I finally remembered the vendor who taught me about follow-up calls

Back in 2017 I was at a trade show in Columbus and this older rep from a packaging supplier, name was Dave, spent ten minutes with me while other vendors ignored me. He said, 'Don't chase the contract, chase the conversation,' and then called me three weeks later just to ask how our line was running. That one call landed us a $14k yearly order, and I still catch myself picking up the phone before sending another email. Anyone else have a vendor who actually got that approach right?

1 comments

1 Comment

gracethomas2d ago

Don't chase the contract, chase the conversation" is one of those lines that sounds simple but actually flips everything. What nobody talks about is how rare it is for that to work when the follow-up isn't tied to some specific deadline or quota. Most reps treat calls like a checkbox, so when Dave called you three weeks later without any pushy angle, it probably stood out because it felt human. Maybe the real lesson is that a follow-up only lands if you actually remember what the person said back at the show. Otherwise it's just another scripted touchpoint, and everyone can smell that a mile away.