WHO'S GOT THE BALL?

A friend recently told me that he had met with someone who could be an excellent connection for his business.  The meeting, he said, was terrific.  But he didn’t sound as if terrific was the word he meant.

“What’s wrong then?” I asked.

He shrugged and then said, “Well, nothing has come of it.”

“OK,” I said.  “What was your follow up?”

He looked at me as if I had gone mad.  “Well, nothing.  I’m waiting for him to call.”

Wait all you want, I felt like saying, but let’s be honest here, Do you want something from him?  If yes, then guess what?  The ball is in your court, even if he said he’d get back to you with information, ideas, next steps.

In my business—in all my businesses over the years in fact—it was always very clear to me that I was always responsible for that next step.  As a consultant, I constantly—as those of you who have worked with me well know—follow up.  If I am waiting to find out if the organization does, indeed, want to move forward with my proposal, I will reach out and ask, “Is there something else you need from me?”  If it is an active client and we need to continue moving forward, I will ask “Where are you with X?” Or “It is important that we Y.”  Often times it is “Let me know what is holding you up?  I’ll be happy to help facilitate our next steps.’

Note, however, that I don’t offer to DO the next step—that’s not my consulting role.  Unless it is. But then I won’t have to ask them what is going on!

When I was a frontline fundraiser—or in commission sales—I knew that until the deal was done, I was always responsible for moving things along.  And once the sale or gift was made, it was my job to ensure that the proper stewardship steps—the thank yous, the check-ins, the ensuring that what the buyer/donor wanted was being met.

Understanding I am always responsible for the next step ensures that I own the project.  And if I own it, I want to make sure it is going well.  That doesn’t always mean I got the gift or sale or that today I get the job, but it always means that my client/prospect/donor understands that I will take care of things.  Generally, that bodes well, if not for this sale/gift then for the next one and the next one.  If they believe that I am taking care of business—if I am always keeping my eye on the ball—then I am most likely someone they want to do business with. And if they want to work with me, well then what I call “clients perhaps”  eventually turn out to be clients if not right now then sometime not too far into the future.