Don't Be Annoying: Better Ways to Follow Up

Have you ever feel a bit mellow or sad because you spent your morning calling prospects/ potential customers and most of them didn't even pick up? If you called nine people today and only three answered, I want you to know that it is perfectly normal and not something to get depressed about. In our line of work, we "kill what we eat," so we answer every strange number, but for most people, an unscheduled call from a stranger is seen as an intrusion or even a security risk.The mistake most people make is to keep calling back until they become an "irritant." Instead, the best practice is to drop a message immediately—both an SMS and a WhatsApp message—to "warm up" the interaction and move yourself up in their priority list. You need to give them context so they know who is calling and why it’s worth their time.When you craft that message, use my five-step framework: "Greeting, Intention, Question, Proposal, and Close." For example, mention a specific pain point you can solve, like a recent news item about their company, to show you’ve done your homework.I also highly recommend Data Enrichment before you even dial. Use free tools like Truecaller, Google, and Gemini to find extra context about the person and their business priorities. This turns a cold, awkward call into a valuable conversation where you sound like an expert.Finally, don’t get stuck on one person or one channel; be "multimodal"  (using email, phone, and LinkedIn) and "multi-threaded"  by reaching out to multiple relevant people within the same organization. This increases the odds in your favor and ensures you don't come across with that desperate smell of a salesperson who only has one lead.If you're ready to stop guessing and start closing, let’s look at your internal frameworks and get those prospects answering.Let's connect!