One mistake I find we often make is by assuming other people are organized.
For example, if we call a potential client and leave a message on their voice mail, and they don't call us back, we assume they don't want to talk to us.
We might even call back once or even twice.
Then we "take the hint" and give up.
The underlying assumption in this scenario is that the "client" is organized and consciously choosing to NOT call us back.
Imagine this instead.
The "client" receives you message and thinks "I've got to call her back tomorrow.
" They jot your number on a scrap of paper or post-it note laying on their desk and scurry off to attend to some other interrupted interruption.
Tomorrow comes; your scrap of paper gets lost in the flurry of other scraps of paper on the desk and is inadvertently forgotten.
You call back three days later.
Once again the "client" thinks, "I meant to call here back.
I'll just rewrite her number down again and call in a couple minutes, as soon as I finish with THIS...
" Once again, the intention to contact you is lost in the frenzy.
That night, the "client" wakes up at 3 AM thinking, "Damn! I meant to call X!" Now wide-awake, they lie there worrying about not having called you (plus all the other calls they didn't get around to returning.
) Now it is the following week.
You think, "I'll try one last time to reach them.
" This time when they get your voice mail they think, "I'm so embarrassed.
This is the third time they've called and I still haven't returned their call.
They must think I'm a complete mess! Now I'm too embarrassed to call back.
" End of scenario.
You think they don't want to talk to you and are intentionally not returning your calls.
They are embarrassed by their own disorganization and too ashamed to call, even if they could find your number.
How often do you think this is the case? Statistics state that 60% of us are disorganized, so this must happen at least 60% of the time? I called a potential client repeatedly over a 6-month period.
When I finally reached them, they gushed "Thank you so much for your persistence! I've meant to call you back so many times.
" RSVP's are another good example.
We think people don't RSVP because they aren't interested in coming or are simply too rude to RSVP.
In reality, most folks INTEND to RSVP, they just don't ever actually get around to it.
A dear friend of mine, Diane Furie, an event planner here in Albuquerque, doesn't even expect people to RSVP anymore.
She simply calls until she reaches them and asks simply "Are you coming?" Attendance at her events is astronomical and this is one of the reasons why! She's figured out it's us, not her! The moral of this story is, NEVER assume the person you are trying to reach, expect to hear from or are leaving a message for is organized.
You're wrong more often than you're right (60%, remember).
We're all overwhelmed and overworked with too little time and too much to do.
Give us a break and call back.
Really, we want to talk to you, if only we could find that post-it note...
For example, if we call a potential client and leave a message on their voice mail, and they don't call us back, we assume they don't want to talk to us.
We might even call back once or even twice.
Then we "take the hint" and give up.
The underlying assumption in this scenario is that the "client" is organized and consciously choosing to NOT call us back.
Imagine this instead.
The "client" receives you message and thinks "I've got to call her back tomorrow.
" They jot your number on a scrap of paper or post-it note laying on their desk and scurry off to attend to some other interrupted interruption.
Tomorrow comes; your scrap of paper gets lost in the flurry of other scraps of paper on the desk and is inadvertently forgotten.
You call back three days later.
Once again the "client" thinks, "I meant to call here back.
I'll just rewrite her number down again and call in a couple minutes, as soon as I finish with THIS...
" Once again, the intention to contact you is lost in the frenzy.
That night, the "client" wakes up at 3 AM thinking, "Damn! I meant to call X!" Now wide-awake, they lie there worrying about not having called you (plus all the other calls they didn't get around to returning.
) Now it is the following week.
You think, "I'll try one last time to reach them.
" This time when they get your voice mail they think, "I'm so embarrassed.
This is the third time they've called and I still haven't returned their call.
They must think I'm a complete mess! Now I'm too embarrassed to call back.
" End of scenario.
You think they don't want to talk to you and are intentionally not returning your calls.
They are embarrassed by their own disorganization and too ashamed to call, even if they could find your number.
How often do you think this is the case? Statistics state that 60% of us are disorganized, so this must happen at least 60% of the time? I called a potential client repeatedly over a 6-month period.
When I finally reached them, they gushed "Thank you so much for your persistence! I've meant to call you back so many times.
" RSVP's are another good example.
We think people don't RSVP because they aren't interested in coming or are simply too rude to RSVP.
In reality, most folks INTEND to RSVP, they just don't ever actually get around to it.
A dear friend of mine, Diane Furie, an event planner here in Albuquerque, doesn't even expect people to RSVP anymore.
She simply calls until she reaches them and asks simply "Are you coming?" Attendance at her events is astronomical and this is one of the reasons why! She's figured out it's us, not her! The moral of this story is, NEVER assume the person you are trying to reach, expect to hear from or are leaving a message for is organized.
You're wrong more often than you're right (60%, remember).
We're all overwhelmed and overworked with too little time and too much to do.
Give us a break and call back.
Really, we want to talk to you, if only we could find that post-it note...
Source...