I Miss You!

I Miss You!

Hello Yeah, it's been a while Not much, how about you I'm not sure why I called I guess I really just wanted to talk to you    And I was thinkin' maybe later on We could get together for a while It's been such a long time And I really do miss your smile The lines from a great song from the 70's from England Dan and John Ford Coley - the last of the baby boomers out there (and my sister Donna!) will remember - the Generation X and Y'ers...not so much.  The romantic sentiment notwithstanding, the lines above could reflect how many sales people feel after a long period of no contact with your clients.  An awkward exchange.  One that recognizes that the bonds created in the intimate sales process have been broken.  You told them they would hear from you periodically, if only to check in on them.  You told them you would make sure they are satisfied. Have you done it? As I mentioned yesterday, I recently spoke to an sales agent who had not reached out to their clients for 3 years. As I was humbled by my own recent exchange, I began to ask her some questions.    Are these people still active clients of the product you sold them? Yes.  I can still see them on my renewal commission list. Great.  How many people do you want to re-connect with? Over 125 people are still active with this product. Why haven't you contacted them in 3 years? I know I should have, but after I enrolled them, I got busy.  Then, I didnt want to call them because I thought they might overwhelm me with problems and service issues.  After the first year, and the renewals came, I just let it go.  After the second year, I was too ashamed to call them since it had been so long.  Now, the quilt of getting these renewals without even checking in is too much. So there is no motive for your call now?  There is no major change in the product and you are not trying to sell a new product? No.  in fact, the product has improved this upcoming season.  I can't talk about that until it is offically announced, but I don't want to wait until October to reach out.  Certainly, I dont have a right to ask them to buy another product, or even ask for referrals at this point.  I have not held up my end of the bargain and I am embarrassed.  I just want to re-connect.  What should I do?   She was really scared and embarrassed.  She understood that the lack of contact was ultimately an indictment of her as a professional.  It didn't truly represent her values as a person, but was the situation she found herself in. How would her clients react to her "coming back from the dead"? I know many sales people that are in the same position.  Time and competing priorities make the sale in front of us, more valuable than the ones behind us. We lose touch.    I told her to review the list of clients.  Who was the most memorable client she could remember? Without hesitation, she found a woman she remembered well.  She began to recollect the interaction with great detail.  The agent smiled thinking about how warm and receptive this woman had been. Call her tonight...just the one call. The next day, I called the agent to make sure she had followed through.  She told me that she and the woman talked for over an hour.   Only a few minutes about the product, but mostly about life. "I felt so relieved.  I know the rest of the calls may not go so well, but at least now I know some will allow me to re-connect and earn the right to be a trusted advisor. What struck me about the conversation were the first words she said after 'Hello'..."   I Miss You! Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!