Posted by Tonia Ryan, Creator Of Inance Brands on 7/19/2017 to
I was inspired to write this article because of Facebook. I see so many of my friends and business friends get upset or ask why people they are not responding to them. I thought about it, and thought it was time to look deeper into this and the reasons why this happens.
Now, were not talking about simple spam emails or telemarking sales phone calls here. Im referring to networking contacts or when someone gives you the, "Call me next week" response. There are several reasons why people do not respond and unfortunately, it's a never ending battle. The key is to find out what type of person you are dealing with.
Unimportant - Yes, the truth hurts us all. Unfortunately, what you are contacting them about is not important enough for them to respond to you at that time. Im sure if you had floor seats to the NBA Finals, tickets to their favorite concert or a $10,000 shopping spree to you wanted to give them for free they would call you back in a hot second. If what you are contacting them about is of value to them, then they usually will call you back. If not, you will not even get a response from them. I have learned to live with this and "it is what it is".
Priorities - We are all so busy and there's never enough time in a day to answer everyone. If what you are contacting them about is not a at the top of their list they will not contact you back due to having other things to do that take precedent over to your email or phone call. In lamest terms, they are busy doing other things.
High Profile - Depending upon who you are trying to contact, CEO's of major corporations, celebrities or one of the Sharks from Shark Tank, do know that they are so busy and probably get thousands of emails per day. Your's email is just a needle in a haystack and they probably will never see it. It's best to try to contact their assistants directly first or even tweet them on social media. I have seen many people connect this way and it's sometimes works.
Travel - Sometimes people are traveling or on vacation and that can delay their response big time. Especially if it is the summer time and they have children out of school. Think about it. They could be in Orlando at Disney World with their 3 children for a week. Before you leave for vacation its hectic and you are busy packing up and can't wait to leave. Then your gone for a week. When you get back home to have to catch up on all you have missed and get back to work. From beginning to end, a simple family trip could delay you getting a response for up to 30 days.
Illness - If someone has the flu or has some sort of health issues, of course they will not be able to respond right away. Not everyone is like me, where no matter what I have my iphone glued to my side. Even if I have the flu, I text back, "Sorry, im sick. Will call later." But not everyone does that.
Narcissistic - Some people are just "Too into themselves." At one time, they told you to call them and when you do reach out to they look at the phone like, "OMG why is she calling me" and they don't answer the phone or they do answer and act like they forgot who you are and give you some sort of tone and say they are busy or "in a meeting."
Laziness - This is most peoples problem. They are lazy, content or cant wait to get to happy hour and they don't want to go the extra mile to achieve ultimate success. They are under achievers, I am the exact opposite. I am constantly working and brain storming trying to figure out ways to improve my business and make the shopping experience the best for my customers. But lots of other people are not. I have tried to contact businesses that are failing that desperately needed my help and they don't call me back. It's unbelievable to me! I have tried to contact other businesses and asked them if they would like to work with me on various projects, etc and they do not respond. I have even offered over 1 million in inventory to another online boutique to network together and they stopped responding. I wish someone would reach out to me like that. I would have a business meeting scheduled the next day!
The moral of the story here is try not to take it personally. I certainly don't when people do not respond. I am actually glad that they don't because then I get to find out what type of person they really are sooner then later.
The rule of thumb is, send a email or phone call. Wait about a week. If you get no response, try again. Wait about 10 more days and try again. If still not response, you can wait about 2 more weeks and try one more time. If nothing, move one to someone or something else. I personally am not the type to be chasing after anyone. I never give up, but I simply move on! NEXT!