Unleash the Power of Common Courtesy in your Prospecting

In the never-ending task of lead-generation and prospecting, many sales people are forgetting an underused concept—common courtesy.

In a survey conducted by PCPL (Daytona, FL based market research company, only 50% of financial advisors had “any” form of sales lead and follow up program and only 1% are sending ANY form of communication to a lead past the initial request for information.

When you look from the client’s perspective, the evidence continues to mount – lack of respect and common courtesy is a serious problem.

This, along with other striking facts were uncovered in a survey, Aggravating Circumstances, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, Public Agenda takes a detailed look at what Americans are thinking about courtesy, manners, rudeness and respect.

According to the survey, not only do eight in 10 Americans in the study say a lack of respect and courtesy is a serious problem, but six in 10 say things have become worse in recent years.

With the buying public’s awareness and sensitivity about respect and common courtesy, today’s salespeople need to set themselves apart from that perception by moving away from high-pressure messages and towards simple courtesy-based message.

Just saying “thank you” or a quick note or post card to a prospect can be the difference between a dead lead and an appointment.

In fact, according to the Pew Survey, just under 50 percent of those responding said that people only say “Please and Thank you” some of the time!

What does this all boil down to? OPPORTUNITY.

It’s time to re-think the way you communicate with your prospects and clients. Yes, it’s business. Yes, it’s helping people make informed financial decisions, but clearly the buying public is telling us that common courtesy is lacking when it comes to how they are being talked to. This simple gesture can make a difference!