I opened my inbox this morning to confirmation that I’d finally closed a book deal with a client I first met on a prospect call six years ago.
2190 days ago.
In 2020, a mutual friend connected us when he was seeking assistance with a memoir he hoped to have ghostwritten. The call went well and I was looking forward to getting the ball rolling. However, for reasons beyond my control, he decided it wasn’t the best time to move forward. At the time, I respected his decision, and thanked him for his time and consideration.
For most people, communication would have ended there. But not for me. I’ve been in this industry long enough to know that most deals need time to marinate. Due to this understanding, years ago, I began keeping a list of all my discovery client calls. This was often accompanied by detailed notes that included things like the initial ask, areas for expansion, and niche interests that allow me to get a clear picture of who this client is, and who they have the potential to be. In most cases, a project doesn’t move forward for a number of reasons—maybe the timing or finances aren’t quite right—but that should never be an indication that the project isn’t capable of moving toward completion; whether it takes six days, weeks, or in this case, years.
I learned a long time ago that there’s money in the follow-up, but I know that can be a hard thing to commit to when the initial “no” feels so close to rejection. Over the course of the last six years, with this particular client, I made a concerted effort to share resources and cultural happenings with him based on the information I’d gained from that very first call. In time, the flow of communication grew to be reciprocal, with him also sharing relevant resources he stumbled upon throughout his day to day. These weren’t daily or even weekly interactions, but they occurred long enough, and with enough intention to leave an impact.
To get to this point, it requires you to sidestep the feelings of shame and embarrassment often associated with the follow-up process. By implementing an old school “door to door salesman” approach to your sales strategy, you allow yourself to remain top of mind by creating room for small, consistent nudges to push you closer and closer to the finish line. But, I understand that this may not be a method that works for everyone. In other instances, this can look like sending an email to inquire about how they’ve, or even simpler by engaging with their content on LinkedIn. But the easiest way to keep your potential clients in the fold, while showcasing your craft and work ethic is the tried and true newsletter.
In the end, things progressed with this client because of the familiarity we’d built over the years. When things became better aligned on his end, it meant that I was his first call. It was a relationship that required a lot of nurturing, yes, but most of all, it required patience. And patience is how the toughest (sales) battles are won. As a business owner, my ability to follow through with clients over time has led to sometimes staggered, but always steady business that keeps my pipeline full.
So, if you have a client you recently connected with and things didn’t quite work out, don’t fret. Take note of all that took place in your list of prospective clients, and try circling back in a few months. Remember, you’ll always miss the shots you don’t take.