Jobseeker, whose court is the ball in? YOURS!

Photo by evilerin

Frustrated when no one seems to be returning your calls or you are getting dead silence after an interview?

Michael Lunsford, a Twitter friend, sent me this idea and thought it might help some of you.

He said my tweet about an old sales technique I was suggesting for decision making reminded him to think of other sales strategies that might work in a job search.

The technique he remembered drew a parallel to a tennis game.

Never leave the ball in your prospect’s court.

I’m going to let my friend tell you the strategy:

Never tell a prospect “I look forward to hearing back from you,” which puts the ball in their court. They can (and frequently do) drop the ball, leaving you with nothing.

Instead, say “I’ll be in touch soon,” keeping the ball in your court. It’s beautiful. Your reason for calling could simply be because you said that you would (implying you’re as good as your word).

The “I’ll be in touch soon” closing can be tagged to the end of just about anything: phone calls, in person meetings, email, those hand written thank you notes, anything. So long as you keep the ball in your court, you set the expectation in your prospect that you will be back in touch.

Simple, huh? Going to try it? I’ll be in touch soon!