Follow Up and Close the Sale

The author, Jeff Shore, was at a networking event when a ghostwriter pitched an amazing business deal he’d never considered before. She wanted him to hire her company to write his next book.

From a sales perspective, she did everything right. She helped her customer identify a problem – that he’s always short on time. Then she gave him a solution, her company’s services, to get some time back.

With visions of more time in his future, Shore was intrigued! He’d never thought to hire out his writing, but the prospect of more time made him a prime candidate to close the deal – which didn’t happen. The ghostwriter took three long weeks to follow up, and by then, he’d moved on.

Winning a sale is a lot of work, but losing one is all too easy.

The key message here is: A buyer’s emotional journey is short, so don’t wait too long before following up. 

By reminding Shore of the value of his time, the ghostwriter raised his dissatisfaction levels with his current situation. He hadn’t thought about it before, but afterward, he couldn’t stop thinking about how much he’d love some time back. On top of that, the ghostwriter gave him a strong sense of future promise; he could buy himself time by using her services. That sounded great! The ghostwriter succeeded in raising Shore’s emotional altitude. She left him feeling bad about his current situation, but jubilant about how it could change for the better. This heightened mix of emotions began to outweigh his fears and doubts about the cost, or other downsides, of buying her services.

So far, so good. All the ghostwriter had to do was pick up the phone the next day and capitalize on the author’s emotional altitude. But when she didn’t, something else happened instead.

Shore climbed down from his emotional peak. During the next three weeks, his busy life swept him away from their discussion. He completely forgot how the ghostwriter had made him feel. He no longer felt dissatisfaction with his current situation and lost excitement for her time-saving solution. So, when the ghostwriter eventually followed up, his doubts and fears outweighed all the feelings she’d managed to generate in him. In those three precious weeks, she’d allowed his emotional altitude to fizzle, missing her chance to make an easy sale.