You know that one person on your to do list that you just can’t seem to contact? The person who has been on your list for a week…or a month….or more….and you just aren’t sure quite what to say? The one who is dangerously close to dropping off your to do list altogether? What if sending that one email or phone call could make you $8,000?
I recently spoke with my friend Laura at Catch Your Money for a podcast interview. In the course of talking about small business marketing strategies for businesses on a budget, we ended up sharing some personal stories about the power of following up and the impact it has had in our respective businesses.
One of my great nonprofit clients had a very slow start in my pipeline. Five years ago, I sent a cold email pitch to their Executive Director, who immediately brought me in to talk with her about sponsorship marketing and how I could help their team. We hit it off immediately. She brought me back in to talk with her Board President. We hit it off immediately. They brought my proposal to their Board. And one Board member said, “We should be able to do this ourselves.” I wasn’t hired.
The Executive Director was disappointed. I was disappointed. I made a decision not to let that be the end of the conversation. That day, I set a calendar reminder for myself to check in with her exactly 10 months in the future.
Ten months later, the reminder popped up. I sent her an email. ‘Hi! I hope you’ve had a great year since we last spoke. I remember when we left off you mentioned that your board would take care of acquiring sponsors. How has it gone?’
I was hired.
Why? They needed time to overcome their own sales objection. They had that time. They learned definitively that they needed help. So, without even making a sales pitch, my well-timed email opened the door as they were ready to walk through.
That first year, I did a small project for them to help them do the sponsorship acquisition themselves. A couple years later, they called me for another small project to refresh their materials. This year, I have been contracted to lead the sponsorship development for their team. And it’s going well! Who knows what the future holds with this client?
You know what the turning point was? Sending that one email 10 months later. I asked myself, “what if that one email secures this client?” The profit was in the follow-up. (Read more about this topic here!)
Does that one email always secure the client? No. Could it? Yes. Look at what I would have left on the table if I hadn’t sent it in this situation.
As I told this story to Laura, she paused a moment, deep in thought. She told me a story about a networking relationship she had built. She had been in a conversation years earlier about a potential contract that didn’t initially pan out. She lost touch with the contact. Years later, she moved to a different city in her state, and it occurred to her that she was now located closer to this contact. She wasn’t sure about the status of the relationship, but she figured, “What happens if I send this email just to tell them I’ve relocated and am now closer to them?”
She secured an $8,000 contract.
I’m not sitting here telling you that sending one email will always lead to a sizeable project. In fact, that’s not even what happened in these cases. In both of these stories, Laura and I did important work to lay the foundation with our respective contacts. We took those conversations all the way to the point of uncovering objections. At the right time, when those objections were resolved (whether we knew it or not), we proactively reached back.
I’m not saying that sending that one email will always lead to a huge contract. But…what if it does? Why not take the initiative and find out?
I’m not saying that sending that one email will always lead to a huge contract. But…what if it does? #marketing #sales #business #biztips #smallbusiness #smallbiz Share on XThat person on your to do list right now could very well need your services. Or perhaps tomorrow they will have lunch with someone else who does. You never know until you actually check in.
That person on your to do list right now could very well need your services. Or perhaps tomorrow they will have lunch with someone else who does. #business #biztips #smallbusiness #smallbiz #networking Share on XSo, if you have that one person on your to do list, let this be your inspiration. You don’t need to dust off your fancy sales pitch. Just reach out and ask them how they are doing.
Because what if that one email could be worth $8,000?
Give it a try. Share success stories in the comments to inspire future readers to send that one email, too!