3 Easy Ways to follow up on a Business Lead — by KIM WILSON
In today’s competitive global economy, staying ahead of the competition is important and is often times what makes the difference between landing a deal or being placed in a pile and overlooked with all the others. There are many entrepreneurs attempting to make lasting impressions on potential clients. Here are three easy ideas to help you standout in front of the others when following up on a potential client.
1. There are many ways to follow up on business leads. Some of the most traditional ways are to send a letter, a card or to even send an email. Thanking someone for their time, since time is money, is a polite and thoughtful way to follow-up with a client to keep your name and the name of your company fresh in their minds.
2. Placing a phone call is more personal and often times more time consuming. Calling can also give you the opportunity to mention things that you may have left out in your interview or meeting. However, that will only work if the client you need to speak with is available and wants to actually talk to you on the phone. A lot of times you play “phone tag,” calling each other back and forth or even worst, they never call you back. What if you get on the phone and get tongue tied? You can’t find the words to say or you’ve practiced prior to picking up the phone and placing the call but you still can’t get it right. I recommend that the follow up phone call should only be used by those with the gift of gab, just to be on the save side.
3. All the traditional ways of following up on business leads are great but it keeps you in the same place - along with the rest. You need to stand out and put yourself at an advantage to be sure your name is not forgotten when it comes down to landing that deal. Sending a card, letter or an email is good but it still keeps you in a group along with the rest. With the internet your possibilities are endless. Use it to your advantage. To standout against the competition, send your client a gift basket or care package. Gift baskets and care packages come in a variety of themes and sizes with an array of items to choose from and ordering them online is quick, safe and easy.
I recommend a theme gift basket only if you know the interest of your client. Several themes such as, sports, gardening, handy man or movie goers would be ideal if you are sure of what your client’s hobbies and likes are. If you’re not too sure, you can never go wrong with a gift basket of food items. Fruit gift baskets are always a safe, delightful and a pleasing choice. To make the gift baskets or care packages more personal you can add nuts, cheeses and definitely chocolate. To really make a good impression, you could send a gift basket with a variety of fruits, nuts, and other snacks that the whole office can enjoy. Now that will really get your name and the name of your company buzzing in a staff meeting!
Gift baskets come in a variety of sizes whether you’re sending a small gift basket or care package just to say thank you for your time and consideration for a single client or a large gift basket for a corporation or a group of board members.
For more gift basket ideas that will help you stand out and get your name or your company’s name buzzing, visit fruitnutandcandlegiftbaskets.com. We have a wide variety of gift baskets and care packages that are sure to meet your needs.
Submitted by Kim Wilson Fruitnutandcandlegiftbaskets.com