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July 21, 2015 at 12:00 AM
I recently received this question from a colleague: “You have advised against following up with prospects by saying ‘I’m just touching base.’ I’m struggling to find a decent alternative. What do you recommend?”
True, “touching base” is not the best approach. But it’s not just about finding replacement phrases such as “checking in” or “catching up.” When you leave messages like this, your prospects will delete them in a nanosecond. Worse yet, they’ll see you as just another pesky salesperson — not good.
Here’s the deal: To keep sales momentum alive, you need to provide value at every interaction — even a quick follow-up call. That means you need to rethink your entire callback strategy.
Here are three approaches which have worked for me:
1. Re-emphasize business value.
Your prospects will agree to change only if you can have a positive impact on their organizations. Reiterate it. Remind them of how you can help. You might say, “Pat, in our previous conversation you mentioned how important it was to get going on this so you can realize the savings [eliminate redundancies, drive incremental growth] you need by year’s end. Let’s set up time to talk so we can get you moving forward.”
2. Share ideas and insights.
