It’s YOUR Job To Keep Things Moving Forward

As sales reps, we meet with people and then we follow up, so figuring out how to do this well is a HUGE part of our job.  The problem is, this is also one part of our job that we often do WRONG.
 
This would be a follow up email that I would rate as a C+:
 
“Hi Jim, thanks for meeting with me last week.  Please let me know if you or your team has any questions.  We would love to work with you!”
 
It’s a fine email and this is how most reps would handle it.  It’s polite but it doesn’t move things FORWARD in any meaningful way.  This would be a MUCH better way to write a follow up email:
 
“Hi Jim, thanks for meeting with me last week.  You mentioned that your team would be having a meeting on Friday to discuss the proposal and talk about next steps.  I was curious how that went?  You had mentioned it might make sense for me to chat with your CEO after that meeting.  Should we try to set that up for sometime next week?  Let me know your thoughts.  Thanks!”
 
Do you see how the 2nd version moves them forward in a MUCH more meaningful way? 

Never leave a meeting without asking, “What happens next?” Then, write down exactly what they say and use that information when you follow up to move things forward. 

We can rely on customers to move things forward.  That’s our job.  Always be moving things politely forward or your deal will stall.

What do you think? Share with me in the comments!

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