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Persistence Pays Off

Submitted by Mitch Seigel on Tue, 2/12/2013

Over the past six months alone, I have had five people tell me in a meeting that they were not trying to be rude in avoiding my phone calls and emails, just busy. They also said they appreciated my persistence.

Sometimes there can be a fine line between being persistent and being aggressive. It is up to you to try and understand each prospects personality style to determine just how far you can go. I good way to guide what you do to follow up is to get direction from the prospects themselves. If they say to call back in a month, call back in a month. If they don’t give you a time frame, suggest one. They will tell you what works for them.

What is amazing to me is that most salespeople do not get to the point of a meeting. They just give up. Go back to the first paragraph where I mention emails and phone calls. You have got to set up a pattern with each client; Contact every other day, every third day, etc. Sometimes it is making sure you try different times of the day; if you never reach the person in the morning, try in the afternoon. Sometimes it is going on off days in your schedule to find them working in their schedule.

Do not do this alone. Get help along the way. There is always someone who works with the prospect you are trying to reach who knows their schedule. They can alert you to when they will be in the office or business, or how to reach that person. Remember to thank that person for the help-especially when you are successful in reaching your prospect.

This type of follow up and persistence takes quite a bit of discipline. Calendars become your friend and help push you to follow up. At the end of the day, you must follow your passion and continue your pursuit of clients where you think the most ROI will acquired.

What are your challenges when it comes to follow up? I look forward to hearing your comments. Until next time…