Former Community – We Moved
🆕 Coached community here, for posts & feedback public community here.
High-power vs low-power in communication with potential client
Hello,
thank you for the superb data in the PU and this forum.
Few days I have tried to twist my mind arount concept but without clear vision, therefore Im trying to get help here.
Situation: Im web designer. Sometimes I have got lead, the stranger/person did call me or sent me an email. But later eventually our communication vanish as client person didnt get back to me or answer my last communication.
And I dont know how to follow up in the way to not look "needy or low-power"?
I know there are in majority cases the out-of-my control external reasons why our communication didnt proceed to close and cooperation, however I would like to be pro-active, just lacking technique and/or understanding of the low/high power concept in this social matter.
J.A.
In the book “ never split the difference” the author use this formula to get back at the client :
- Have you given up on the idea of moving further with the project?
Cheers joeiik.
just lacking technique and/or understanding of the low/high power concept in this social matter.
To sum things up, in this case the most powerful party is the one that needs the other one the least.
Hello J.A. (and welcome here!)
And for learning the general principle, I also believe that you learn the general rules best from the specific case studies (you can also check some of Bel's threads here where we had similar situaions).
Otherwise, at a general level, I agree with Power Duck:
You'll (almost) always be lower power when "poking" leads that ghosted.
BUT that's not the issue.
Power is not the ultimate goal but a mean to an end that serves to increase the odds.
Generally speaking, yes, higher power is more effective for more people in most situations, but not always (Chris Voss formula for example is too high power in my opinion and could rub some people the wrong way. I for one wouldn't proceed with him after that :) ).
That being said:
Quote from joeiik on October 11, 2023, 1:53 amI know there are in majority cases the out-of-my control external reasons why our communication didnt proceed to close and cooperation, however I would like to be pro-active, just lacking technique and/or understanding of the low/high power concept in this social matter.
It seems to me you already have the right mindset about this.
Many leads compared to actual customers is simply the nature of your business.
Getting good at it also means learning the cues of time wasters VS serious customers, and then eventually one day have a whole funnel system to make everything as smooth as possible.
As for "poking", the high-level format is:
- High power for you (ie.: protect your own power to avoid coming across as "chasing", "desperate", and "with no current customers")
- Respectful enough for the receiver (Chriss Voss' formulation for example isn't since it suggests that the receiver "gives up" on projects rather than, say, a more empowering "choose what to pursue and with whom")
- Persuasive
For concrete examples, concrete case studies are needed :)
Indeed I have had the same "issue" for as long as I practiced my profession.
My current standard stance is to not follow up whenever any actual or potential client goes silent. By avoiding any poke, it is possible that the client will reengage in weeks/months, or not.
But if one does poke, that alone - IMO - reduces the likelihood, because the client will get the impression that the external advisor has more "personal investment" in going forward than the client has in his own interests.
Possible in between:
- Never poke smaller fishes
- Never poke the "bad customers"
- Poke bigger projects
- Poke best projects you like
So you can even provide a reason for your message -ie.: you particularly like that project for X reason-.
That way, it sounds less like chasing after money/work, and more for personal interest.
Thank you for your valuable viewpoints.
Concrete case study looks like this:
- I got inbound lead from website contact form with few sentences, in 90% like this: "We need website for xyz, abc, what would be the price?" (just note, there is Pricing page with price packages and every visitor look for himself also there, per data from Analytics)
- as soon as possible I allways call back to mr. lead as there is never all information needed for estimate. Another reason for me calling to differentiate from others, also to create trust = to show other person there is professional atititude with interest and care and to show competence and good communication and active listening with propose to meet and talk. So the call happen, everything perfect, the lead allways happy he can tell about his business and needs and see somebody understand him.
- then i send him short email of summary of what we talked about and the info he asked for.
and then ghosting.
Im very good with people, either on phone or personally, doesnt matter if it is business or just casual talk. People were allways in great interest for me and everybody story is valuable for me. Therefore I assume its more outside of my control but I will not surrend without at least try to do as much as possible and battletest new "techniques" or approaches to this.
Thank you Lucio for your follow-up example how can I approach it:
...I particularly like this project for reason XYZ...
I just received a follow-up request by a client that had "disappeared" in July.
When the client disappeared I did not follow-up. Now, after months, the client asks me to proceed with the work and to set up a meeting.
I believe that, if I had in any way poked the client, I would have lowered his respect towards me and possibly even "lost him".
