“Just Checking-in…”

Just heard a wonderful way to phrase a “just checking in…” email:

“Dear Customer,

I need to follow-up on our meeting [and demo] this week and ask if you could let me know:

- Are you comfortable to move forward?

- Have you decided to go another direction?

- Or are you still thinking…?

Please let me know…!”

Most of us hate to send (and receive) the classic “just checking-in with you…” emails.  They will often go unanswered, in many cases because your customer isn’t ready to say “yes” and/or may be uncomfortable to say “no”.  The addition of the “are you still thinking?” option gives the customer a way to respond without committing (which should tell us that there are still open, unaddressed technical, business, timing or competitive issues).  

And if they do respond, “still thinking…” you can use that to re-open the conversation (and uncover the open issues). 

[Note:  while this may be perceived as more of a sales issue, it still applies to completing the Technical Sale.]

Thoughts?