Hi, I’m Steve Burnett with DYB Coach,
And when I was building up Burnett Painting, we painted for Mr. P.
Mr. P. is from New Jersey, but he and his wife had a home in, Punta Gorda Isles, Fl.
And I had painted their exterior the first year I moved to Florida.
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While we were painting the exterior, Mrs. P. wanted a price for their interior.
I happily measured up their interior, wrote up the proposal and presented it on the spot.
Mrs. P said it looked good, but she just needed Mr. P to agree, but he was back up in NJ.
She called him but he said that they needed to hold off for now.
So, I asked Mrs. P for permission to follow up, and they said sure.
I followed up the following week, and she said he was still not ready.
I followed up again 2 weeks later: and again, not ready.
I asked for permission to follow up and she said yes.
I followed up a 3rd time: and again, not ready, but this time, Mrs. P said, Hey Steve, here is Mr. P’s cell phone number. Can you call him directly?
Yes, ma’am I sure can, thank you very much.
I called Mr. P directly, politely introduced myself and said the Mrs. P asked me to call him.
Mr. P accepted my call and then explained that he is in the steel business and that the steel business is slow right now.
I told him that I can understand things being slow, then asked if it was ok if I followed up in 6 months.
He replied, yes, please do.
I set a reminder in my CRM to follow up and did exactly that when the reminder popped up.
I continued to follow up about every 6 months, each time asking permission if I could follow up again in a few months, and he would warmly receive my call and just let me know he still wasn’t ready.
6 years later, I’m sitting in the Venice Starbucks working away on my laptop, and my CRM reminder goes off saying it’s time to call Mr. P
I’m already at no. We can’t be any more not painting his interior than we were, so I stepped outside the Starbucks, and followed up again.
He welcomed my call and said, “No, we are still not ready for the interior. Mrs. P. has her heart on new cabinets right now so the interior will continue to wait,
but you know what, Steve, I’m ready for a color change on my exterior.
Can you write it up and email it over to me so we can get the exterior on your schedule again?”
That was SIX YEARS later!
Somebody once asked Harvey McKay how long they should keep following up. He replied, “Until one of you two die.”
One of the biggest reasons most do not follow up is the fear of rejection, but here’s the funny part
You already don’t have the job. You can’t get any more not having the job than where you are!
If you don’t close it on the spot, the key to following up is to simply ask permission.
By asking for permission to follow up, it’s no longer an interruption when you do follow up.
In fact, you’re honoring an agreement and they will appreciate you for that and respect your professionalism.
Now if you really want to stand heads and tails above your competitors, send them a handwritten note card
Simply saying, Thank you for having me out. It was a pleasure to meet you.
Each time you follow up, again simply ask if it’s ok if you follow up again in a few days or next week.
Make sure you track all of your estimates by using a CRM, customer relationship management. I recommend PipeLineDeals.
3 takeaways
- Ask permission each time
- Send a handwritten note card
- Track all of your estimates with a CRM
I’m Steve Burnett with DYB Coach, helping half million dollar painting contractors break a million, profitably. You’ve got this!
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