Don’t Keep Them at Arm’s Length
When you make a business acquaintance, you probably covered some personal stuff along with exchanging information on just how darn smart you both are and how great your businesses are.
That’s normal, and good, and bully for you getting someone to open up to you and be comfortable!
When you follow up with them, don’t make it a hard-and-fast rule to only talk about business. If you talked about spouses or kids or dogs or Chia Pets by all means, use that information to help the person remember who you are. This isn’t some sleazy sales technique, it puts the other person at ease, and you both want the person on the other end of your phone call to be at ease and glad to be talking to you.
When you’re following up the most important thing is to establish rapport as quickly as possible.
Then you can move on to business questions. Remind them (if appropriate) the kind of client you’re looking for in your business so they can be aware and tell people about you if they seem to match the profile.
Wrap up with something friendly and personal. If it’s summer ask if they’re going to be having barbeques. Or taking the kids to the park. Or going to Aspen for skiing if you talked about skiing. Anything to make certain when they hang up the phone they’re smiling.
If you keep someone at arm’s length, and only talk about business, they will come to dread seeing your name on the caller ID. People do not want to waste time with random business owners, they want to spend time with people that make them feel good. Be that person.
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Tags: follow up, General Networking, making friendsRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Business Networking, Following Up
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