Overdrawn?
There are many aspects of followup and experience has taught me that all of them are based on good old fashion common sense. You know … the stuff that’s actually not so common? This includes ‘follow through’ and how it relates to the health of relationships, and sales, and repeat sales, and referrals, and…
And what is follow through? Follow through is simply ensuring that what we said or implied would happen, happens. This applies equally to promises made to prospects, customers, associates, and even friends and family.
And how does this impact relationships?
To help explain I’ll defer to Stephen Covey, author of ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’. He suggests that with each of our relationships, whether professional or personal, we establish “Emotional Bank Accounts”.
To quote Stephen, “We all know what a financial bank account is. We make deposits into it and build up a reserve from which we can make withdrawals when we need to. An Emotional Bank Account is a metaphor that describes the amount of trust that’s been built up in a relationship. Its the feeling of safeness you have with another human being.”
Stephen states that deposits made into an Emotional Bank Account through courtesy, kindness, honesty, consideration and keeping commitments build up a reserve. Trust then becomes higher and then even with mistakes, that trust level, that emotional reserve, will compensate.
The other side of the coin is that a shortage of deposits and too many withdrawals results in the account being overdrawn and eventually closed out.
So what does this really mean in practical terms? It means that every time we enter into a relationship there are in effect two accounts being opened … we with them and they with us. And from that moment on both parties are making either deposits to or withdrawals from these accounts.
Not surprisingly, accounts in long standing relationships with a history of a surplus of deposits will take much longer to become overdrawn than a relatively new relationship.
So what does this have to do with follow through? Everything.
For example, if you and I have a business relationship of any kind then by default we have emotional bank accounts with each other and from that point on whenever I say, or even imply, that I will do a certain thing then whether or not I do it, and even how I do it, will result in either a deposit or withdrawal from that account.
In other words, the more deposits I make the stronger the degree of trust you will feel for me and the more likely it is that you will want to continue doing business with me and the more likely that you will feel comfortable in referring others to me. Should my deposits become smaller or less frequent however and my withdrawals greater, my account will be at risk and I may begin losing the above benefits.
And what of new accounts? Well, if you and I were in the early stages of our relationship, as in not even actually doing business yet, then all it might take would be a single withdrawal instead of a deposit and it could be game over … I may not even have a chance of getting to second base. Important stuff, yes?
So, how would you describe the health of your accounts? Have you checked lately? Perhaps it would be wise to objectively evaluate each one to determine its status and, if in doubt, to ask the opinion of the account holder. That way you’d have an opportunity to refocus on replenishing any deficiencies that might exist.
After all, as long as the account is still open it’s probably not too late to make new deposits.
Happy depositing. 
Following up after you get connected.
Are you an active networker like I am?
Networking today is easier than ever before and it can be a highly effective way to expand your circle of influence through accessing the circles of others … if you do it well that is. If you’re interested we’ll expand on this subject in future posts.
Today however we’ll touch on a followup related subject relevant to anyone who is out there in the community connecting and getting connected.
Personally, I am always actively expanding my network and one of my great pleasures is connecting people whom I believe will benefit in some way from knowing each other. In fact, I have a designated ‘Resource’ file in which I store the contact information of people I have come to know and respect so that I can quickly and easily pull up their info and share it with another when appropriate, and I do this quite regularly.
Has anyone ever done this for you, connected you with someone in their circle that might benefit you (and the other) in some way? If so, did you followup appropriately? With both parties?
If so, congratulations because speaking from personal experience I can say that many people don’t think to do this.
Oh, I’m sure they’re grateful for the introduction, and hopefully they follow through with the person they’ve been connected to, but for some reason they don’t think to also followup with the person that did the connecting. Unfortunately, by neglecting this, they significantly lower the chances of that person ever again connecting them with anyone else. What a shame!
So, how should this followup be done? There may be many ways but here’s what I do.
Let’s say that Bill has just introduced me to Allison because he felt it would be mutually beneficial for us to know each other.
First, I immediately acknowledge the introduction and express appreciation to Bill, either by email or telephone.
Next, I keep Bill informed as the relationship between Allison and myself develops. I let him know that I emailed Allison yesterday but haven’t heard back yet, or that she and I have exchanged emails and are planning on connecting in person, or that Allison and I have met for coffee, had a phone chat, or whatever. The point is, I keep Bill in the loop.
Also, at some point in this process I will typically send Bill a physical thank you card, through the postal system, demonstrating again how much I appreciate and value his thoughtfulness and the effort he went to.
