You are probably thinking to yourself, “Why make the calls then?”
Who should I call? What should I talk about?
You probably aren’t the only one with these thoughts. This article is going to answer some of your questions. As you continue reading, you might be able to answer some of your own questions. Basically, the following is food for thought on why good karma calls are good for business.
Why make the calls?
What’s the best reason for making these calls? Basically, your goal is to build, enhance and preserve relationships. There’s no formal reason for doing this. Sometimes its possible to spread good karma just by calling someone and cheering them up. It doesn’t have to be anything mushy. Just a warm hello will do the trick. Your goal is to stop the flow of negative energy. Your positive call could be just the thing that is needed to make the day better for someone who needs a boost of morale. Besides, making someone else happy will actually make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside too. What a wonderful way to start your workday!
Who should you call?
Place calls to current, existing and potential business acquaintances. Call people that you are interested in talking to. There might even be someone in your industry that you have always wanted to speak to, but never got around to. There of plenty of business contacts that would love to have positive energy flow their way.
What should you say?
How about:
- Just say hello
- Call to keep in touch
- Thanks for the customer referral
- Extend an invite to a new professional organization
- Send a reminder for an upcoming professional event
- Ask for an opinion
- Inquire about a new business project
- Tell her that someone else is impressed with her work
- Make plans for a club meeting
- Pass along an opportunity to bid on a hard to acquire project
- Make suggestions on how to improve a project
- Congratulate her on a job well done
- Compliment her on her latest advertising campaign
- Tell her that your manager was impressed with her presentation
- Ask for an honest critique of your newest campaign
- Explain about a possible opportunity that is on the horizon
- Tell her that your boss might be interested in her plan
- Ask for more information about a new idea
What happens if I get voicemail instead? Does it really matter?
No, not if you leave a message. You don’t have to actually SPEAK with her. You can just leave a nice voicemail. However, keep in mind that if you are faced with this situation, you must be prepared. Always have a 30 second presentation of who you are and the purpose of your call. Make it short and sweet. You can always follow up a short email later.
What should you say in your voicemail?
I always return a message like this one:
- Hello, my name is Deanna Maio at 503-893-9510. I didn’t want anything in particular. I just wanted to keep in touch and say hello. I was thinking about something funny that you said previously and wanted to just say hello. I hate that I missed you, but hopefully you are having a fantastic day. Goodbye!
This message can be adjusted to accommodate any of the above reasons for calling. For instance:
- Hello, my name is Deanna Maio at 503-893-9510. I ran across your name in the newspaper and wanted to give you a high five concerning your sensational advertising promotion. I’m sorry that I missed you. I hope that you are having a wonderful day. Goodbye!
The bottom line is that there will be times when you’ll be forced to leave a message, but make it short and sweet. No one wants to listen to long and boring messages. Besides, doing so would go against everything that you want to achieve. It won’t bring about a positive flow of energy.
So, this sounds simple enough. Can I screw things up?
Don’t try to take a shortcut and leave more emails than phone calls. This strategy works best when the other person hears your voice and can hear your good intentions being reflected in your voice. It is hard to hear this in an email. You might be able to do this with a video email, but for right now, stick with the personal phone calls. This technique works best if you make phone calls instead.
One more thing to remember: These good karma calls are calls that you initiate. You cannot achieve the same amount of success if you are just responding to someone else’s call for info or requests.
And now I would like to invite you to claim your copy of my new training “3 Mistakes Business Owners Make That STOP Them Getting More Clients … And How You Can Avoid Them” when you visit http://www.EndMarketingOverwhelm.com/3-mistakes
You’ll learn the 3 common mistakes most business owners make that keep them from getting more clients and powerful, but easy to implement, strategies to avoid them, recoup more of your time, and learn how to spend it more wisely to get more clients and more results.
From Deanna Maio – Business Growth & Marketing Strategist at http://www.DeannaMaio.com.