The Sherpa team loves hearing Creative Follow-Up stories, and one sent to us from the Royale Astoria in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, is no exception. From Retirement Counselor Adrienne Spear in an email entitled “The Squeakiest Wheel”:
I thought I would share a funny story that came about after our Huddle Call yesterday. Remember the prospect Herb [last name removed] that we chatted about who always said “the squeakiest wheel gets the grease” when we called him to touch base? We decided to surprise him at his home with a gift – WD40. Wrapped up with some other goodies, complete with his first moving box. I spent just over an hour at Herb’s home learning about his life and his plans… and he laughed out loud at the gift.
What a great way to appeal to a prospect’s sense of humor! When Creative Follow-Up plays up an inside joke between counselor and prospect, it can strengthen the bond between them. And what Herb does next shows that he is truly engaged in the follow-up process:
Today, Courtney and I picked up some cupcakes and went over to [The] Seniors Centre to deliver them to Herb’s Honeycomb group. They meet every Thursday at 1pm to rehearse their play and perform multiple times a year. Little did we know, while we were picking up cupcakes, Herb was dropping by the Astoria to give me a little gift! Herb used to work for Canada Packers, and one of the products he would sell is Squirrel Peanut Butter. I said we would have to agree to disagree about peanut butter brands, because it’s my favourite food and I ONLY eat Skippy.I think impressions were definitely made here – in more ways than one!
What Herb sent was a very successful Creative Follow-Up that went above the ordinary and showed that he was aware of what mattered to the recipient. What a guy! It’s interactions like these that elevate a professional transaction to a thoughtful, more human level. Thanks again to Astoria Retirement Communities, and for those of you out there who have stories like these, we’d love to hear them!
