The secret to effective follow up: What NOT to say

You probably know better than to follow up with someone like this:

• “Just following up!”

You realize that doesn’t really help either of you. But you still might be making this mistake:

• “Did you do that thing you said you were going to do?”

That feels like it’s helping, but from the customer perspective, it’s just adding to our guilt. What if you took a different approach, a helpful approach.

Here’s how I can help you be successful with this next step.”

Now that sounds helpful! And I’m betting you’ll have a lot more success following up to be helpful than to just add more guilt.

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About Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband own a retail liquor store in Alva, Oklahoma, and a small cattle ranch nearby. Becky is an international speaker on small business.

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