Do you sometimes feel like you are constantly chasing rainbows in the hopes of finding a pot of gold with your ecommerce site?
If you answered yes, you are not alone.
Most of us think that once we have found our niche, we are good to go; you know how it is, we think all it takes is that one unique product, that one exclusive need, or that market that has not been tapped. Sure, finding those things puts you on the right path, but you won’t get very far once you get started if you are not aware of some bad habits that can become detrimental to your business.
These habits or excuses creep up on all of us and for the most part, we don’t even realize they are happening. If you want to find your pot of gold, stop chasing all the rainbows - focus on your own behavior and build your own rainbow that leads to success!
Excuse #1: “I will get to it tomorrow.”
One of the things that surprises me the most about business and personal relationships is the failure to follow-up after establishing contact. To be upfront, I am guilty of this, we all are. I always have good intentions, but, somehow, I convince myself I will do it tomorrow, it is too soon, I am sure they will contact me, or perhaps, I simply forget. Call it the curse of the Great Procrastinator as it enables me to truly believe it can wait until tomorrow.
“Don't fool yourself that important things can be put off till tomorrow; they can be put off forever, or not at all.” -Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960
The simple truth is that there is no such thing as being too busy. If you really want something, you'll make time for it. In today’s world, we are all pressed for time, over-committed, and seem to be living by the seat of our pants. It is a lot easier to say, “I will get to it later,” than to just stop and complete the task immediately.
Most of us learn this early on in life when it involves cleaning a room, calling a friend, or visiting family. For me, I convinced myself I work better under pressure while in college, so I would put assignments off until the last minute. And, I am sure if you look around your house, there are lots of things that need to be done…but, it can also be done tomorrow. How about your health and well-being? Who has not avoided a trip to the doctor for a little cough and later landed in the emergency room with pneumonia?
Sadly, procrastination at home carries over into work. The perfect example can be seen in Follow Up Success, where it clearly shows that 80% of sales are made between the fifth and twelfth contact. That’s a good statistic to help grow any business; however, if 48% of sales people never follow up with a client, a successful and profitable future could already be slipping through your fingers.
Our best advice?
Stop putting things off and, when you finish reading this blog post, get on the phone and follow-up!
Excuse #2: “I hate bothering people.”
Sometimes making the follow-up call may seem like you are being overly aggressive. You feel it may be too soon and the phone call may be perceived as annoying, rude, and, perhaps, too pushy. However, not making the follow-up could lead to a lost sale that your competitors will be more than willing to take from you. You must follow the mindset that communication and establishing a rapport with potential clients is essential for success. Be aggressive without being brash, be confident without being cocky - this can be the difference between a solid sale and another missed opportunity.
So, when is too soon?
It’s tough to give this one a direct answer, but a good rule of thumb would be to call the next day to thank the person for your meeting and then listen to them. Let them drive the conversation. Indicate that you will check in with them in a week and stick to it. Weekly check-ins keep you focused and shows the potential client you value their business.
Excuse #3: “I forgot.”
Well, if you procrastinate and lack the motivation to be aggressive, you will forget to make the call. Here’s a good motivator - think about how excited your competitors will be to swoop in and take that customer away from you.
Most of us start out with good intentions, but work and the real world have a tendency to keep us from moving forward. Think about it this way: you are stuck in a meeting, your boss changed a deadline, the printer runs out of paper, there is a family emergency, you can’t get off the phone with a client, you have to finish something else immediately, and on and on; all of these things are events that can throw us off schedule and quickly push other tasks to the back of our minds, sometimes to the point where they are forgotten.
Since there is no real way to avoid the everyday issues, you need to find a way to make sure those follow-up calls do not get lost in the mix. The best way to do this is to create a follow-up schedule (and stick to it!). As mentioned above, follow- up weekly and put it in your planner. If you find you are still unable to get to the calls, talk to your team and have someone check-in with you until it becomes your new habit.
Excuse #4: “I know they will call back.”
This one is a huge killer to business growth! Too many times, we make assumptions about the behavior of others without any real understanding of their work ethic, beliefs, schedule, etc.
In reading this, you may have learned that you are not alone in this process of procrastination, so if a potential client does not respond to you immediately - STOP ASSUMING THE WORST! The most common reason for not responding is that the person is as busy as you are and just cannot get to it.
Clients are busy, you are busy, but, if you want the sale, you need to stop thinking, “If they want to work with us, they will call.” Your potential client may be thinking the same thing! Sure, in some cases, a potential client may not be interested, but this is not a game of all or nothing; just because a few clients called you directly doesn’t mean you do not need to follow-up with other clients.
You can’t fix all these things in one day; so, start at the base of your rainbow and thoroughly evaluate where the major flaws are occurring, then start modifying your behavior. You can continue building by ensuring you communicate with potential clients and indicate a specific time for follow-up:
- Explain the type of follow-up that will occur - in-person, phone call, or email.
- Record all this information in your planner.
- Bonus: If you get the client and would like repeat business, follow-up after the sale and use the above steps 1-3.
Given the statistics, you can really make an impact with good follow-up and begin to put your competitors on their own rainbow chasing mission. If you get stuck, remember, we are all in this together!