I’ve written about this before, but apparently I have to keep repeating it. If you’ve got a “generic” email box (e.g., info@ or contactus@) or a generic voice mail box on your voice mail system, you need to check it EVERY DAY. And you need to RESPOND to inquiries.
The following just occurred: I contacted a technology company, via their info@ email address, explaining I have a client who wants to explore doing business with them (in other words, a SALES lead).
Having heard nothing from them 24 hours later, I called their main number and received, you guessed it, an automated attendant. There was no choice for sales, so I dutifully pressed “0” for the operator. And I got passed to…a voice mail box.
If you are in sales (and we are ALL in sales!) you have to make it incredibly EASY for your customers and potential customers to reach you. And you have to be responsive to them when they reach out.
None of this is rocket science. But I’m calling it wisdom, all the same.