Thoughtful Thursdays – Being persistent about persistence

It is time again to be persistent about persistence. My original post on the subject appeared about six years ago and is republished about every two years as a reminder of the value of persistence.

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. I have also come to realize that customers appreciate my persistence.

Further thoughts on the topic of persistence:

Pest Sales Behaviour	Persistent Sales 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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