Persistence

It was Calvin Coolidge who said persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan press on has solved and will always solve the problems of the human race. And that is so true in sales. Most of your prospective customers will not buy from you instantly. You cannot simply introduce someone to your product or service once and expect that they will go the rest of the way by themselves. Studies have shown that only about 2% of sales will close after the first meeting. What is required to successfully close the deal is persistence, a firm continuance in the course of action despite the difficulty, the opposition, the fatigue or the frustration. According to a study, 80% of sales require an average of five follow ups to close the deal. Just because you got a foot in the door doesn't mean you've closed the sale. Keep up your persistence and do everything you can to stay connected with the prospect. Post your initial meeting. However, 44% of sales reps follow up with the prospect only once before giving up. After four follow ups, 94% of salespeople have given up. At that point, the one call and the four follow ups are a total and complete waste. An excuse often used by salespeople is that they don't want to appear pushy or aggressive, be annoying or not taking a hint, so they simply stop following up. However, they the number one reason why a prospect won't get back is that they're busy. Decision makers have a lot of conflicting priorities to juggle and many different demands on their time. Professionals have on average over 200 emails in their inbox at any one time. In other words, they're probably not ignoring you because they don't want what you have to offer. You just need to be tenacious to get their attention because they have a lot going on. Here are a number of best practices to use in follow ups. Use a variety of methods. Establish the right cadence, provide value with each follow up. Always define the next step. Use language that is professional and to the point and in that regard, keep it brief. And finally, know when to stop. Being persistent shows the customer dedication and purpose on your part. I have found many times that customers do appreciate the extra effort. Many salespeople however, they are afraid of the follow up stage of the sales process. This is because they fear annoying the prospect, being seen as a spammer, or they are even afraid to hear a definite no. A clear no though is a gift. It means that you can stop wasting time and move on to someone who's interested in what you're offering. No's are built into the sales process the sooner you hear it, the sooner you can move on.