Business Development Tip: Follow up avoids mess up

I recently signed up to a three-month trial for a monthly magazine. The cost of the trial was only £1 and in return I would receive the monthly magazine for three months. After 3 months, the cost would increase considerably, at which point I had the opportunity to opt out.

I received the magazines (which were pretty good) but having had no contact from the company representative who signed me up, I opted out just before my 3 months was up when I was due to start paying a full subscription.

The representative should have put a note in his diary to call me at around 2 months, in order to check that I was receiving the magazines, to find out what I thought of them, and to learn more about my buying needs (pains and aims - see my earlier pains and aims blog). He didn't bother though and as a result, I made several assumptions:

1) He doesn't care: If he really cared about my business and his product, he would have contacted me to discuss it and if he doesn't care, is it a good idea for me to invest in the business he represents? Of course not!

2) He's lazy: How long does it take to pick up the phone? How much organisational skill does it take to put a note in your diary to follow up your prospect? The answer to both questions is 'not much'!

As a customer, I don't like dealing with salespeople who I believe to be lazy. I want them to be interested in me and make me feel like they value my business, whether it is a £5 purchase or a £1000 purchase.

3) Marketing trick: I assumed he wanted me to forget about how the 3 month trial at £1, would then move to the full subscription, and that's partly why he didn't call me. It appeared that the whole thing was a bit like a gym membership you keep for a year, but you barely use or think about, until after a year, you realised you've wasted a lot of money!


Outcome: My experience of the publisher was entirely forgettable, they learned nothing about me and I unsubscribed just in time. Coincidentally, the company representative I dealt with has since launched his own business and for some reason, he has me on his mailing list ... but guess what ... I'm not interested and have unsubscribed! 

Tip: Every potential customer who shows an interest in your product must be systematically followed up with a friendly phone call which is non-scripted and is focused solely on the customer's needs and experience ... because no news is not good news. No news generally means no business ... which is definitely bad news!

Thanks for reading

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