Other ways to keep in touch

LinkedIn, email and the telephone will win you most of the work, and if you never do anything beyond those three you will still do perfectly well. This page is for when you want another way to stay in front of somebody who is interested but not quite ready.

A short session people can join

Some prospects will read everything you send, come back to your website twice, and still not want a call. They are interested. They just do not want to be sold to yet.

A short online session gives those people somewhere to go. Twenty minutes on a video call, once a month, on one practical subject from your trade, with a few minutes for questions at the end. No pitch.

It works because it asks far less of somebody than a meeting does. A seat at a talk is easy to accept, and once they have heard you talk sensibly about your subject for twenty minutes, the next conversation is a different one.

The invitation can be very short.

Subject: [topic], twenty minutes, [day]

Hi [first name],

We run a short session on [topic] on the [date] at [time]. Twenty minutes, a few practical things that tend to save people money, and questions at the end. No sales pitch.

You would be very welcome if it is useful. Here is the link if you would like to come along.

Send a reminder the day before and another an hour before, because that is the difference between people booking and people turning up.

One honest word about this. Only do it if talking about your subject for twenty minutes sounds enjoyable to you. If it sounds like a chore it will come across as one, and there are plenty of other ways to stay in touch.

WhatsApp, once you are invited

WhatsApp gets read more reliably than anything else, and that is exactly why turning up in it uninvited feels intrusive.

So the rule is simple. Never use it for a first approach. Ask for it on the telephone instead, and the easiest way is to offer something useful.

Shall I send the quote over on WhatsApp?

Almost everybody says yes, and from that moment you are messaging somebody who invited you.

After that, keep it short and practical. The quote, a photograph of the work, confirmation that you are coming on Thursday. Office hours only. No voice notes to somebody you have only just met, and nothing at nine in the evening. Used that way it becomes the easiest place to get the small things agreed that turn into work.

Something in the post

Almost nobody does this any more, which is precisely why it works.

For somebody worth real effort who has gone quiet, post three handwritten sentences and your number. Not a brochure and not a letter. A card that takes you two minutes and takes them ten seconds to read.

Dear [first name], we have not managed to catch each other, so I thought I would write instead. If [the thing you help with] is ever on your list, do give me a ring. Best wishes, [your name], [number].

The moment matters more than the medium. Something in the post lands well after a good conversation that then stalled, or when somebody has told you the timing is wrong.

Looking right when they check you

This one is not optional, because it happens whether you attend to it or not.

After a good call, people look you up the same day. They will search your company name, glance at your website, and look at your LinkedIn profile. What they find either confirms the impression you made or quietly undoes it.

So spend an evening on it once. Search for your own business the way a stranger would. Check that your website says plainly what you do, that your telephone number is easy to find, that your Google listing has your correct hours, and that your LinkedIn headline says something more useful than your job title.

For trades and local businesses, most enquiries now pass through Facebook or Google at some point, so it is worth making sure both look current. It is an hour of work that pays back on every call you make afterwards.