Thoughtful Thursdays – On sales persistence, twice again
The below thought was originally posted about four years ago and re-posted almost two years ago. I was reminded of the topic during a client meeting this week.
The subject is a common one with my clients and for that reason I decided to re-publish the post and add a few new thoughts on the subject.
“Be persistent” are words you commonly hear in sales training sessions. They are used often in association with: “don’t take it personally” and “no today does not mean no tomorrow”. These are good sales thoughts.
It is ironic that when you re-arrange the letters in the word persistent they also spell the two words “pester” and “isn’t”. Okay, I took the liberty to add the apostrophe. These two words describe what being persistent is not. I don’t know how many other words can define themselves so clearly.
There is a line, some may see it as fine, and when you cross it, you transform yourself from persistent to pest. I would think the first characteristic is more desirable.
When you put your mind to it is it quite easy to avoid becoming a pest. Here are a few tips:
- Another ‘P’ word, be patient.
- Never complete a communication without knowing when the next one is going to take place.
- Listen to your prospect and respect their time.
- If the next contact is agreed for two weeks later, call in two weeks – not earlier and not later.
- When re-establishing communications based on a prior understanding, and the prospect is not available, leave a message and let them know when you will call back. If you call first thing in the morning, a late afternoon follow up call is likely acceptable.
- Have enough people to follow up with so that one prospect does not become your raison d’être.
I have been characterized as persistent, and take it as a compliment. For me, persistence means not giving up or losing sight of the goals and objectives. It does not mean drive someone around the twist by calling several times a day. If I have the time to do that, I do not have enough prospects, and without enough prospects I will not achieve my objectives.
Further thoughts on the topic of persistence:
|
Pest Behaviour |
Persistent Behaviour |
| Repeats the same message over and over. | Finds relevant new subject matter for every communication. |
| Appears to have an aural impairment. Listens but does not seem to hear what is being said or perhaps more importantly, what is not said. | Converts information gathered into valuable insights that will help strengthen the relationship. |
| Self-centred, only interested in making a sale. | Cares about the customer’s customer and researches before each communication, becomes a consultant to the customer. |
People do not like pests and will buy from people they like. Get the hint?
Good selling,
Richard
Have a question about sales? Contact Sakanashi and Associates Inc. and I will respond.
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