I have a confession. I have not been following up. On a scale of 1 to 10 – with 10 being the perfect practices, I am at about a 5 these past few months.
Follow-up is a noun. It’s a thing. It describes an action. And, usually, we can’t delegate our key projects to someone else. Oh sure, I can be hired to do your emails and I will get the needed response for you. But often that is a personal expression that “should” be from you. And it can take less than 30 minutes, so why pay me?
Someone can build your website for you, but you need to be ready to “fill-in-the-blanks” by supplying content related to your product or services so it can launch someday. (There are at least two reading this who need to send me their stuff! C’mon! We are so close to done!)
Follow-up is also a verb. And at that point, it loses the hyphen. We should all follow up on our prospects. We should follow up on our opportunities. We must follow up on our projects, marketing, advertising, and keep moving forward in our businesses.
Follow-up is a key to success.
I can make excuses. I would probably get a rating of 7 or 8 for my excuses, but that’s just another excuse. Having really compelling excuses is not enough. In the end, I needed to say “no” a few more times in the past 6 months. That is a failing for which I have no excuse.
So I am drawing a line in the sand. Starting with this blog post.
For the next several posting schedules, I will be keeping it pretty short. Like this one. I need to dig into my own marketing needs and cap off a few BIG projects that will lead to incomes that I know I deserve. (Sound familiar?)
I will resume a more normal posting schedule beginning in March. Until then, I will still post every other week. Stick around. Open my emails. Read my quick posts. And enjoy my new attitude.
And then follow up!
By that, I mean: If you see anything of value in my posts or other articles and resources, then you must follow up. Don’t just read this and say, “yes, following-up is important.” Go and follow up on something, someone, some situation that will bring you closer to your goals. Do this every day. Start every morning asking what is the most important action you can take right now to build on your success. What do you REALLY need to follow-up on today?
Feel free to comment below, I may or may not follow-up with replies. (Just kidding… I can’t keep myself from reading and replying to those brave souls who add comments.) What stops your progress?
Here’s one thing that stops mine:
Hey! Let’s Go!
Right now I am taking my dog for a walk.
He is always my daily “follow-up” and a good excuse to leave this screen, right?
Hau’oli Makahiki Hou! (Happy New Year in Hawaiian!)
Read and add your comments!