The Filing Cabinet You Never Organized

You ever had mountains of papers sitting on some desk, some container, collecting dust, layinnn around?

You know the feeling.

Digging through boxes of old files. Bank statements. Tax docs (it’s tax season), receipts from 2019, printed PDF’s, ripped papers from notebooks.

All of it, there. Just there. No system. No order.

And you're thinking how many times did I waste 20 minutes frantically looking for something I knew I had but couldn't find?

That's exactly what's happening in your follow-ups.

You have the information BUT! And it’s a huge but…you can't find it when you need it.

Back to the newsletter…

Salespeople are smart, hardworking, and I for sure know they are not missing and kind of knowledge, it ALL over.

They've been trained. Read the books. Watched the videos (make sure you watch the podcast above) ;) ………they've sat through the role plays every morning during their huddles.

They know what good follow-up looks like.

So what gives?

A prospect goes silent, says "send me more info,” deal stalls at legal review?

They FREEZE!

Referencing what I said above, they know WHAT to do…

However, they’re not sure HOW to find what to do in the that very moment.

Everything they know is in a disorganized pile.

And under pressure? The panic pressing button activates and they default to the easiest thing they can grab.

"Just checking in" or some variation of that.

Here's the thorn in the side.

Could it be possible they’re trying to search a filing cabinet that was never organized in the first place?

Think about it like this here…

The Cabinet is the follow-up. The whole thing. That's your universe.

The Drawers are your categories. 10 of them. Timing and cadence. Stakeholder dynamics. Deal stages. Objections. Channels. Content and value. Psychology. Systems. Special situations. Advanced strategies.

Each drawer has a label. You don't open every drawer every time. You’ll stop and look at the situation first, THEN pull open the right one.

The Folders inside each drawer are your scenarios. Open the objections drawer and there are folders inside, budget objection, timing objection, "need to think about it," going with a competitor. Each folder is a specific version of that problem.

The Papers inside each folder are your branches. The exact language. Exact move. Tactical guidance for that precise situation. This is where the action lives. Everything before this was just navigation.

Let me show you what this looks like in real life.

You sent a proposal three weeks ago. They said they were interested. Then, crickets. Radio silence.

Most start sweatinn. They don't know what drawer to open. So they send that good ol conversation starter, "just checking in any thoughts?"

The default. There’s too much cognitive overload. As if everything else isn’t already demanding enough…

So, it’s best to get into what is organized follow-up, can look like this…

Step 1 - Ummmm which drawer do I go to? This is a stakeholder problem. They're not responding. Open the stakeholder dynamics drawer.

Step 2 - Hmmm which folder do I open? They're not saying no. They're not saying yes. They vanished. Pull the ghost folder.

Step 3 - Annnnnd which paper? You grab the branch that says, don't ask if they're still interested. Pattern interrupt instead. Make them clarify what happened.

An email option: "Hey FRANK Senses are telling me that youuuu went a different direction? Did I let you down, did you find something so good somewhere else you had to dump me and do with them? ;)”

That's it. That's an option for a branch.

And here's what happens when you send that, IT INCREASES THE LIKLIHOOD they tell you what is going on (which gives you a path forward), or they clarify they didn't dump you for someone or something else (which reopens the conversation).

Either way, you moved it forward. Because you knew which drawer to open.

Here's what makes this so powerful.

A filing cabinet only works if things are filed correctly.

If you shove everything in the wrong drawer, you can never find anything under pressure.

And that's what most reps are doing. They've learned all the right things but they're cramming it all into one drawer labeled "follow-up stuff."

So when the pressure's on and they need the right response right NOW?

They're frantically searching a disorganized mess instead of calmly opening the right drawer, pulling the right folder, and executing.

The framework is giving you some new information.

It's ALSO giving you a filing system for many of the items you already know.

And once your cabinet is organized? Everyyyything changes.

Prospect ghosts you? Open the stakeholder dynamics drawer. Pull the ghost folder. Execute the branch.

Deal stalls at procurement? Open the deal stages drawer. Pull the stuck in legal folder. Execute the branch.

Budget objection comes up? Open the objections drawer. Pull the budget folder. Execute the branch.

No panic OR freaking out. No more defaulting to weak follow-up because you can't think of anything better in the moment.

You know exactly where to look. You find it in seconds and execute with confidence.

So what can you do with this today?

You just saw how it works with the ghost scenario.

Now do it with one situation you're currently stuck on. Right now. Just one.

Work through it…

-Which drawer does this belong in? (Is this a timing issue? An objection? A stakeholder problem?)

-Which folder inside that drawer? (What's the specific scenario I'm dealing with?)

-What paper do I need? (What's the exact move for THIS situation?)

You don't need to organize the entire cabinet today. Just file one thing correctly.

Then execute it. Send the follow-up. Give it a shot!

When you do that enough times, your brain starts building the system automatically and the next time you hit that situation, you won't have to search. You'll know exactly where to go.

That's growth baby!

Not memorizing hundreds of branches. Knowing where to look when you need them.

The Model: "The Follow Up Filing Framework"

The Cabinet points to the follow-up. The whole universe.

The Drawers points to the categories. Ten major types of situations. Always start here.

The Folders points to the scenarios. Specific versions of each problem. Find the one that matches.

The Papers points to the branches. Exact moves, language, and tactics. Execute.

You’ve been having the information.

You just need to organize it so you can find it when it matters most.

Now you have that :)

See you next week, Follow Up Fam.

Manny "That Follow Up Guy" Vargas