I have a new prospect that contacted me from my web site. We had a terrific call in which the conversation flowed easily with lots of great questions and dialogue about their wants and needs and how I would propose to solve the problem. I followed up with a proposal and have allowed the appropriate number of days to elapse.

My follow-up strategy is simple. Develop some touch points that will add value and also demonstrate insight into their industry. It’ll take some time but it’s worth it because without this step I am pretty confident that they would default to a competitor that focuses exclusively on their industry. Of course I knew about the competition going in but it surely wasn’t going to put me off. I’m a competitive sort myself and live by the motto “you miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take” (thank you Wayne Gretzky).

I know that I am the underdog and might not win the project and that’s okay. Of course it would be infinitely better if I DID win the work but even still I feel good that I gave it my all.

I want the sale of course but as they say, you can’t always get what you want, and I am prepared to move on and continue to actively work the other leads in my sales funnel. I won’t really miss a beat because there are other prospects that are certain to be won.

What about you? Is your sales funnel adequately filled with enough prospects in all the different stages of being “worked” or are you counting on getting the one that you want? It’s a very risky position and one that can leave you hurting.