Constant Speaks – Loudly!

February 8, 2015|Mary Jane Copps
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In my workshops when I discuss following up with clients and prospects, the reaction is … incredulous. People can’t believe that I’m advocating leaving five or more messages. It makes everyone uncomfortable. All I can do is share my experience. I’ve never been chastised for following up. In fact, what I’ve heard again and again (and again) in my career is “Thank you for your persistence”.

And while being persistent is a great characteristic, the word itself doesn’t quite illustrate why follow up is so vital to communication – and to our success. The better word is … constant. We want to be constant in our communication with both prospects and customers.

The word constant comes from the Latin constare, meaning to stand firm and evolved in late Middle English to mean staying resolute or faithful. When we follow up with our clients and prospects, we prove (each time) that we are confident in the value of the relationship, we are faithful to the relationship, we are steadfast . . . we can be trusted!

And establishing trust is at the foundation of all relationships.

Each time we reach out, leave a message, have a conversation, our actions loudly confirm that we are trustworthy. And this is why we gain customers, why our businesses thrive and grow.

Put your discomfort aside. Rise above it. Be constant in your follow up and prove your true value to your prospects and clients. Do it now. Pick up the phone this week and … be constant! Let me know what happens.

This week I also want to draw your attention to a local school here in Nova Scotia – Brookside Junior High. They have created a unique Twitter campaign, tweeting student-written wisdom on how to deal with stress in positive ways. This is something all of us need to learn. The campaign is starting to catch on and I encourage you to check it out and help them spread their words by retweeting. Here a link: https://twitter.com/Brooksidejh

Enjoy your PhoneWork everyone!

Closing a sale is the natural outcome of inspiring great conversations and listening intently to our potential customers. This natural approach still involves a process – a plan that moves potential customers through a journey of discovery with you. So ... what's your process? And am I the right sales coach for you? Let's find out.

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4 thoughts on “Constant Speaks – Loudly!”

    • This is a very insightful comment, Linda. No one has expressed it quite this way before and my reaction is “you’re right”. Picking up the phone does involve adding another “commitment” to your life, another item to your “to do” list. Yet, if the person becomes your customer, they will become a commitment won’t they? So you are actually looking for more commitments as part of growing your business? The phone calls are the first steps in proving to the potential customer that you can keep a commitment to them. I’m going to give this more thought in the coming days. I believe you’ve raised something very important … and provided me with a new blog post! Thanks. mj

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What's The Phone Lady doing?

  • One-on-one coaching with 6 amazing entrepreneurs - info about sales coaching here
  • Creating client communication module for college students studying design
  • Remote learning experience for financial advisors
  • Remote learning experience with new business owners on creating their sales process
  • One-on-one and team coaching for a firm representing natural products for arthritis in dogs
  • Remote learning experience on both discovery and sales calls for new startups
  • Team coaching with a national moving company to refine their sales process
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  • Remote phone skills workshop for North American orthodontist firm
  • Working with translators to present The Phone Lady in France
  • Free sales workshop at the Halifax Central Library
  • Phone skills as a job search tool for those starting their career

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