Daring to Break the Mold and Chase a Different Result
I was coaching a client recently and she described how she was chasing a buyer. So I asked her to tell me more about what was happening. Then the frustration and exasperation poured out. It turns out that she was chasing the buyer for a response on a pitch, and when she did manage to get hold of him, he said he’d call back. But he didn’t.
Interestingly, this is not an unfamiliar story to any of us and not one just about buyers. We’ve all been there – chasing, and we’re all guilty of not getting back to someone. Now the reason that this particular story struck a chord with me was that when I asked what she would do in his position, given that when you chase and he doesn’t answer, you call again. What would you do? She replied, ‘I’d wait for me to call again.’
The phrase, ‘Definition of madness – Doing the same and wanting a different result came to mind.’ Or Pavlov’s dog experiment (Well worth a Google).
Breaking the Chains of Madness
I asked what her alternatives were, and she said that she had chased him for 3 months and thought that her only next action was chasing harder. Eventually, after some other questions, she got it – ‘I need to change it up’. Again, we’ve all been there, in the trenches and doing the same thing hoping for a different result. I felt for her. So we then agreed on some do’s and don’ts of chasing:
Don’t of Chasing
- Use phrases like ‘Just making sure…’, or ‘I am just checking in’, or ‘Please would you mind if I…’ because they are too ‘wet’ as my Mum would say.
Do’s of Chasing
- Change up the chase with a different format, offer a piece of insight, compliment them, or send a short video of yourself.
- Offer the consequences – like, ’You’ll miss out on…’, or ‘I am worried about you’ – Be concerned.
- Be clear on what you want. Ask.
- And give them the out: ‘If this is no longer of interest, it’s ok, please tell me either way’.
Also
Remember that sometimes you need to stop. Think of two magnets. As one ‘chases’ the other it repels it.
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