Response Time, One Superpower

Response Time Your Superpower

One of our controllables' is how quickly we respond to clients, prospects and peers. I have read and heard some say that you shouldn’t reply to prospects right away as they may think you aren’t busy enough. To me this is a game. I don’t do games. I am in the business of proving value. Think about it, if someone is reaching out to you wanting you to reply to something, asking a meaningful question, or expressing a concern, why wouldn’t you want to get back to them in a timely manner. Yes, I understand some replies may take more time to research to get the proper informed answer but if it is in your power to reply quickly you absolutely should. This is another opportunity to distinguish and set yourself apart from your competition by proving you are on the ball and take their communication seriously.

Quickly, does not mean it is not well thought out. I am not saying to rush a response for the sake of rushing but if it is important enough for your prospect, or client to ask it is worthy of a fast response.

I have a customer who has followed me to multiple companies as a client of mine. There are many reasons why, some of the fundamental reasons being the trust and value he sees from what I have provided over the years but one way I built that trust and value was by treating his business as if it were my own. One of the greatest compliments he gave me was “Trevor, your response time never ceases to amaze me, you once again are all over it,” isn’t this what we all want when we have a problem or question? If he had a question or concern or something he wanted me to look into and research, I would get back to him in most cases within the hour.?This particular client is a big name in my industry. He has multiple competitors after him continuously, but he has always been loyal to me. One of the reasons I think is what he expressed in that quote. He feels heard, he feels taken care of, and he knows someone is taking him seriously with a sense of urgency all of which is personified by the response time.

Let me be clear, you cannot do this for each client this fast, it is not meant to take you away from your goal of always growing and continuing to grow your sales in other avenues, but if it is in your power to reply do so even if it is in acknowledgment of their note that you are on it.

Do any of us like waiting on something that we deem important? Your response time can be a super power and another differentiation piece from your competition, from the incumbent, or as a loyalty building piece. The great thing, it is 100% controllable by you. Control your controllables', be different, stand out, and stay top of mind by doing what other’s don’t.