In doing startups, either you quickly get over the fear of writing emails or calling complete strangers and asking them to purchase your goods or you perish.
Even when you make a connection with a prospective buyer , many of these people will invariably say, “Yes, I’d like the product. I will install it today!” and, of course, they disappear.
This can be incredibly frustrating.
My strategy in dealing with these people is to
- Give them a little bit of breathing room.
- Try to get them back on the phone.
- If you can’t get them on the phone, follow up with an email entitled, “Still Interested?” In this email, you’ll ask for whether there has been a change in priorities or if something else has come up. Most likely, this prospective customer isn’t going to purchase your product, but you’re effectively trying to get out of them why they’re not going to go with you so you can get some closure.
- If they don’t respond to the “Still Interested” email, then go with the “Is this dead?” email. Again, you’re effectively trying to solicit some sort of response to get them to re-engage. This may strike you as being a counter intuitive, but all you’re doing is trying to get them to respond so you can understand what’s going on.
- Happy Selling.
