You know the order is out there. You know it’s somewhere in the process, but you don’t have a compelling reason to call and ask about it. I’m constantly teaching sales people to hold off on calling until they have a compelling reason. Calling to “check in” or do my “dog and pony” is just a waste of time for everyone. It’s not worth your time to check in with anyone. Always bring a compelling reason to talk or don’t call. However, I’m going to go against my advice in this case.
When you know there is an order is the queue and you’re in waiting mode, its ok to “check in”, but be bold and confident about it. Simply ask “when is the order going to be processed?” Don’t be one of those tentative sales people that makes it uncomfortable “Um, yeah, um, I was wondering if maybe you could give me a status on the possible order – if it’s still alive of course and its no bother.”
You’d be amazed how many purchase orders are sitting on a stack of paper just waiting to be processed. A nice but firm call from you could be the nudge your customer needs to pull it off the stack and process. If you don’t call, it will continue to sit there.
