It means you take that extra step. It means “Trust me”.
You can customize your card on the computer with your picture or your blog’s favicon or your logo. I have my cards with my picture on it. (Hint: take a look at real estate agents’ ads in the yellow pages. Or mortgage brokers. or insurance brokers. What do they have in common? They all have their face in the ad. Why? Trust)
Trust me, it works.
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