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Sales Training; Lead Generation and Prospecting - The Persistent Way

Submitted by Mitch Seigel on Mon, 4/12/2011

"Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States

Over the years tools for prospecting for new business have come and gone. One thing that always remains as a constant is either the pro-activeness or lack of action taken in the sales process of the salesperson. There are no two ways about it, whether it’s picking up the phone or emailing a contact, persistence will always win in the end.

Now let me define persistence as it relates to sales. It means understanding the level of tolerance of your target market. And that may mean looking at one client at a time. If you know that you are targeting restaurants, as an example, don’t call them at 12 noon or 6pm, like you might other prospects that have down time during those periods. Now if it’s a stock broker you’re trying to reach, try before or after the market opens and closes. Between those times is when they are busy with their customers and don’t want to be bothered by you.

Persistence is something that can be taught and developed in time, if you are patient. What you don’t want to do is go over the line with accounts and come away as aggressive. Aggressiveness is not a skill you want to be known for in sales. If you are persistent, you will actually have businesses thanking you for staying in touch on a timely basis and being there when they need you.

A good way to know when to call someone back is to simply ask. ‘Would it be OK to call you once a week, once every two weeks,’ etc.? ‘Would you prefer that I call you, send a text or email?’ Once you have this information, put it into a data base with notes for each prospective piece of business. When you get back to them in the time frame they approved and using the device they approved, your engagement with clients will grow. Remember, stay on track with each client. The minute you let up, the persistent pattern goes away, and you almost need to start over.

What are your challenges when it comes to your company’s lead generation and prospecting lead generation and prospecting? I look forward to hearing your comments.

Until next time …