Happy Sunday Everyone-
I was interviewing one of our top producers for our company’s monthly meetup call. The loan officer (April) casually said “the fortune is in the follow up”. She’s not the originator of this saying, nor was she suggesting she was, but her belief in the words and the execution behind it got me thinking, both in sales and in life.
As we were talking, I kept thinking of the simplicity of her sales strategy and how amazing it was. Treat people like humans, take great notes on who they are and where they are in their life, set reminders to follow up based on when their various milestones of life are coming to fruition, and follow up. Someone might need a loan today, great. Someone might be planning after the birth of their child, great. Someone might be on the upside of a past bad situation, like a bankruptcy, great. Meet people where they are, be there when they’re ready, care about their situation, and follow up. A bad salesperson thinks the definition of “follow up” is calling someone 10 X asking if they want to buy. A great salesperson follows up with care, intention, and purpose, based on the needs of the client, and likely in the end, has a client.
You want to know the sexiest word in the English dictionary, wait for it….”Dependable”. The definition of dependable is “trustworthy and reliable”. If those were two words used to describe me at my funeral, I’d be good. I love the exercise of putting faces and relationships with theories to test them out. Close your eyes right now, think of 3 people you have a ton of respect for in your life, and I guarantee you they are trustworthy and reliable. Same exercise but thinking about 3 people you don’t have a ton of respect for, and I can guarantee you they’re not trustworthy or reliable aka. “dependable”. It’s a fair and honest question to ask of yourself. Are you dependable in business and in life. If you are, you’re probably doing well. If you’re not, you might consider self-correcting.
Most of the people reading this are in sales. I’m talking to myself when I say this to you too but be better. Follow up and follow through. The term “salesperson” normally has a negative connotation to it. It’s because salespeople create a perception of value up front and then don’t execute on it down the road. Most of this is caused by lack of follow up and follow through. When perception of value is matched by execution of value, that’s where you’re unstoppable.
I talked to my team about all of this on Friday. “The fortune is in the follow up” is being added to our key tenants on a going forward basis to ensure we never forget the concept.
Have a great week ahead!