Finding the sleeping follow-ups

Before any method, one hour of inventory. It is often painful. That is a good sign: what you are about to find are sales that can still be recovered.

The three lists

Unanswered quotes. Pull every quote sent in the last sixty days. For each: was there any follow-up after sending? In most teams, more than half of quotes never got one. Not because anyone decided to let go, but because nobody owned the follow-up.

Overdue invoices. Every invoice past due. Sort them: under fifteen days, fifteen to forty-five, beyond. The first group settles with a message; the last with a call. None settles on its own.

Silent files. Clients or prospects with no exchange in ninety days. The easiest to ignore and the most profitable to wake up: the trust already exists.

What the inventory reveals

Just count: how many files, for what total amount. That number (often several months of revenue) is your reason to follow the next three lessons. And notice the pattern: these follow-ups did not go out because they depended on someone's memory. That is the real culprit, not a lack of will.

This week: pull the three lists and send the ten most obvious follow-ups, without waiting for lesson 2. An imperfect follow-up that goes out beats a perfect one that sleeps.