“I do well with meeting new contacts. The conversation seems to flow very well, but when I call to follow-up, it seems their attitudes have changed and the interest level has diminished significantly.”
This brings back (bad) memories! This used to happen to me when I first started my business — and I can tell you, it was most demoralizing.
Well, fortunately, this doesn’s happen much anymore.
Here’s why:
- I took a closer look at those disappointing situations and discovered some patterns.
- I used the information revealed by these patterns to decide whom to follow up with, and whom to “let go”.
It turned out that most of the people who who’d lose interest when I called them later were in what I call the “trade show mode” when I initially talked to them.
This mode is when one says, “yes, I want whatever free thing you have”, without giving it much thought! This usually happens at trade shows (though not always) where there’s so much being offered, that many people get overwhelmed and say “yes” to everything.
Well, I found that these “trade show mode” folks were rarely ever interested when I followed up with them.
The other group of people were in “inspiration mode” during our initial conversation.
In other words, the speaker or something about the event where we’d met had inspired them to be interested in talking to me again.
However, by the time I followed up with them — even if it was the next day — the reality of getting back to work and the “daily grind” had dulled much of the initial inspiration and interest.
How did I solve this problem?
I started going for quality, not quantity.
I started paying closer attention during my initial conversation with people, to screen out the first group of people. And I probed the second group of people a little more about their interest in talking with me.
This means that I now spend my time and energy following up with only those who truly want to hear from me. And it makes all the difference in the world — for both of us.
So what can you do?
Look for patterns in your experience (your patterns may be different from mine). And decide how you’ll use the information to reduce your disappointments.
For more details, check out module 3 of the Effortless Networking self-coaching program.
Sri…
Good analysis. “Trade Show Mode” is a very valid descriptor.
However, I have a question. I worked a number of what could be called ‘Business Speed Dating” events. They are held in prestigious locations, the vendors have to pay about $40K to attend, the invited guests have to pay their own transportation and have to have qualified as a decision maker with an an appropriate budget. The meetings are 30 minutes long and all are pre-qualified by both the vendor and prospect. My hit rate for what appeared to be ‘real, tangible interest, was 80% or out of 20 meetings 16 had defineable, positive outcomes. However, on 90% of the follow-ups the next week, we batted zero and eventually none of them panned out.
Not a trade show. Well qualified meetings. Apparent real interest.
What, in your opinion is the syndrome at work here?
Ouch, that hurts!
Your experience reminds me of a comment I heard from Ari Galper. To paraphrase him: people are accustomed to not speaking the full truth during “sales situations”. (Perhaps because it’s assumed that “sales people” aren’t speaking the full truth either.)
So even when you think you’re making progress (as in your case) in fact you’re not — because your prospect hasn’t revealed what he or she is really thinking.
The solution is to work on building the relationship, not the sale. Look for an article on this topic from Ari next week.
– Sri
Hi Sri:
I get frustrated and discouraged by (prospects) that go nowhere. Thanks for the information
Alice Olivier
I believe we must focus on ‘building relationships’ – I was just listening to a CD by John Haremza, he says ‘people buy people’. That tells me we are back to building that one on one relationship again!
People are tired of ‘sales people’ – a friend told me that I am a good fisherman- I asked her what do you mean? She said – ‘you put out the bait and see who has the interest to learn more. She was right. This is another way to build relationships. People want someone who ‘cares about them’ – not just selling a product.