Then, if something concrete develops between Allison and myself, such as the two of us doing business or collaborating on a project, I again let Bill know and once again express gratitude. And if it turns out that the relationship between Allison and I results in profit for me then I for sure will acknowledge Bill’s contribution in some appropriate way.
Pretty simple isn’t it? Not complicated at all, nor difficult, and it only takes a few minutes. What it does however is acknowledge Bill’s gift of the introduction and lets him know that I value and appreciate it, and him.
The consequence? Well, there’s a good chance that the relationship between Bill and myself will be even stronger than before. The odds are also high that Bill will be inspired to connect me with someone else should it ever be appropriate to do so. All good, yes?
So if you’re not already doing so, stand out from the rest by being thoughtful, considerate and appreciative … you’ll love how it makes others feel and what it does for you.
How to followup?
Interesting about followup. For some reason many people think of it as being far more complicated than it is, even intimidating. Actually, effective followup is just about applying common sense and being thoughtful, considerate, and respectful … and there is no ‘only one way’.
I’m often asked, “What’s the best method for following up? Is it Email? Phone calls? Text messages? Cards or letters?” Once again, I don’t believe there’s only one answer … simply apply common sense and do it in a way that is meaningful and appreciated by the person you’re following up with. In other words, don’t be an annoying pest and do stand out from the norm by demonstrating thoughtfulness, consideration and professionalism.
I personally like to use more than one method depending on the person and situation. For example, if I meet someone at a networking event and we exchange business cards I will typically followup the next day with a very brief email letting them know I appreciated meeting them and expressing a willingness to stay connected. That same day I will send them a physical greeting card that will then arrive in the mail a few days later. This almost always elicits a response of some kind (either email or phone call), which sets the stage for another step in the relationship building process.
One of the great things about sending a physical greeting card through the postal system is that it really stands out from today’s clutter. All most people get in the mail these days are bills and unsolicited marketing materials, so when a personal card arrives it’s like a breath of fresh air. Greeting cards as a followup tool are great also for anyone that finds making followup phone calls intimidating.
The downside to greeting cards is the cost, inconvenience, and time requirement but I use a method for this that bypasses all of these … if you’re interested in learning more drop me a line at reg@followupguy.com.
During the course of the relationship development process I tend to use several methods including emails, social media, phone calls, greeting cards, and frequently, in person coffee meetings. I try always to be thoughtful, considerate, and respectful, and keep my focus on the other person and how I might bring value to them in some way. My intent is to give the relationship a fair opportunity to develop because through relationships come opportunities for all concerned.
Networking followup – do I have to?
First of all, you don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to. You can choose to stay in touch with people in your network or not, but the reality is if you don’t stay in touch they probably won’t be part of your network for long. So the question really is, do you want to develop a large network?
Why would you want to develop a large network?
Well, it’s been said that the most successful people have very large networks, and I believe that to be true. I consider a network to be an asset of tremendous value, and not only from a business perspective. To help illustrate this point let me share with you a short story.
For nearly 3 years I’ve been quite involved (in a volunteer capacity) as a director with a wonderful non-profit organization called the Kindness Foundation of Canada. The organization’s vision is ‘a kind world’ and our mission in a nutshell is to inspire people to be more kind. Pretty simple really but the results of kind action can be very powerful and have far reaching ripple effects.
The Kindness Foundation has experienced significant success and accomplished incredible things in it’s almost 11 year history but as a board we recognized a couple of years ago that in order to ensure sustainability and remain relevant, we needed to embark on a major internal restructuring process. We’re just coming out the other end of that tunnel now and it’s hugely exciting because we’re now poised to accomplish even more amazing things over the coming months and years.
Why do I mention this here? Because it has everything to do with our topic of networks.
You see, at various times during this transition we had a need for knowledge, experience and skill-sets not possessed by any of us on our current board, yet vital in terms of us getting from where we were to where we wanted to be, and were able to successfully recruit that talent primarily by tapping into our individual networks.
Our networks have connected us with some amazing people and by utilizing simple ‘followup’ practices we were able to develop these connections into relationships and commitments that have served our organization extremely well.
Important reasons to follow up with your network:
- Develops and strengthens new relationships.
- Nurtures and strengthens existing relationships.
- Keeps relationships alive that may not appear to have much value now but might one day provide you with exactly what you need in an unexpected situation.
- Provides you with access to the networks of others.
- Enables you to connect other people for their mutual benefit … establishes you as a valued resource.
- Leads to referrals.
We’ll explore ‘how to’ methods around this subject in upcoming posts, so come back often and please feel comfortable in commenting or contributing along the way.