How to follow-up without being a nuisance

No one wants to come across as pushy or aggressive. Nothing is more offputting than the stereotypical salesman, with his foot in the door, pressuring you to buy. However, if you don’t follow up on leads, you are going to have a hard time developing a strong client portfolio. So, where is the fine line between business-like linking, and over-the-top pushiness?

In this post, I look at ways you can stay in touch with leads without seeming to always be on their doorstep.

Why don’t they call?

First of all, understand why they haven’t got back in touch. The initial meeting might have gone really well, you parted with handshakes and promises to hear from them soon and then . . . nothing.

What’s going on behind that silent telephone? It can only be one of 4 things:

• They like someone else better
• The work has slipped down their priority list
• They are waiting for the sign-off internally
• They have taken holiday, are ill, or otherwise absent

How do you find out which of these it is? You can’t just wait for ever. This is where you need to keep the lines of communication open. None of the above reasons (apart from the first) is bad news, just delay.

What can you do?

1. As you end the initial meeting with them, ask when it will be appropriate to get in touch again. If you follow their request, they can’t complain when you drop them a line or give them a call. In fact, you may be welcomed as a useful prompt rather than resented as an intrusion.
2. Engage with them on social media, if you can. Don’t track them down to push the proposal at them again, but like their posts, comment, and share, and just keep your name in front of their eyes.
3. After a week or so of silence, it’s fine to send a quick email asking if they have come to a decision yet - or if there is anything you can do to help them decide.
4. Call them. If they don’t reply, leave a voicemail. However, be careful not to overdo this. If they don’t return three calls, then change your message to say that they are obviously very busy right now and you’ll leave it to them to call when they want to progress.
5. Don’t entirely let go though. Every 4-6 weeks, keep in touch by sending them something you know they will find useful and interesting. A link to a great report perhaps, or news that is relevant to the work they do. Keep doing this to make sure your name stays fresh in their mind.

What else would you add?

This post originally appeared in a different form on the How To Make Partner website.

Heather Townsend helps professionals become The Go-To Expert. She is the author of the award-winning bestseller the FT Guide to Business Networking, and co-author of How To Make Partner And Still Have A Life.

Over the past decade, she has worked with more than 300 partners; coached, trained, and mentored more than 2000 professionals at every level of the UK’s most ambitious professional practices.

Heather blogs regularly on the How To Make Partner website and works with current and future Big 4 partners and professionals all over the world.