A friend referred a client to you, you met the client. In fact the client had come to you and wanted to invest some money.

The immediate lump-sum was in 8 digits and the 3 SIPs were in late 5 digits, and the client sounded sincere and honest. He came with his wife, they liked you, they took the kyc forms, mutual fund forms, insurance form…whatever….etc. promising to call you back in 3 days time. However the call did not come. Now it is 6 days…12 days..and you are waiting.

Should you call, or should you wait?

You are wondering what went wrong? well many things could have gone wrong.

1. client changed his mind / he has still not made up his mind.

2. client’s RM did all the work for him, thank you Mr. IFA, it was a pleasure meeting you.

3. Client got so confused he put all the money in a SAFE and Risk free Lic endowment policy.

Well, nothing may have gone wrong. Look at it this way:

1. For YOU it is a top priority, for them it is just one of the things to do! their priorities may include a vacation, a kid’s visit, a relative’s wedding. So dropping a mail /sms/ or even calling is not a bad option.

2. Sound happy, and confident. Best is to keep a written script for the first few calls that you make. However lines like ‘I was anyway in your area…so I wanted to drop by’ or ‘Just called to ask how are you’ are too damn cliched and are rarely liked.

3. Make sure that the background noise does not include falling water, television, dogs barking, children yelling – does not sound professional at all, and the client could be put off.

4. Sit straight, in a proper office chair and smile while you talk to them.

5. If they say NO or indicate to you that they have made their choice elsewhere, sound polite. Thank them for their time – and if you are well composed bring out your competencies. If you are very calm ask them what swung against you. If he happens to be the brother in law of his boss, rest assured, you could have done NOTHING. Go and make your next call.