A few weeks ago, I shared with you a maxim I’ve found to be true, useful, and readily applicable:
“I will take ‘no’ for answer; I won’t take ‘no answer’ for an answer.”
In that post, I cited a prospective Client who showed interest in hiring me as a creative consultant, but then went off the grid:
“(I had) a conversation with a successful business owner back in December. This CEO was interested in possibly hiring me as a creative consultant to help form and lead an in-house marketing team. I’ve consistently followed up with him this year and yet, no returned call.”
“Re: the CEO who needs creative help… still no response. I have a strong feeling his answer will eventually be a ‘no’ or ‘not right now.’ But what if it isn’t? What if he’s been too busy? What if– like a lot of people I eventually get in touch with– he says ‘thank you so much for your persistence. I’ve just been swamped lately’ ? What if I stop following up and in so doing– to use a metaphor from success guru Zig Ziglar– I stop pumping the handle just a few seconds before the water would have started flowing?”
Well, guess what? He called back.
In all, I’ve probably made at least thirty follow up calls, sometimes leaving a message with a secretary, sometimes leaving a voicemail. That’s why when I realized who was calling, I braced myself for something along the lines of ‘STOP CALLING ME!’
But instead of getting an earful, I got an offer.
So, how many follow-ups until you get a ‘yes’ (or at least an answer)? How many pumps until the water flows?
Maybe just one more.
– Matthew Porter
PS: I promised JK and everybody else an article this week on How To Become A Freelance Writer. However, I’m going to do even better: a comprehensive multi-part series I’ll publish throughout next week here at Hey Porter!. Don’t miss it!
[…] The people have spoken… […]