The Power of Follow Up
- The Power of Visualization
- The Power of Action
- The Power of Discipline
- The Power of Follow Up
- The Power of Self Mastery
- Power Series Summary – A Personal Story
- The Power of Persistence
- The Power of Gratitude
- The Power of Positive Thinking
- The Power of Hard Work
- The Power of Perspectives
- The Power of Commitment
Gain an edge in life by following up with people. Many people meet and promise “to keep in touch” but never really do. Many companies spend a fortune attracting new customers instead of following up with their current customers and leads. It is not enough to make contact with people or customers once and then forget. Following up opens up doors that would otherwise be closed. This is true in business, networking, relationships, health, finance and many areas of life. It is a powerful skill that you could add to your success arsenal.
People Forget
When people make initial contact, they may promise to keep in touch or have a follow up meeting to discuss things further. They really mean it at the time. This may be either in business or in social life. But then day to day issues, prior commitments and other new occurrences prevent them from following up. I dare say that many people forget to follow up because they do not think it is important.
Why People do not Follow Up
- People do not like to appear pushy, so when they meet someone, they refrain from calling them again.
- They do not think it is important. Most people do not realize the value of follow up and do not give it much weight in their decision making process.
- It is not easy. Following up calls for thinking about what you are going to say, setting up meetings, writing letters, calling up, setting appointments etc. Many people do not like to work hard; this is where you can differentiate yourself if you are willing to go an extra mile.
- Wrong assumptions; many people assume that just because they did a good job that the other person will remember. For example a migration agent may assume that since they helped someone in their migration process, that person will send them future leads.
Power of Compounding
Every time you follow up with someone, be they a date or a business associate, you build goodwill and familiarity. The world is a busy place and we are always getting interrupted. Getting a top of mind awareness or attention is not easy. Following up helps you gain top of mind awareness with people. The more you follow up and provide incremental value in your follow up, the more you will be in that person’s mind in the moments that matter.
Following up indicates thoughtfulness, commitment and politeness. It helps you build credibility and trust. Trust and credibility are perceptions that are built overtime and can determine how others relate with you and even affect your success.
Let us say you are a small business consultant and make initial contact with a prospective customer. That customer may also have made contact with others just like you. If you then write them a letter or email and thank them for the meeting and for their time, and send them some free tips for their business from time to time, you will establish yourself as a credible person and they maybe ready to do business with you. On the other hand, if you just forget them, then chances are that you will not maintain a top of mind awareness with that person and they may well take their business else where.
Pre-plan Follow Up
If you recognize follow up as important to your success, you should not just let it happen. You should plan exactly what your objectives of follow up are, and design a way of tracking if your objectives are being met. Let us say for example that you are a small business owner and you go for a seminar. You should pre-plan how you are going to follow up on the potential customers/associates that you may meet. You could perhaps send them a standard customized letter or an email or follow up with a phone call. If you are applying for jobs and send out applications, you should have a follow up strategy to enhance your chances of success.
Automate Your Follow Up
If you have ever been late in paying for a bill you will know that utility companies have a very well automated follow up system. They spend a fortune in building such systems because they know the system works. First they may send you a friendly reminder that your bill is now due. Depending on the company, they may send you another letter telling you that your bill is now overdue and the amount that needs to be paid. Then they will send you another letter/warning that you risk a disconnection.
Your follow up messages may not be as automated as your electricity bill or serve the same purpose. But you should create a system for following up. You could follow up on people via email or phone calls. Email marketing can be fully automated to send thank you letters to customers after purchase or reminders of due dates in the future. If you do not have the resources for computer automation of follow up, you can still follow up with people by using a calendar system or just raw notes to remind yourself to follow up with people.
The Value of Follow Up
A few years ago I used a travel agent to book for an overseas holiday. She offered me exceptional service but what really pleased me was a phone call one week after my return to Australia. She asked me how my holiday was and if I enjoyed the services of the hotels and airlines that she booked me in. It was an unexpected and pleasant follow up call and I made sure that every time I traveled, I used her services. I also recommended her travel agency to a few of my friends. A simple act of following up with me translated into future business opportunities for her.
It takes about 7 contacts for customers to trust a company and buy something. Many companies leave money on the table by spending a kings ransom generating business leads, but never follow up with them. Following up with business leads systematically could become the difference between success and failure for a small business.
Think of all the people who would have followed up with you but did not. It may have been your hairdresser or painter. You most likely took your business elsewhere. Follow up establishes a familiarity that proves very valuable.
