“I can’t believe you called me back!”
I get this reply a LOT when I respond as I am lightening fast to reply. I am equally as fast with email. Even if I can’t answer right away (I might be in a meeting), I generally reply with a quick “I got it and will get back to you as soon as I can.” I send them something so they know I saw their message. Voice mails? As often as possible, I answer within one business day or sooner.
Why do I do this?
First, it’s good customer service. Plus, in today’s challenging world, people want to feel valued.
Second, it gets clients. I have gotten many clients because I respond so fast.
Unfortunately, I seem to be abnormal in today’s world as most people don’t practice this. I actually had someone tell me once that I shouldn’t answer people fast because they will think that I don’t have anything better to do.
REALLY? I strongly disagree! (And yes, they actually said that to me.)
Let me tell you a quick story. Several years ago, a client emailed me and asked if I could set up a telephone consultation with them. They went on and on about how urgent it was and how it couldn’t wait. Then when I replied back to them lightning fast guess what happened? They took 3 days to answer me back. By then they were so desperate they wanted to chat with me the following morning. So again, I replied fast, and even cleared a spot on my calendar for them. I didn’t hear from them for 2 days. We finally did connect, but the whole thing left a big impression on me, and it wasn’t a good one. Will I refer them out to people? No. If they treated me this way, how were they treating their clients? What sort of impression do you think they’re leaving?
See my point?
We’ll ignore the statistic from Lithium that states “78% of people who complain to a brand on Twitter expect a response within one hour.”
One hour!
So here is my message… please answer your emails and calls as fast as possible. DON’T IGNORE THEM! Answer everyone in a timely manner and I promise that not only will people notice, but you might even gain a few clients.
