If a rep’s attempt to get a meeting with a prospect is a single quarterly call followed by her disappearing for 90 days, she is training that prospect that ignoring her causes her to go away for a long time, says sales coach Anthony Iannarino. Too many salespeople undervalue persistence.
“Effective prospecting is a campaign, not a single event. You have to be patient to get what you want, even though patient does not mean passive, reactive or waiting for gifts to fall from the heavens. Patient, professional persistence requires action. But not action that would make you a nuisance,” Iannarino says.
Professional persistence is built on the ideas that a rep wants to share with a prospect. It means having an idea how each prospect can get better results and how the rep can help them get there.
Disappearing for weeks or months after a single call signals a lack of real interest in connecting. “When you have big ideas and insights, you have something to say when you call your prospect, when you leave a voicemail, and when you follow it with an email. You can make every communication a deposit in your future relationship.”
Author
Get our newsletter and digital focus reports
Stay current on learning and development trends, best practices, research, new products and technologies, case studies and much more.
