Colleen’s Blog

This past weekend Chris and I enjoyed a fabulous dinner with friends at the Savoy. I love their sister restaurant Metropolitan and had high hopes. But, I also expected to be disappointed. I secretly worried it was going to be like seeing the movie version of your favorite book. Never as good as the original.

Here are my top 10 thoughts for the month.

Would you like to speak to more decision makers and close more deals in 2014? You can do so simply by rethinking how you attempt to connect with the decision makers. Most salespeople will generally only reach out via telephone or email, and will give up if they hear nothing back, this is a grave mistake! <-- Click To Tweet In our own studies, we find that the majority of sales deals are lost simply because the salesperson gives up far earlier than they should. Many salespeople decide that they are being proactive by following up once or twice, but the truth is, follow-ups should be part of the standard procedure when reaching out to clients. It is a mistake to believe that you are going above and beyond just because you have called the prospect to follow up. Consider using a mix of the following modes of communication to optimize your chances of hearing back from the client and winning the sale:

Here’s the big fact: 98% of all dissatisfied customers were not dissatisfied because of a quality problem with the product or service purchased. In 98% of the cases their dissatisfaction was related to their perception of how they were treated by the people they dealt with.

Can you think of a few (or several) past clients that you would like to reconnect with? I know how it is, you may feel as though it's been too long to attempt to touch base, and as a result you decide that trying to reconnect is pointless. You may even dropped the ball or made a mistake with the former client, and therefore feel hesitant to re-initiate contact. I have some good news. Whether it's been six weeks, six months, or even six years, it's never too late to reach out directly to your client. In fact, it's essential to open dialogues with former clients as it provides you with valuable information as to why they may have fallen off the map. This way, you can be certain (and stop wondering) as to why you haven't heard from them, as well as gain valuable lessons from the past that can help you improve for the future.