Recipe: Follow-Up Meetings

Your first live meeting with a prospect after your initial contact is typically some sort of sales conversation, whether it takes place in person or by phone. Even if this is primarily a fact-finding meeting, you will be spending some time talking about your services and qualifications. If a second meeting is necessary, it might be a formal presentation to a larger group, an informal meeting where you discuss a proposal you have prepared, or simply a conversation about the details of the proposed work. After this, you may find yourself following up mostly by phone messages, e-mail, letter, or text. The same is also true for referral partners. After an initial meeting in person or by phone, you might not speak to them again in person for some time.

When following up over a long period of time, try to find ways to connect with your prospects, referral partners, and past clients person to person to keep the relationship alive. If they live or work near you, take them to lunch, meet for coffee, stop by their offices (if this would be appropriate), or seek them out at live networking events. For those not in your area, make a date for a phone conversation to talk about their current needs, new projects, personal news, or other topics you have in common. You’ll find that a periodic live conversation will keep their awareness of your name and business high, and will ultimately result in more referrals and more sales.