Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Pest? Or Persistent?

         

At least once a month I used to hear from Wally.  Sometimes it was a phone call.  Sometimes it was an email.  Sometimes it was a postcard.  But no matter what the means of communication, it was consistent, friendly, not pushy, and it had the potential to someday pay off – for both of us.

Wally was an advertising sales representative for a national magazine in which I had an article published.  Although at the time I was not ready to commit to advertising on that scale – or in that particular vehicle – I never told Wally it was over.  And, like any good sales representative, he continued to stay in touch until I did tell him to stop.

One of the biggest obstacles to effective sales is our fear that we will be perceived as a pest.  So, in order to avoid that appearance, we err the other way and fail to be persistent enough to close a prospective sale.  I think Wally was persistent, not pesky.  He effectively kept himself in my consciousness in a friendly way.  Yet I never feel bothered or pressured. 

Whether we are the official sales rep, or the business owner, we have an obligation to ourselves, and to the prospects we think will benefit from our product or services, to keep the conversation going until we are asked to stop.  As demonstrated by Wally, this can be done in a variety of easy ways that do not require excess expenditures of time on our part. 

So fire up that data base and make a list of those prospects with whom you have had conversations, but who are not yet ready to avail themselves of your services.  Make a few phone calls, leave a few voice mails, send a postcard or a reprint of an article of interest about your business, send an e-mail.  Keep the message friendly and remind them that you are still interested in helping them when they are ready.

Kathryn Lima, president of Sharon-based Faro Enterprises, is a marketing, public relations, and fund raising consultant.  Send your questions to klima@faroenterprises.com, or visit http://www.faroenterprises.com.


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