I know not every Roach Rants is an actual rant, but this one is! (Click here for my last real rant!) So how many times has this happened to you? You’re at a conference or in a meeting with your team, and you start brainstorming collaborations, new business strategies or partnerships. You have some great ideas, and you’re fired up to implement them. Then no one moves forward and nothing happens. Sounds familiar, right?
Why Follow Through?
Too often busy business owners let prospects pass them by, because they don’t have the aggressiveness or organization to follow through on promises. When that happens not only do you lose that potential project or partnership, but you also end up pissing peers and clients off and hurting your reputation.
One of the number one ways to ensure good relationships with your business partners or clients is to simply follow through—to do what you say you’re going to do. If you do just this one thing, you’ll stand out from the crowd who lets projects, leads and opportunity slip away.
No one likes to work with someone who regularly fails to follow up, but someone who always follows through? In the world we live in, they’re impressive, and they’re going to succeed.
Mistakes Happen. So Fix Them.
We’re all human and mistakes happen. That’s no big deal. But when you do make one, you need to actually take the necessary steps to fix the problem and then move forward productively.
Take this example: I walked into a business meeting with a prospective team to build out a new asset for me. But it turned out they had nothing. In fact, I was actually totally misled about what I was there for.
When I called them out, they did the right thing and apologized. We pivoted the meeting to the original agenda and started brainstorming. They course-corrected to turn their failure into a successful partnership.
And then guess what? I never heard from them again.
They didn’t give me what I expected when I showed up, but we moved forward so some good could come out of the meeting. I accepted that. But no follow through after promising to make things right? Now that’s just bad business.
If you want to be a productive member of a partnership, if you want your team to be successful, you simply must follow through.
The Job Isn’t Over Until It’s Over
You can’t just start with a client, say “good enough” and stop. You can’t give up because you hit a roadblock. And while you can delegate quite a bit, you can’t delegate everything. I had high expectations when I walked into that meeting. Your clients have those same high expectations. So avoid disappointment by under promising and over delivering. I know you’re familiar with the phrase, but are you really living it?
I have a little bit more to say on this topic, so keep an eye out for my next Roach Rants. In the meantime…
Get off your duff, and follow through!
Sean
image credit: Bigstock/Natee Meepian