The answer is simple and it’s called PERSISTENCE! If your potential customer doesn’t call you back, guess what? You keep calling them! If they haven’t returned your phone call after the second, third, or even fourth try, guess what? You keep calling them! According to the National Association of Sales Executives, 80% of sales occur between the fifth and twelfth contact and 20% of sales occur between the first and fourth contact. What do these statistics tell us?
These statistics reveal that the most successful sales reps are those who decide not to give up on their prospects! They understand that those prospects who respond with the “no interest objection” are actually requesting more information about products or services. They understand the importance of constantly monitoring your sales leads. They understand that your prospects will respect your lasting persistence. They understand that your “lasting persistence” can act as a catalyst in your prospects’ buying decisions. What exactly do I mean here?
These prospects (ie, C-level executives, senior-level executives, directors, and business owners) who are being contacted are successful for a reason, and that reason is due to their “long-term persistence.” Many times our purchasing decisions are based on more than just the price, features, and benefits of a product or service. Our purchasing decisions may also be based on the person from whom we are purchasing the product or service. In this case, a prospect who is dealing with a sales rep who has demonstrated “lasting persistence” can quickly identify with this winning personality trait. They will perceive that the sales rep has something in common with them, and as a result, they can take this information into account in their purchasing decisions.
Now that I’ve proven that being persistent helps bridge the gap between you and your sales prospect, now what? You need to constantly remind your prospect of your “lasting persistence” because doing so increases their awareness of you! This means that if you are leaving a message for them, you need to let them know that you are not giving up and that you are not leaving! Let your prospect know (either on a cold call or via voicemail) that you’ve been trying to reach him for six months, a year, or even something crazy like two years!
Below I have included some lines that you can incorporate into your cold calls and / or voicemail messages. These persistence examples include the following:
“(FIRST NAME ON PACKAGE LEAFLET), can you believe I’ve been trying to communicate with you for (FOR TIME) now? Let’s talk about persistence, right?” (pause)
“(PACKAGE NAME), I think I have left you at least ten messages, do you respect my persistence here?” (pause)
“(FIRST NAME OF THE PACKAGE LEAFLET), you have to respect my persistence here, I have called you so many times that I have no more space in my ACT database”. (laugh a little and then pause)
“(FIRST NAME ON PACKAGE LEAFLET), I hope you appreciate my persistence here, I’m not one to give up so easily.” (pause)
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