6 Ways to Follow-up With Prospects Without Being Creepy
Do you wait three days to call after a great meeting? A day? A week?
Establishing a client relationship is a lot like dating. You don’t want to seem too eager for the job, but you don’t want to be overly relaxed either.
As a freelancer, it’s essential we come across as professional and confident. If we look needy or over-eager, we’ll scare business away (and who needs that?). Following-up with prospects is an important tool we must utilize to our advantage, but it must be used in a wise and measured way. Here are a few tips for great client follow-up:
1. Ask for their project timeline
When you know a client’s timeline, you can gauge your response. For instance, when you know a project isn’t planned to start for a couple of months, you won’t worry when your prospect isn’t responding immediately to your estimate or proposal. On the other hand, a more rushed project time table requires a more immediate response on your part.
The biggest problem, I my opinion, is when your prospect says “there’s no rush, we can complete this whenever.” Without being pushy, nail down a time to meet again and put it in your calendar. It will help keep both of you accountable, and keep the momentum going. No matter what, make sure to call or email within twenty-four hours of meeting. Thank them for their time and the opportunity.
2. Ask if your prospect would like to receive your email newsletter
A great way to maintain consistent contact with your leads is through an email newsletter. If you don’t have one, consider making one (it’s a great way to promote your business and establish “expert status” while providing value to your prospects and customers). If your new lead is on the fence, receiving your newsletter will at least remind them you’re alive. At most it will display your talent, expertise, and (possibly) convince them to do business with you.
Keep in mind, inboxes are inundated with unsolicited emails and spam. Be sure to get permission before you send a mass email to anyone. In addition, provide valuable, practical information your customers can use. If you’re just marketing at people, they’ll get annoyed. I find that about one email newsletter a month does an effective job. Of course, if you have time, you can send letters more frequently.
3. Send a thank-you note
Sure, you sent an email thank you and even made a phone call. But, nothing beats a good old fashion thank you note sent via the U.S. Postal System. For some reason, being able to decipher handwriting and feel a card in your hands just makes you feel special. If you want to make an impact, make your clients and prospects feel like they’re important. Send them a hand-written note within a week of meeting. They’ll love it.
4. If they request a bid, send one within 48 hours
In case you hadn’t noticed, we live in an instant gratification society. Prospects and clients like instant results. Impress new leads with your speed and efficiency. If they request a proposal or hint that they need a more specific pricing estimate, get information to them in a timely manner. Send estimates within 48 hours of a request.
So there’s no confusion, indicate you’ll check in with them a week later. That way, you don’t annoy them with emails asking if they’ve made a decision, if they like your offer, if they have any questions, etc. Give them some time to mull it over and at least think about your bid. Most likely, they’ll let you know they got your proposal (and if they liked it).
5. Find a relevant, interesting article and send it
This doesn’t need to be an extravagant gesture. If you find a blog post your prospect would find interesting, send them a link. See an article about them in the local paper? Clip it and send it, along with a hand-written note. Just recently, I sent a networking acquaintance a note and a bunch of coupons for Quizno’s because she mentioned it was her favorite place to have lunch.
Be creative here. To make this gesture personal, make a mental note of personal details about your lead when you’re chatting with them. Do they have kids? Do they like to golf? If you remember these personal details, your more likely to create an impression. People do business with people they like. Make yourself likable, and memorable, by being thoughtful.
6. Follow-up with personal introductions
Here’s the scenario: a business colleague gives you the name of a person that might be interested in doing business with you. The first mistake we generally make is not following up with this person at all. The second mistake is not having our friend make an introduction. Sure, you can get business by doing your own follow-ups, but isn’t it more effective if you set up a lunch with you, your friend, and the prospect?
Calling a referral is a lot like a blind date: uncomfortable and awkward. Set up a group thing, instead. The benefit? Things aren’t so weird. Plus, your “cold” introduction becomes “warm,” and you have a living, breathing testimonial with you at lunch. My advice? When you get a referral, follow-up with the person who referred you. Thank them. Set up a lunch with them and your potential client. Do business.
Remember, establishing business relationships is a lot like dating: you need to put yourself out there, you need to take an active interest in your clients, and you need to ask for a second date (meeting). The lesson? Follow-up. You’ll create a good impression and develop the kind of client relationships that will ensure your business success.
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Good Article. If more sales people followed these tips and started treating their customers and/or potential customers as friends they would be much more successful and wonder why everyone was talking about a recession. Good stuff – thanks!!
Cindy @ http://www.RVUSA.com
Thank you Lindsay. Not only are these relationships to be considered analogous to dating, as you state, but following what our mothers taught us about the written thank you’s and other manners are equally important.
I like the idea of email newsletter. Still there are few groups they are just sending their newsletter every single day its like pain in the @$$. But the idea behind email newsletter sounds profitable. Also the “Thank You” thing gives you advantages many time.
