Follow-Up, Follow-Up, Follow-Up

Follow-up is one of the most powerful skills in business, yet many people fail at this simple task. A person can argue their schedule is so busy that they don’t have time. This excuse does not warrant any merit. If you feel that your busy schedule is hindering your follow-ups, then you need serious evaluation of your organizational skills and time management abilities.

Never leave a communication channel open-ended. You must communicate to your contacts and prospects in timely fashion. Even a simple message acknowledging your status, but pending further decision is better than no message at all. Once you open the lines of communication, it is your responsibility to maintain a status update with other people. All communication requires closure at some point.

Imagine yourself on the opposite end of the communication spectrum. You have a great idea to share with a contact and draft a proposal. Now, you get in touch with the other person and discuss your proposition. The prospect needs some time to evaluate what you propose and promises to connect with you next week. A week goes by and there is no word from your contact. You leave a voice mail message and even sent an email reminder -- Still no response. Now what? Everything is in limbo. Feedback at this point is critical. There is no way of knowing that your contact has interest or alternate views to negotiate further.

Poor communication and lack of timely follow up gets in the way of progress. Even if the news is bad, communication to that fact is still required. Lack of follow up and poor communication skills are signs of disrespect and lack of consideration for everyone’s time -- It also demonstrates poor management skills.

Follow up does several things. Among them are: adds credibility, shows you are earnest and professional, helps other people make good decisions, shows you are proactive and decisive, validates your organizational ability, and demonstrates your capacity to get things done in timely a manner. There are more positive attributes than listed here, but you get the idea.

Never leave an issue open-ended. You will never progress unless you improve your follow-up ability.