Have we all forgotten our manners in business or...?
Steve Phillip
Suicide Prevention and Mental Health advocate, TedX speaker, LinkedIn influencer
Today, I was having a conversation with a business owner, I know well and as we came to the end of the reason for our call, he suddenly interrupted me and said "Can I ask you something? Do you ever find that business people you've had meetings with and even virtually agreed terms with, often don't respond to you, sometimes ever, when you then follow up with them?" At that point I started laughing!
You see, even before he'd finished asking me this question, I was picturing the 2 or 3 such situations I'd experienced this week already and it's only Tuesday!
Not only did I say yes, in response to my friend's concern, I told him that I felt it was happening more and more frequently, to which he replied; "That's somewhat of a relief, as I thought it was only happening to me!"
Now if this issue is impacting the two of us, both seasoned business and sales people, it got me thinking if this is happening to you too? If it is then we could be forgiven for questioning how anyone is doing business at all?!
Like my friend, I have frequently been bewildered the lack of response from those who I've travelled a distance to meet, invested my time and money, delivered on their request for proposals or help, to then find I hit a completely blank wall when I try to follow up by email, social media or telephone.
With email, social media, telephone calls, letters, flyers, meetings, have we all become communication maxed out?
I got to thinking, surely all these people can't simply be bad mannered? Maybe I scared some of them, when we met, I hope not, I'm only 5' 8" and I always smile a lot? So, if this increasing phenomenon is not about people who don't care, could it be that we're all becoming completely overwhelmed with the modern communication juggernaut, which has snook up on us these past 10 years or so, where the constant need to be 'on-line' 24/7 has simply overwhelmed many people? Maybe, for some, they no longer have the capacity to reply?!
Maybe we all need to value our time more?
It's easy to feel angry and frustrated when others do not appear to have the courtesy to acknowledge our attempts to follow up, after all, it's not like we don't know each other and there's every chance we're going to bump into each other again, even at an on-line #TwitterHour sometime - how awkward might that encounter be?
I have actually found a couple of great email follow-up approaches, I coach to my clients, which tend to have a high success rate in getting people to respond (around 95% success rate) - they're usually humorous, a little cheeky and let the person know that I'm aware how busy they are but.... I do think we need to be a little cheeky and not fear losing the business. After all, if your prospect isn't responding anyway, then surely a mildly embarrassed reply is better than not receiving any word at all?
The slightly off the wall email is certainly one approach. However, I do believe that we all need to value our own time more assertively when we meet our potential clients or deliver proposals that we have lovingly and considerately spent time putting together. I for one (and apologies to anyone who is about to meet with me any time soon), intend to be more assertive in gaining an agreement and a timeline to speak again at the end of the meeting, maybe even sending a diary meeting request as a belt and braces approach. After all, if I don't value my time, who will?
If this particular post resonates with you, I'd like to hear your thoughts. Are my friend and I just an unlucky pair, are you also experiencing difficulty when it comes to following up business opportunities? Do you have a solution to this challenge, which works well for you, that you'd be happy to share?
Agree or disagree, it's good to discuss.
Many thanks for viewing my post, I hope you found it useful? If you did, would you share it with your network who might also enjoy it and before you go, would you use the comment section, below, to let me know what you found most interesting about what I had to say – how was it relevant to your own circumstances?
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Bringing manufacturers, supply chain and investment to York & North Yorkshire
8 年Good article Steve. I'm old school and an opportunity is never closed until I'm actually told it is. I adopt the "three and out" approach which basically means I make three in-person contacts (phone or on premises if passing) after initial meeting. If no response after this I then diarise for a couple of weeks to re-engage them then if still no response KIT every two months with something relevant. I've actually been commissioned after nearly a years worth of KIT as the incumbent was letting them down. Persistency paid off in this case!
Managing Director - Franklin Wall Solutions
8 年Hi Steve, yep as someone involved in business development and building businesses for the last 25 years I've noticed this phenomenon gather serious pace during the last five years or so.....and it's certainly lead to a great deal of head scratching and at times paranoia...is it me?!? What I do??!!! I've always had a very healthy conversation rate in winning new business as I like many, put a heck of a lot of effort into making sure the various solutions I am presenting to my potential client to help their own business development figures, are thorough, effective and cost efficient. And the funny thing is, if anything (perhaps reflecting my tenacity in the face of such tumbleweeds/wind response to my follow-ups compared to the competition), my conversion rate of anything has gone up. That was important for me to box off. That told me in concrete terms that the issue you have outlined is actually all to do with communication and not necessarily (based on my own modest situation) a signal with regard to whether business will be done together. Doesn't make it any less rude mind! Anyhow, naturally like many on here I have thought long and hard about 'what is going on' and clearly it's not going to be just one thing. You mentioned how awkward it may be bumping into the prospect who has been avoiding your calls/emails be that online or on social media but I actually think it's the very fact that our lives are interwoven with so many direct and indirect communication channels from mobile to desktop, SMS to email, social media to forums, face to face to word of mouth etc that we can actually all be subconsciously aware that nobody is going to leave our 'line of sight' as it were, unless we want them to. In short it seems to me, as our lives get busier due to our additional interaction with the types of communication channels noted above, some of us appear to hide behind this new(ish) multi-channel phenomenon when it's themselves 'being chased'....justifying to themselves (again possibly sub consciously) that when they are ready to catch up, we will be a tap away. A bit like why we all speak to our friends less on the phone due to SMS, behaviours changes...and they rarely change back unfortunately! Prepare for more rudeness!
Owner at Puzzles of the Soul
8 年Good manners cost nothing and especially when someone has done a lot of work preparing documents and maintaining good communications to just have the door shut in their face is rude. I always follow up e-mails and at least advise the enquirer if am interested or no longer interested in researching more into a product. It is a sad day if someone needs coaching on manners.
Market Researcher at Pharmaceutical Solutions Industry
8 年Perhaps, people are losing concentration, falling in oblivion and becoming lethargic with the impact of digital media. That's where we are prone to become more inactive and forget ourselves and simple manners. Let's look out for some lasting solution!
Suicide Prevention and Mental Health advocate, TedX speaker, LinkedIn influencer
8 年Many thanks Steve, I agree that coaching can have a positive influence but most importantly we must keep pushing the boundaries & develop new techniques to positively influence such outcomes.