How much time and effort do you put into promoting yourself and what you do? Add to that the amount of time you spend on the business you have contracted to deliver. Between the promoting and delivering are a myriad of steps that require attention…returning phone calls, clarifying needs, perhaps submitting a proposal, strengthening and maintaining relationships. The list goes on.
Consider the following tale of “follow up” success and failure. Compare these three experiences in getting quotes for a specific service.
Supplier #1
The website is straightforward and business-like with no bells and whistles. A few days after the initial conversation called back to say that given the complexity of the requirements, his limited resources and the time frame, he thought it would be best if he passed on making a quote. He could probably have delivered but he didn’t have the bandwidth if there were additional complications.
Supplier #2
Their website is like eye candy – everything you might want for your business. It boasts a team of experts and the examples of the work they have done is terrific. Emails and phone messages were returned a week later to set up a call. Documents and a discovery phone call resulted in a promise to return a quote within a day. Three weeks later and I haven’t heard a peep.
Supplier #3
Their website is high quality and professional. After an initial call to get an idea of the scope of the project a conference call was held with three of their experts on board. The needs of the situation were fully explored and understood. A complete proposal with costs and timeline was presented within 3 business days.
Resuts
Supplier #3 was hired and in action one day later. I am not alone in this endeavour. Everyone involved in this project will be an ambassador for this company for years to come. Supplier #1 also scored big time in my books because they were honest in a timely manner. I would definitely use their services in the future because they maintained their trust.
Supplier #2 lost trust and respect. I hope that it was an anomaly but I have no reason to try them again or recommend them to others. I am so disappointed because they looked so good online.
MBTI tips
Follow through may be more natural for someone with a preference for Judging. I know that my ENFP preferences do not contribute to my being a movie star in this area. However, being on the receiving end of poor follow up reinforced the importance to one’s reputation. The impact stretches far beyond one event.
If follow up isn’t your strong suit design systems to help you take care of every aspect of your business where follow up counts. Autoresponders do this for the part of your business that is online. What do you do to ensure that you don’t drop the ball?