Thank You Follow UP
Many people love hearing the magic words “thank you”. I had forgotten how powerful those words are until I launched this blog. Then people started posting thank you messages on the comments section, sent me thank you messages to my Facebook account, to my email and phone calls. It is like a drug. The more people say thank you the more I want to give. The more I want to write, the more I want to inspire you.
One of the best ways of making friends is to show genuine appreciation for them. If you find something good in someone, let them know. If you meet someone and they make you happy, give them a follow up call and say thank you. Those words will make them think good thoughts about you. Saying a genuine thank you is a wonderful way and reason for following up.
Summary
You can improve your relationships, be they in business or personal life by following up. Differentiate yourself from the majority of people who promise to keep in touch but never do. Build trust and credibility by staying in touch regularly with your contacts. At a minimum, follow up important meetings or acts of kindness by a simple thank you message.
Home Work
- Ask yourself if you have promised to keep in touch with someone in the last one month but ignored them. Pick up the phone or send them an email. Follow up on that commitment.
- Think of 5 ways you can apply the concept of follow up in your life, career or business.
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Thanks Man for the many very interesting articles…Was about to ignore them but Im happy I didnt pass you by.I like this one about following up and the Bill gates speech, excellento.
Ahsante Saana.
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Thank you Dan.
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Dan, u prompted me to look for people i had lost contact with who were my very good freinds but since i dint want to follow up i just let the communication lines die off…thank you for the wake up…alot of time my be invested doing something but it is all vain if one cannot follow it up…..Thanx Dan!
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Dan this is sending me into the path I thought was never there… I love the example that David gave up there. I have tried as much as I can to do this follow up and trust me when i say it is not easy.. Sometimes you don’t know where friends are, other times they tend to ignore you but all in all I will keep trying.. It has worked wonders where I have been successful and so I can not complain.
Loosing a friend because of simple mistakes like not following up is very painful. I have found myself waiting for some to follow up on me whereas they are in the process of waiting for me to call, write and all that.
I think pride is very bad … it comes before a fall…
Psalms 133:1. Behold how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
A Big Thank you Dan…
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Mmmmh follow up,very interesting.There is nothing more that upsets me than when I feel and I know I have missed an opportunity.
What limits me, is the lies I tell myself and the assumptions I have made about the situation.
Maybe I say “They may think, this or that” or “I do not want to look desparate” I believe it humane.
The question I think I need to answer to myself,is it worthy to close a door that you may never know where it may lead?
I guess not.
Thankyou for a beautiful blog.
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Yes, follow-up is important, and so is appreciation. They mean a lot to people. I read somewhere that feeling appreciated in the workplace is as (or more, I forget now) important than remuneration. I’ve also read that lack of appreciation in a marriage is a common reason it collapses. No one likes feeling like they are being taken for granted.
Thanks again, Daniel, for the inspiring blogs and for the support, time and help you’ve given me last year and this year, especially during some tough times. You’re a real friend.
Cheers,
Nyomi
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Aaah, the benefits of ‘following up’ on a previous contact! I can think of many, many instances where non-follow up has lost people business, friendship and support. I have a very wealthy friend who happens to love his cars and likes to change them regularly. Some years ago, he was ‘in the market’ to change his car and went to look at all the expensive makes. He had decided that he liked the big Lexus 400 sedan as he had test driven it, but had told the salesman that he also wanted to look at the Mercedes S class before finally making his mind up. He had a test drive of the Mercedes and was very impressed, but thought that the Lexus was actually even a bit smoother to drive than the Mercedes, but the Mercedes salesman was on the phone to him every day to arrange a further test drive or for him to keep the car for the weekend, anything to keep himself front and centre of my friend’s consciousness. He sent flowers and champagne to my friend’s wife and never let him forget about the Mercedes salesman! In the meantime, my friend never heard from the Lexus salesman at all, so, eventually, he made his mind up to buy the Mercedes because that person had gone to so much trouble and effort to keep in touch. So, not only did Lexus miss out on a valuable sale, but they lost a prospective customer, because my friend has since traded that Mercedes in for another, bigger model and he won’t ever go back to Lexus.
Personal follow-up, that is non-business orientated follow up, is also so important, because your aquaintances can become your friends and can support and advise you in life. They become part of your life’s fabric and contribute to your happiness and security. They can also help you in your business by introducing you to important contacts, a very effective way of ‘cutting through’ the normal processes required to get an interview with a decision maker. They can become your confidante and share your inner feelings and thoughts.
So dear reader, don’t forget to keep your networking going, because, you can nourish a friendship and who knows where that can lead???
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