Nice Article Lindsay… Nice reading.
Thank You.
On the topic of referrals, does anyone thank their referrers by sending a small gift or anything? It feels like the right thing to do. How do you decide the gift and the amount spent?
To help out with tip #5, you might want to check out Zentact (http://www.zentact.com)
It’s a Firefox plugin that monitors the web pages you are visiting, and suggests when a page might be interesting to someone you know, then makes it simple to reach out via Twitter or email. If you’ve got something to gain by keeping in touch with people, it’s definitely worth checking out
Good article…lots of good tips…I like how the newsletter bit. I also think finding a relevant article and sending it to them is a great idea…nice, simple way of showing you have a personal touch over the competition and are actual a human being rather than a businessman/woman.
I think the idea is becoming ‘friends’ with them – I have a new photographer client who I find myself sending articles to. He’s always thankful and our relationship is all the better for it.
I do an e-mail newsletter, and I can vouch for it. It’s a good way to stay on prospects’ and clients’ radars without being “creepy.” Like the article suggests, I do get permission before I add anyone to the list. But keep in mind your intended recipient may not ever see it. My list average open rate is 49%, which means that over half of the people I send the e-mails to never read them. According to MailChimp, the e-mail service I use, the industry average for “Agency: Design, Creative, or Web” is 26%, so actually my figures are quite high. In any case, the point is that e-mail newsletters can be helpful, but the majority of people won’t read them. They need to be used with other tips in this article.
Great post!
I have dreadful handwriting. But, despite my chicken scratch, I do send handwritten “thank you” notes. And, oh, are they appreciated.
Excellent article. Please write more articles about communicating with clients. It’s always great to hear about great ways to speak and communicate with clients. I’ve recently learned some great ways to approach clients with cold-calling in a way that’s friendly and helpful rather than ’sales-ey’. Keep up the great work!
An easy way to nail-down a follow-up appointment is to give the prospective client specific choices: “Would you like me follow-up with you next Wednesday or Thursday? Is the morning or afternoon better for you? I’m available at 1 pm or 3 pm next Wednesday – what works best for you? ”
Always be specific in the choices you give them – without thinking they’ll choose for you and you’ll have a follow-up appointment set without coming across as pushy.
@ Michele,
When I’ve landed a paying job from a referral, as soon as the contract has been signed, I send a check for 5% of the overall job, along with a thank you note to the person who made the referral. I don’t tell them it’s coming before hand, and they’re always really happy when they get it!
In the instances where I thought the person who referred me would be uncomfortable with receiving a check, I’ve either referred work back their way, or done something nice if it’s been a personal relationship, like taking them out for lunch.
Long explanation short! I think giving small tokens, whatever that may be, is appropriate and appreciated.
Fantastic advice. I’m going to have to forward this to my girlfriend who runs a mobile massage therapy business (geogiamassage.com)…we were having a discussion the other night about how to tactfully followup with clients in a field that is as personal as massage therapy, and I think several of these ideas could do the trick.
Keep up the good work!
Great post, Lindsay. I agree, e-newsletters are terrific for prospects. But they’re actually great for a much broader range of people — people who may not be prospects for months or years out. But if they value the content, they’ll read it just for that. And when the day comes that what you offer is what they need, you’ll get a call or email from a very warm prospect. Can’t beat that!
Excellent title. Useful tips. And an important topic. Well said.
That pictures is just. wow. i cant sleep.
good article tho!
amazing
Great tips, I sometimes wondered about emailing them too much and if I was bothering them.
Excellent tips! I particularly like #6; I think a group lunch is a very effective way to meet a new prospect. Also, regarding the photo … creepy. Really creepy.
Thanks Lindsay! This is a great list, especially for introverted writer types like me.
Great tips, it’s definitely important to not scare them off
Personally, I think sending a hand written letter is very creepy, especially just after one or two meetings. I’m not against sending a thank you message, but I will always try to keep it professional by using a company letterhead and typing the message. Letters work great because they sit on the desk, until a decision is made.
Wonderful tips here–great article:)
Excellent article. I find following up with something to give them is great. It doesn’t have to be something physical, if fact, often a free idea or advice is best. Something along the lines of “Just checking in. I was thinking about what we were talking about in our meeting the other day and thought you might want to consider…” works well because it shows the potential client that you’re interested in their success, not their money, and that you’ve been thinking about their project.
Great article.
I work with a lot of agencies, and sometimes just need to keep myself on their minds to get offered a project, so one thing I’ve started doing that has led to some success has been to email my leads about once a month or so a little personal email when I add new work to my portfolio.
It helps build a relationship, and give me a little excuse to email them, which has led to some cool new projects.
-elliott
Thanks so much for this information. I am a travel agent who is trying to introduce my company by sending proposals to potential clients. Believe me, ive noted down everything and sure to apply it from hence forth. Continue with the good work.
Brilliant!