Many sales people seem to feel a sense of pride about their persistence, whether their activity is proving to be effective or not – especially those that were trained before 2000. There is a sense of honor in getting your teeth kicked in, knowing that one day … one glorious day the prospect will open the door and the persistence will pay off. Does it? If you continue to simply bang on the door, does it eventually open?
We have so many methods of communicating today that you should be able to get an appointment with anybody – if you’re attempting to reach your prospects in multiple ways. For example, don’t just call them every week. Call early in the morning, email in the evening, stop by in the middle of the day, connect via LinkedIn or other avenue of social media, forward an article that would be valuable to them, etc. (For the record, I’m not suggesting your do all this in the same day!)
Every prospect has their own preference in communicating – be sure to utilize every avenue at your fingertips and you’ll reach them one way or another. Don’t continue beating your head against the wall and sacrificing yourself to cold calls – they’re just not that effective anymore. However, creative and professional calls are very effective.
