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Follow Up Success

attract more clients, increase your referrals

LinkedIn: Great Follow Up Tool or Complete Waste of Time?Today

One simple question I ask every new contact at some point during our first meeting…  So are you on LinkedIn?  The answer to this question can be very surprising!  I have heard everything from “No, Yes, What is LinkedIn?, LinkedIn?  What a complete waste of time!, I think I am on LinkedIn, I get invites but just ignore them, or I am on LinkedIn but don’t know how to use it.”

So is LinkedIn one of the most powerful sales and follow up tools available or is it just a complete waste of time?  I know for myself LinkedIn has proven to be a very powerful tool for connecting to new prospects, passing referrals, and keeping top of mind with clients and prospects.

The opportunities on LinkedIn are extensive!  In fact I just wrote a post on Square Martini Media titled 7 Top Reasons LinkedIn is a Must Have for Your Business.  This is a must read article to learn why you should be using LinkedIn!

So what are you waiting for?  Set up a LinkedI

Are you a Gary Vaynerchuk?January 2

Have you ever met someone who is filled with passion and enthusiasm?  Passionate about their company, passionate about their job, passionate about their relationship,  or possibly passionate about their cause…  I mean real passion!  So much passion and enthusiasm you might think it’s too much!  This reminds me of one of the people I followed up with from LinkedIn this week.  Lisa Marshall a communication specialist, speaker, and at one time accused of being too passionate!  Lisa’s thoughts on this… “It is impossible to be too passionate”!  I have to agree with her!  Have you ever seen or heard Gary Vaynerchuk speak?  Did you have the thought “I wish I was as passionate as Gary Vaynerchuk”?  View a portion of this video with Gary Vaynerchuk speaking at Web 2.0 Expo this year.

Top 10 List of Books To Help Your Clients Kickoff a Fabulous 2009December 29 2008

So here we find ourselves past the holiday season.   We now have a great opportunity to make a positive impression on our top clients and referral sources!  Sending books to top clients and referral sources is one of the most memorable follow up strategies I use. It’s creative, different, and is just not done enough!  The following are my Top 10 books to send to a business owner or top sales professional for 2009.  In choosing this selection I found myself thinking of the many types of clients and referral sources i have.  This selection should include a great title for any possible business owner or sales professional which may be on your list.

#1 The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino

“At last!  A book on sales and salesmanship that can be read and enjoyed by veteran and recruit alike!  I have just completed The Greatest Salesman in the World for the second time-it was too good for just one reading-and in all sincerity, I say that it is the most readable, most constructive and most useful instrument for the teaching of sales as a profession

Follow Up Strategies: Two Days Before ChristmasDecember 23 2008

This morning I had a completely different post in mind.  I was going to write about sending books to your top clients and referral sources for the New Year.  In thinking about follow up this morning I decided to write about a simple and highly effective follow up strategy for the two days before Christmas.

Take a look at your top 25 clients and referral sources for the year, print out a report or simply write them down.  Once you have them pick up the phone and call each one.  Call them and wish them a Merry Christmas.  If you are not sure if they celebrate Christmas wish them a Happy Holliday weekend.  Thank these clients and referral sources for the business and referrals from the past year.  Ask them what they are doing for the holiday.  In general you want to touch them right before the holiday.  Don’t ask for new business or referrals, just thank them and wish them a great holiday.

You may not be able to reach everyone as I am sure some have already taken the week off, so just leave a message or a voicemail.  It may seem simple because it is!  These simple touches build your relationships with your clients and referral

Do You Still Need to Send Your Holiday Cards?December 12 2008

You still have time to get this important follow up strategy completed!  However at this point you are a bit limited on how you can get this done.  One way is to make a mad rush to the store and buy boxes of holiday cards only to spend today and most of the weekend writing them out.  I must say the thought of you actually doing thing is making me tired!  I know as I have done this so many times in the past!  I am sure if you have not yet sent your holiday cards you know you need to and have just been procrastinating to the very last minute!

Don’t worry!  You have another option available to you which will allow you to send all of your holiday cards within a few hours.  Whether you need to send 100 or 2,000 holiday cards you still have time to get it done!  It all starts with having access to a powerful system called SendOutCards!

SendOutCards is a very simple online tool which allows you to upload all of your addresses, choose a holiday card from over 1,000 choices, type out a nice holiday message, and with a few clicks send to your entire databa