The Art of the Follow Up

Posted by KC Morgan Mar 15, 2007

All self employed professionals have experienced it. It’s painful, it hurts, it’s confusing. It’s dropped communication, and it happens completely out of the blue. Sometimes, you will respond to and communicate with someone who is looking for a work from home professional like you. You may even complete work for this person, exchange information, sign contracts. And then one day, all of a sudden, they stop talking to you. Payments don’t arrive, assignments don’t come, e-mails go unanswered.

Is there any way to avoid this humiliation and rejection? Learn the art of the follow up letter, and avoid getting swept under a rug of dropped communication. Maintaining a cool, polite, and professional tone often goes a long way toward promoting a response from someone who has inexplicably stopped contacting you for work or payment. The follow up letter (or e-mail) that you send should contain only a few short, direct sentences that promote response.

When writing this letter, start out by re-introducing yourself and stating who you are (“My name is K. C. Morgan, and I am writing to you today to follow up on the project I completed 3-3-07, titled Work From Home.”) Include the date you completed the work and a description or title of the work itself. State that you are following up on this project. End by asking if there is anything else this person needs, or by asking them how they want you to proceed with this project. Often, this sort of simple follow up promotes a response.

Sometimes, it doesn’t. In this case, another follow up letter is definitely in order. Be sure to space your follow up letters and e-mails apart accordingly, waiting at least a few days before sending a second follow up request. Always maintain a cool, professional tone, and keep letters as simple as possible. Fifty percent of the time, the art of the follow up will save you from getting swept under a rug. It’s a good idea to complete regular follow ups with people who don’t respond, just to check in and remind them of who you are. Often, you aren’t being ignored on purpose, and it’s a good idea to put yourself in the forefront again with a follow up. Learn a few tips for writing good letters that will help promote a response.

There will be times when even this procedure does not work, however, and your letters will disappear into a void that never answers back. Even learning the art of the follow up letter doesn’t save you every time, but it can save a lot of projects that might otherwise have been lost.