In our line of work and probably also in many sales organizations, business usually goes to the person who is top of mind and doing the best job of staying in touch.
I have a close client (and friend) that recently hired someone else to market his hotels. While I could never get a good answer from him as to why, the impression I got was that he hired the broker because he felt they were more active than we were. I learned a big lesson that day about staying in touch. The client was getting called by this other hotel broker to discuss various deals and while I knew him well, I didn’t call him nearly as often as the other broker.
The lesson is that people like to be communicated with and usually give business to the person they have the most contact with. Not always, but many times that is the case. In this day of technology, is it easy to get lulled into thinking that because you sent an email, it is the same as a phone call. It’s not. I suppose the same would go for an employee/ employer relationship as well. As an employee, it is always good to speak to those in authority on a frequent basis to let them know your thinking about his/her business and trying to be as responsive to the customer as you can.
The lesson learned is, regardless of how well you know a client, it is always good to pick up the phone and check in with them. They appreciate that you were thinking of them and it also keeps you top in their mind when it’s time to hire someone. KT