In last week’s blog Are You Chasing Away Clients, I talked about the rule I learned in telemarketing training back in my college days, “three no’s and you go”.  I discussed how in your third attempt to get in contact with a non-responsive client that you should define that you will not be following up with them again but that they can contact you.

But what if you are actually speaking to the client over and over again and you are not getting a “yes”?  On our recent teleclass Relationship Marketing with Donna Smallin she shared with us that she called someone 7 times over two years before they agreed to have a meeting with her and then they hired her for a two year time period.  Wow!  The key to her success was persistence and permission.  Each time she called this person she asked him “would it be okay if I check back with you in a couple of months?”  Each time the prospect said “yes”.  When you get permission to call someone back you don’t feel bad about calling them because they told you it was okay.   In last weeks article Are You Chasing Away Clients, that situation pertains to a non-responsive client, or someone who you keep trying to contact and never can get through to them via phone or e-mail.  In Donna’s example the situation pertains to a client you are actually speaking to who is telling you that they are not ready to use your services right now.  These are two very different situations.

To sum it up, if you have a non-responsive client use the “three no’s and you go” rule of thumb or if you have a client who is not ready to commit you can use the “would it be okay if I check back with you in a couple of months?” technique.

Don’t forget, we’ll be learning more on How to Sell Without Being Salesy from Helen Graves on our August 3rd teleclass. 

Do you have a favorite tip?   We love to learn and share.