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Tales of Persistance
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This is a tale of persistence. A tale with a happy ending.
Boy, it used to be a lot easier. Some of you may know that I used to own a chain of retail wine stores in Chicago. You know, Chicago, previously the 2nd city, but now, apparently, the 4th city. That’s just a quick editorial on our failed Olympic bid. Don’t we have more important problems in our fair town?
Never mind! This is a story of persistence, and success, not failure. During my retail days, customers used to come to me – not the other way around and when I sold my business, I was in for a rude awakening.
Now I call people at companies and, oddly, they don’t always call me back. I know, what a shock!
(Please note – this is a story with a moral and a point, not a bad infomercial!) Keep reading.
We’ll call the distributor in this story XYZ Distributing. About 18 months ago I found myself in their market meeting with the distributor community. I emailed, they emailed back, but unfortunately they were not in the market for what I do.
On subsequent visits I asked again for a meeting. They were more polite than most, but they still weren’t in the market for my services.
Time passed, and more time passed leading up to this September.
I emailed one of the principals to see if he would be at the National Beer Wholesalers Show. He wasn’t going. End of story, for now, I thought to myself. I would try again at a later date.
The later date came sooner than I expected. To make a long story bearable, other members of this company were out in Vegas and we met for a while. They had a need for my specialized training.
Low and behold, I have a new client!
So, why do I share this with you? Good question!
I never give up and neither should you because you just never know. That’s my theory on sales. Too many salespeople, too many professionals give up too soon. My perception from years of watching people operate is that they throw in the towel too quickly.
I believe you just never know.
You just never know when you’ll be in the right place at the right time. You just never know when it’s your day. You just never know, as you enter your account, if needs that didn’t previously exist – now exist.
Because you just never know, you keep trying. You keep thinking of other ways to get your customers and prospects interested. You give space, but not too much. Always polite and never rude or pushy. Most importantly, always be boldly persistent.
Develop your plan for showing customers and prospects your value and on race day, when they finally choose to do business with you, have the dedication, desire, determination and discipline to show your customer that he or she has made the right decision.
You’ll be glad you did and so will your customer!
