A few things have happened in the last couple of weeks and I wanted to share these with you, because you may be in similar situations. I’ve got in contact with different people for running courses of different styles, photography and the mental health courses, and not everyone has got back to me straight away. Previously I’ve not always been so self-assured if people don’t respond immediately; I’ve always assumed it means a no or they aren’t interested.
Recently I was listening to a business coach who was teaching you how to create a sales pitch properly so that by the time you get to the end of it the people will want to buy whatever it is that you are selling, particularly if it’s on the phone. And, if at the end of the sale people said they need time to think it over, he was imploring us, not to be put off by that and to keep in contact with that person until you get a definite answer one way or the other.
It doesn’t matter how many phone messages you leave or emails you send, you keep following up until you get an answer.
And it is good advice; just because they haven’t got back to you doesn’t mean that they aren’t interested, they could have a mountain of things to do on their desk. I’m looking to run photography courses at a local hotel and just making the initial contact has been quite a long winded process. It took me ages to track down the person in the hotel that I needed to speak to; whenever I rang the receptionist would take my name and try and reach the woman and then come back and say we can’t find her.
Not for a moment did I let myself get paranoid that she might not want to speak to me, I continued making contact until eventually, I got an email address for her. She responded quickly and positively to the email forwarding it on to a different manager who would make the final decision.
You know how it is when you want to get on with something quickly, a job you did yesterday or two days ago can seem ages ago? And so it has been with the manager. I chased the initial forwarded email with an email of my own as it had been over a week and I hadn’t heard any news. And it still took a whole ten days before I got a reply.
I have to say I’d almost given it up; I was still going to do the follow up emails and try and search out her phone number to speak to her in person, when I received an email from her. The reply was apologetic for the late response saying she loved the idea let’s talk costs. And so now I’m waiting on a reply to another email!
So just be aware, that just because people don’t get back in touch with you straight away it’s no reflection on you. If they wanted to say no they would be probably let you know immediately that this wasn’t for them.
So do keep knocking, and following up, don’t let your confidence take a battering because you haven’t heard back. You don’t know what’s going on in that person’s working life, so keep on until you get that answer and you may be surprised, you may find that it is a yes!
*The Current Photographer website contains links to our affiliate partners. Purchasing products and services through these links helps support our efforts to bring you the quality information you love and there’s no additional cost to you.
Living in the beautiful rural county of Yorkshire it was perhaps natural for Ruth to have an affinity with the countryside and its wildlife. Creativity is Ruth’s driving force finding an outlet in television & radio she worked for many years as producer for BBC & ITV.
However a love of photography and for being surrounded by nature called her to go back to her photography training and bring pleasure and joy to people through her connection with our planet.
Staying in the moment when taking her images allows her to experience the natural magnificence unfolding before her eyes. It is this moment of mediation, of gratitude, that she evocatively conveys through her images.