Good morning!
On April 24, I received an email from a salesperson whom I had met at a tradeshow. She was following up on our conversation, reaching out to see if the interest was still there and trying to set up an appointment with me. You might think this is good business practice and you’d be right…
… Until you found out that the show was in mid-March.
Slow follow-up on leads is the number one mistake a company— and yes, I am blaming this on the company and not the sales rep— can make. I want you to know this for two reasons. First, realize that when you are handed lead— any lead— you must act on it immediately, even if it is just reach out and say, “I can’t talk to you right now,” that’s still better than waiting six weeks.
The second reason I bring this to your attention is so you see this as a profit opportunity as a salesperson.
Consider the amount of money that companies put into exhibiting at a tradeshow. The cost to rent the booth, buy the signage for the booth, and then staff the booth (read: significant travel expenses) can easily run five figures. Tremendous effort and expense go into this endeavor, all so the company can come away with qualified leads. Shocking, then, that they would not follow through immediately.
This is your chance to make a sales call. How could you help in a situation like this? Who exactly would you want to speak to? What would the sales call sound like?
