Are you persistent in your efforts when selling? Or do you resist being persistent because of the bad impression you think you might make? Perhaps you believe that if your behavior is overly persistent, your prospect will think you are too "salesy" or even pushy.
So should you be persistent when selling? The answer is absolutely YES!
If you are going to be successful in selling, you must be persistent in the right way. Sales persistence is definitely a prerequisite for success, but if you are persistent for the wrong reasons, your behavior will cause you to lose sales fast.
Persistence is a double edge sword. Think about the following scenario. As often happens, your prospect cannot make a decision right now so you need to follow up with them. When you contact them again, they are still not ready, so you need to follow up with them again and again.
But after a few follow-ups, you are probably going to find that your relationship with the prospect is improving or deteriorating. You are going to find that your chance of making a sale - assuming there is one to be made - is either increasing or decreasing. Why is that?
It all comes back to their perception of your persistent behavior. It's as simple as that.
If someone keeps following up with you and you think the reason for their persistence is because they want to make a sale and get your money, how do you feel? Do you take their call and enjoy talking to them? Or when you see their number come up on caller ID, do you route their call to voicemail? Do you feel more inclined to do business with them each time they call? Does your relationship deteriorate each time they call?
In contrast, if someone keeps following up with you and you believe the reason for their persistence is that they are sincere about how their solution can help you and they are committed about getting you the results they know you can achieve, how do you feel? Do you take their call? Do you feel more inclined to do business with them each time they call? Does your relationship improve each time they call?
The major difference - and it is most important - is the intent behind the persistence.
If your intent when being persistent in selling is all about you - about making a sale - your persistent behavior will cause you to lose sales. Your prospects will avoid you. They will feel that you care about yourself and not them. They will also wonder about whether you'll care about them after the sale if you don't seem to care about them before the sale.
If you are openly passionate about helping them to be successful, your persistence will help you to make sales. Your prospects will be attracted to you and thank you for your efforts. They will view your persistent behavior as being of measurable value to them.
They will also think that if you are persistent in wanting to help them, then you will be similarly persistent and dedicated in making sure they get the end results they expect.
In summary, you must absolutely be persistent in your sales efforts. But make sure that your persistence speaks volumes to your prospects about how sincerely committed you are about in ensuring they will achieve their goals and get the results they want.
Tessa Stowe teaches small business owners and recovering salespeople simple steps to turn conversations into clients without being sales-y or pushy. Her FREE monthly Sales Conversation newsletter is full of tips on how to sell your services by just being yourself. Sign up now at www.salesconversation.com.
©Tessa Stowe, Sales Conversation, 2010
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