I'm a big fan of selling, and I truly enjoy speaking with sales people when they call me. The enjoyment isn't always long-lived, though. Perhaps because I study selling somewhat academically, I'm constantly disappointed with the lack of understanding from the sellers regarding how to connect with buyers on the phone.
One way sellers could make better connections with me is to have something worthwhile to tell me when they call. I got a call from a sales representative who I've been working with for quite some time. My company has a particular need and we might purchase something from this sales reps' company. We're just not sure when.
The call went something like this:
Sales rep: Hi Mike, it's John Smith calling from ABC Company.
Me: Hi John. How goes it?
Sales rep: Going pretty well. And you?
Me: Just ducky, thanks.
Sales rep: I'm just calling to follow up.
Me with my "silent" voice: Ugh. Can't you do any better than that?
Me with my "out loud" voice: Thanks for calling, John. We're still in the same place as before. I'll get back to you when we've gotten further down the path of making a decision.
Sales rep: Great. Looking forward to speaking with you then.
In her well written and practical book Selling to Big Companies (click on link to download free chapters), Jill Konrath says in Chapter 19 Keeping the Campaign Alive, "To avoid sounding pathetic on follow-up calls, don't ever say something lame like, "I'm just checking in." These calls are as important as your initial one and require just as much planning."
I couldn't agree more. If you're going to call someone to "just follow up"...don't. Call to offer some insight on new research you're company just completed. Call to offer a discussion with one of your clients who just succeed in conquering the issue that this prospect is facing. Call to see if you can take them out for coffee when you're in town next week. Call to see if the appointment of a new president at their company is going to affect what they need and offer to speak to them.
But don't call to "check in." As Jill says, it's lame.