Waiting For Godot
- August 8, 2011
- Posted by: Rochelle
- Category: Client Relationships
There’s waiting. And then there’s waiting for Godot.
Waiting—especially for those of us who thrive on action—is hard. Waiting for a client to OK a new project. For the check to arrive. For Congress to pass a debt-ceiling bill. You know that an answer—maybe not the one you want, but an answer nonetheless—will come. Eventually. And so, you wait.
And then there’s waiting for Godot. Plenty of time and energy is spent in the wait, yet he never does appear. Are you waiting for Godot?
Here are some telltale signs:
You meet with a prospective client (live or virtual). You drop him a thank-you note, stick his contact info in your database and promptly forget him. You wait for him to reach out to you.
You attend an event, meet a few interesting folks and swap cards. You get busy and don’t follow-up. A few weeks later, you don’t quite remember your conversations, are feeling a tad embarrassed about the delay and decide to just wait for them to contact you.
You tweet and Facebook and blog about all the cool stuff you’re doing. Your future clients will be drawn to this fascinating insight, right? Since they will seek you out, you wait…
No, hope is not a strategy. Don’t wait for Godot.
Still waiting for Guffman: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWcxJdk7iVw
Yes and there is no denying Eugene Levy’s singing talent 🙂
Follow up is always important. How and when varies.
Hi Corey–thanks for your thoughts!
One of the hardest lessons for me to learn … and I’m still learning it! You describe the dilemma well.
Thanks Brenda! Diligence is the key, but it can get challenging when balancing all this with billable work…
This is so insightful. Follow up has just been added to my action items!