Gosh, I really don’t know what to say
One of my clients called the other day.
“Beth, there are two reasons I don’t call after you send something. First, sometimes I forget and your email gets buried. Second, sometimes I just don’t know how to respond to your questions.”
I have the same problem all the time, and I risk letting opportunities slip by. For example, someone wrote me with another request to give a presentation, again in Chicago. “First we have to figure out if we can even afford you! Please send me your fees for speaking engagements.”
Crap. I don’t know what I should charge for speaking engagements! No clue. Most of the presentations I’ve given were free, offered in exchange for increased exposure to potential clients. So I keep staring at her email, knowing that I’ve got to get back to her but not knowing what to say.
I also avoid emails if they seem to require too much work. Another guy wrote me last week with an acceptance of an article I wrote for his electronic newsletter. Fantastic! But he asked me to make some modifications that seem like they will take some time, so I keep avoiding his email. And a really nice colleague put together a list of resources that will help me kickstart my services as a speaker, but I need to read and absorb and respond with an equally nice email, so I remain quiet.
This is very bad. If I’ve learned one thing in sales, it’s that the responsive salespeople get the jobs. The ones who hesitate lose the business. In the first few weeks of my business, I received a very business-like response from a cold email query. “Perfect. I have an immediate need. Please send your rate sheet and a copy of your contract and information about whether you do project work vs hourly…”
Frankly she scared the hell out of me. I didn’t even have a contract, or not a real one. I didn’t have a rate sheet, and back then I was pretty shaky about what I should charge. I didn’t answer her immediately, and at the end of the next day she sent a follow up email. “So you’re so busy that you don’t bother responding to someone sending you jobs?”
I never admitted my intimidation to her, and she accepted my apologies for not responding earlier. She’s never given me any jobs, though we keep in touch (and she still scares me. Just her style, I guess.)
I keep striving to push through those little email blocks. Perhaps one day I’ll be the type who organizes herself enough to respond to all within one day.
Claire on 16 Jun 2008 at 8:32 am #
I used to be in this same predicament until I had a manager who snapped me out of it. I often didn’t respond to employee inquiries (in-house benefits administrator) because I didn’t have an answer, or was still working on it, or was just too damn busy. One day she called me into her office because I hadn’t responded to the president’s admin about something. She told me she couldn’t back me up if I didn’t do my part – and my part was to respond within 24 hours with something – anything – even if just to say I didn’t have an anwser and was working on it. I’ve learned that any response is better than no response. People just want to be heard. That was 15 years ago, and I guess it’s second nature now. Someone emails, or posts a blog or a comment, and I respond quickly.
Sometimes I still screw up though.
Craig on 16 Jun 2008 at 1:33 pm #
I just wanted to say that I have some white and some brown duct tape. The white is good for securing wires/cables along white baseboards without compromising the look so much. The brown just happened to match something at the time as well. =)
Your clearly thinking to yourself, he’s like the class clown huh!?!??!?!?
steph on 18 Jun 2008 at 4:23 am #
This is something I keep reading about, the importance of immediately responding to potential clients and clients you already have. I’ve made it a practice to immediately say, “Thanks for your email! I really appreciate you contacting me.” Then I move into the query part, saying something like “I do things a little differently here at Avenue Z because of the many variables to take into consideration when preparing a quote for different kinds of work, so I don’t have the specific items [contract, rate sheet] you asked for, but I can offer you the information you seek. If you wouldn’t mind giving me the afternoon/another day/whatever, I’d be happy to draw up an estimate/proposal [whatever it is they want] for you.” This gives you some time to do some research if you need to, or ask friends who do the same thing what they do, to consider the job she’s asking you to do, and also to ask for more info if you need it. This happens to me so often. I mean, if you’ve never done such a thing before, it’s tough to be prepared for it.
As for emails that look as though they might be too much work, I understand! Again, just respond immediately to let them know you received their email and thank them for their interest. Then kindly ask for a bit more time to prepare a quote for them (and you can also consider whether or not you want to take the job. Or sometimes I have to say, I’m currently on a tight deadline but I would love to chat further with you about this. Is it all right if I get back to you in a couple of days, or do you require something immediately?
So long as you answer something (even short) right away, people usually are okay to give you an afternoon or even till the next day or so to prepare something for them. I usually explain that there are quite a few variables to consider, and my rates and how I charge depend on the job so I can’t just fire off the same info I use for everybody – I simply don’t have anything like that. If you don’t answer at all, though, they have little patience for that and assume all kinds of things.
It sounds as though with these queries you could be expanding your business! Doing them for the first time, drafting up what they ask for, is actually preparing you for the next one like it.
I hope this didn’t sound in any way condescending. I understand your hesitation. I just feel strongly about dropping whatever I’m doing, even on tight deadline, to send a quick email saying I got theirs and thank you. It makes a huge difference to my business because my clients come mostly by word of mouth.
Beth on 18 Jun 2008 at 12:49 pm #
Claire and Steph,
You are so, so, so right. I’m really striving to change my habits. Thanks for the reminders about why this is so important.
To everyone — Craig is not only the class clown, but he’s also single, smart, adorable and … umm… single. And he lives up the street. I’m happy to arrange an introduction.
PS — Ms. Jennifer Aniston, if you’re reading, Craig has authorized me to give you his phone number immediately.