A Call Back Can Mean Many Happy Returns

B y Anthony Johnson, "Maximum Effectiveness" During a lunch meeting a few months ago, I had the opportunity to ask a director of purchasing for a Fortune 500 company what qualities he likes best in the sales professionals he works with daily. Surprisingly, the number one quality that he mentioned was "a sales representative who will call me back."

This purchasing director was individually responsible for purchasing millions of dollars' worth of goods each year, and his main challenge with salespeople was getting them to call him back when he had a question. He even mentioned that one time he issued a "request for proposal," and he had to make "Are you interested in the business?" follow-up calls with a few people assigned to his account.

After hearing this story, I began to ask other people if they have experienced similar communication challenges, and the answer was a resounding "yes."

After I returned to the office from my lunch meeting, I sent the purchasing director an e-mail, thanking him for his time and ensuring him that he always would receive timely communication from me and my company.

Apparently, the secret is not out: The key to success in establishing great rapport and developing a healthy business relationship with customers is to simply call them back.

How fast do you respond to voicemails, e-mails and/or formal requests for business data? Would making a commitment to returning calls and e-mails in four hours or less separate you from the competition?

Keep in mind that sometimes just being really good at the common-sense stuff can be the biggest differentiation between you and your competition.

"Maximum Effectiveness: Your Guide to Maximum Success in Sales, Marketing, Management, Client Satisfaction, and Personal Achievement" has been newly released by Authors Choice Press. The book covers topics of improvement, such as how to develop skills that will increase your income and professional achievements, how to brand and position your company for maximum market growth, how to practice true client satisfaction that will separate you from your competition, and how to truly live and appreciate the great fortunes we have in our daily lives.

Anthony Johnson plans to donate 50 percent of profits generated from the book to companies involved in research to find a cure for cancer. "I lost my grandmother to cancer, and I want to use my book as a vehicle to help find a cure," Johnson said.

"Maximum Effectiveness" is available for purchase at B2Bmotivated.com, the official Maximum Effectiveness site, or at major book distribution sites, such as Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com and Borders.com.