One ring-dingy...two ringy dingy...three ringy dingy...four ringy dingy...

I used to give them 3 calls and on the third one leave them a message that says I won't be calling again but if they need something please feel free to call.

Wanda,

I call until they buy or die!

Like you, I have to hear 'no' from the person I'm trying to reach.

Good post!

Thanks.

Kevin

Aftter reading the title, I had this visual of Lilly Tomlin as the telephone operator. She used to say those same words and end it with a snort. This is something I need to improve upon. Although, I've had a good number of people call me lately.

It depends on what I'm calling for, but I will use phone call, email, text to try to get an answer or response if it's important.  I don't think I have a limit though; I'm still trying to reach leads I received a year ago.  :-)

Wanda, I call until i get someone but only leave one message.

Excellent topic, Wanda.  I think another thing to factor in is the newer generations not using the phone to actually speak on.  A lot of them see a phone call as a simple nuisance.

It really depends on the person.Did I have a working relationship for a while before they disappeared? 

If I felt the person was a tire kicker from the 1st phone call, I may not call again.  It is instinct.  Also, how busy am I.

Wanda, this is a really good question, and have a client (?) right now I have shown homes, THOUGHT they knew they wanted to write, but now won't get back to me.  Have left two messages.

Wanda, in terms of follow up I would totally agree with you. I have found that finding a way to follow up and leave it open for the person to contact me makes it easier for them to do so. I have had people respond much later and say they appreciated the follow up just to keep them updated until they were ready.

Wanda, your efforts are sure persistent-- good for you! Your practice makes sense... until you speak with someone how will you know their answer?

Well this depends the context. If it's to set up an appointment and meet w/ them, it's relatively low - we have many leads and I'd rather work with the people that really want to work with us.

If it's someone I met with and invested time in them (went to their house, gave an estimate), I follow up more, but this depends on how interested and nice the customer seemed and size of job.

I acutally can sense where it may or may not be going...I act accordingly...

Wanda,

Before ending the initial phone conversation, we clearly state, "if we have not heard from you by (name the time and date) we will contact you. Please provide me with a number and a convenient time when you can be reached". The client/customer is now put on notice that you will call if they have not made contact by the specified time and date. After calling the number at the time they provided and there is no answer, if possible, leave a message. Many people have a short attention span, what was important yesterday or the day before, has become old news. If their interest has not diminished, in most cases, they will ultimately return your call (it maybe several days later). If they don't return your call..... they weren't really serious to begin with. I was taught it is not how hard you work but how smart you work that counts in the long run. After calling numerous people six times, how many of them actually yield some type of return on your investment of time and effort? As Ben Franklin once stated "Time Is Money".

This is a great subject! I did not do farming calls so this one doesn't really apply. I would definitely say that you should leave a message so that the receiver knows the subject of a call for an unrecognized number.

You are right that it takes persistance.  You have to stick with it and it takes many phone calls not just one.  

After several unanswered calls and many unanswered emails, this 'person' who asked for help finally answered. Turns out he had an agent already. My question. Why solicit another agent?

It's true the "experts" say you need to make at least 5 calls but I have found if you call 3 times and leave 3 messages with no call backs, they are not interested. If I continue to call until I reach someone, they usually, in an extremly annoyed voice tell me to stop calling them. So why waste your time calling people who are not interested. I have more productive things to do.

Ernestine!   Thanks for the reminder about Laugh-In, LOL.

   Depending upon what it is that I want, I'm giving up after 3 or 4 tries.