Why Doesn't Anyone Call Me Back?

Are you frustrated by people who don’t return your phone calls, emails, or other messages?  Based on anecdotal evidence from clients and other associates, this seems to be one of those little aspects of society today that is a shift from the past, and often considered a negative.  As a business owner, sales professional, or anyone whose work and success is dependent on interface with others outside of your company (that’s almost everyone, isn’t it?), how do you enter into the dialogue necessary to your work, if the other parties don’t call back?

I’m not a sociologist, but I can speculate as to some causes.  We all get bombarded with tons of messages because we are so interconnected.  Many of us simply have trouble sorting it out, prioritizing, and managing the deluge, therefore much of it gets ignored.  “I don’t have time” is the common excuse (though it is really just an excuse).  The shifts from face-to-face interaction… to phone interaction… to email… to texting may be a part of it.  Also, the aversion to sales “pushiness” has something to do with it, manifested by Do Not Call lists, spam filters, and the like.  The real threats surrounding identity theft, and privacy invasion contribute to a general feeling that it’s better to hide from the messages we receive than to deal with them.

But none of that helps us with the interactions and conversations we need in order to do business, or even live our lives, for that matter.  So what’s the answer?  We fail if we assume that our calls don’t get returned because the other party has no interest in working with us.  We can’t move forward if we assume our email got deleted because the other party doesn’t have a need to work with us.

The solution (or at least part of it) rests with our own perceptions and assumptions.  We assume our followup is being perceived as pushiness.  We fail to see that the other party may have all kinds of innocent reasons for not returning our call.

I believe that simple followup is the most underutilized marketing tactic of our time.  We give up too early, or don’t do it at all.  One clear example that I see regularly is with businesses that send out quotations as a normal part of their sales process.  It is all too common for these businesses to simply send out the quote and then wait.  No followup.  No attempt to answer questions, offer explanation, or learn what the prospect is thinking.  Just wait, and while waiting work on more quotes that also get no response.  But the lack of followup goes far beyond businesses that provide quotations, doesn’t it?  Ask yourself if you are honestly following up enough to get the answers and results you want in your business.

So if you really want to have more engagement, I encourage you to take on an attitude of being the king or queen of followup.  If we want to make something happen, we have to do it ourselves.  That means going into followup mode frequently and persistently.  Leave a message, send an email, leave another message, try a text, send another email….  You get the picture.  Whoa!  You might say, “if I do that they will think I’m some aggressive stalker, and I don’t want that reputation”.  Well, I don’t recommend being an aggressive stalker, but rather being polite and understanding in your outreach.  Here’s an example:  “Hey, I hope all is well with you.  I’m just following up as promised.  I’m sure you’re busy, but if you could simply let me know if you’re still interested in pursuing project X, that would be great.  I don’t want to pester you, but I know this is something you were interested in, so I wanted to make sure you know I’m interested in helping you with it.”

Rather than being perceived as pushy, the response I typically get from the other party when we finally connect is an apology, and a congratulations for my professional followup!  It normally sounds something like this:  “I’m so sorry that I haven’t returned your call.  I’ve been so busy.  But I really appreciate your followup.  I wish I was as disciplined as you at getting back to people.  Could we get together next week Tuesday to discuss Project X?  I still want to pursue that.”

So instead of both parties giving up, and missing an opportunity to share a mutually beneficial relationship, you can be the one that initiates and accelerates the relationship.  All you have to do is adopt an attitude of being comfortable and confident that consistent and persistent followup will help you connect with others and advance your business success.

Poor Communication... Are You the Cause?

Advisers who help clients prepare SWOT analyses (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, & Threats) report that "communication" is typically one of the top three weaknesses of nearly all firms.  Do you find that to be true in your business?

Sheer size has a lot to do with communication challenges in larger businesses.  But in small business you would think that the low numbers of employees would help the owner to have close and strong rapport with every employee.  Likewise, since employees would know each other quite well, you would think that communication between employees would be open, candid, and productive.  Unfortunately, that is not the norm.

Perhaps the cause is directly related to your role as a small business owner.  You are likely directly involved in your business.  Perhaps you are the primary rainmaker, the one who knows most customers personally, and generates most of your new business.  Perhaps the operations part of your business depends on you as the lead technician, leading the production process, or providing the service you are known for.  You also probably work long hours working on quotes, or paying the bills and updating your financial records.  As a consequence, you don’t have much time to talk to employees, confirming their understanding of their roles, guiding them to improved performance, or seeking their input and ideas on better ways of doing things.  Aside from lack of time for communication, I’ll bet you often feel like you are talking to the wall, don’t you?  You feel as though you’ve told employees what they need to know, and yet they don’t seem to get it, nor perform in a way you expect.  Does that sound like you?

If you’ve ever read “The E-Myth Revisited” by Michael Gerber, you might recognize that what I’ve just described is the challenge between your Technician role in your business, and your Manager role.  The time you spend doing the technical work of your business doesn’t allow you quite enough time to do the management work of your business.  And as primary Manager, you are the one who needs to guide, train, motivate, or in short... communicate!  Performing well as the Manager of your team sets a different tone throughout your team.  It becomes a part of your culture that cascades through your team such that they begin to communicate better, too.  Your leadership is done by your words backed up by your example, and it leads to a stronger performing team.  A team that takes over some of the technical work you feel you need to perform, and allows you to focus on the higher value work your business needs you to do.

So the next time you find yourself bemoaning the poor communication traits of your business, take a look in the mirror.  Both the problem, and the solution, start with that person staring back at you.  Ask a coach to share some thoughts on how to help you become a stronger Manager… and a great communicator.