Are You Barking Up the Wrong Tree?

When you are trying to garner the attention of a prospect, a colleague, an advisor, are you reaching out to the right place?  How do you know when it is time to move along?

The old adage ‘three strikes and you’re out’ seems to be a good directive on how many times you should be attempting to make contact.  It could be a prospect you would like to win over, a colleague whose perspective may be needed, an advisor from whom you are seeking help.  If someone does not respond after three failed attempts, it has been our experience that it is time to move on and find someone who does respond.  

Applying this methodology to clients who are not communicating on your payment is appropriate as well.  Have they indicated when they submitted the invoice to the owner?  Are they providing timely updates of when they will receive the check and then when it will be distributed to all their consultants?  If the answer is no and all you receive are the proverbial ‘crickets’ or ‘ghosting’ or no response at all, make a note to find new clients.  A lack of response, particularly any response, is a response with a powerful message. There is a lack of professional respect and none of us deserve that type of treatment.  

Moving past the non-responders is a big forward step for you and your firm.  Try not to take the lack of response personally, although we know firsthand that can be challenging.  Use it as a learning tool and mark the people or companies not responding as those you should not feel business, help, or advice from in the future.  

A dog driven to bark out squirrels or chipmunks in a tree will keep moving on until he or she reaches the tree that holds the focus of its hunt.  They seek responses to take their cues from, we can learn much from this approach. There are many trees in the forest, move on until you find one that holds what you seek. 

Be well.