Episode 185 Stay With It!

Simplify Your Sales and Business meetings. Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach. She has over 36 years of marketing, sales, and leadership experience. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings."  Lisa coaches leaders on simplifying sales and business meetings with fun and interesting 3-word topics to create a conversation and inspire your sales team.

 

Episode 185 Stay With It!

This week's episode is about understanding that accomplishing a goal is a process. This week three words, Stay With It!

 

Have you ever had one of those days or weeks where things didn't go as planned? If I could see everyone, I think I would see you shaking your head yes or holding your hand up in the air saying oh yes.

 

We live in such an instant society that we expect things to happen instantly. When they don't happen as quickly, we get frustrated, impatient, and sometimes give up. 

 

It got me thinking about how many years it takes for the wine to age. The answer is about 2-3 years. The standard for the aging process of Bourbon is a minimum of two years. It's a process that takes time, and so do our sales efforts.

 

Well, it was one of those days for a co-worker whose job is to set a new meeting with potential clients so that we can help with their marketing. His sole role is to identify the companies that may need digital marketing support or recruitment needs.  

 

I stopped by to say hi and ask how his day was going. By his body language and reply, it seemed to be a bit of a rough day. He shared that he was frustrated with making calls all morning, and no one answered. He said this has never happened where he made calls, and no one answered. I thought to myself, I am surprised anyone answers a call to a number they don't recognize, but I kept listening.  

 

I shared that prospecting is hard, and most of us in sales that have to do this to find new customers hate it. It takes an average of 8 cold call attempts to reach a prospect. But if you give up after too few tries, you pass up a potential opportunity.

 

I asked him to share his process in connecting with the list of potential clients. Had he created an 8-step process to connect with these prospects? Or was he giving up after a few attempts, assuming we weren't a good fit ?(insta-society). I noticed that we tend to pile on in those moments. Let me explain what I mean. When you face a setback or frustration, you are in a different state of mind, and everything seems to go wrong. You had a day of making calls, and no one responded. I am tired, frustrated, and piling on more negative experiences.  

 

I shared that he has a challenging job calling people, not expecting his call, and convincing them to meet with him. But if he could shift his thinking a bit and realize that when he called, they were busy. ( Again, they weren't expecting your call) That you have to stay with it! You must find a way to earn a conversation if you believe you can help this company solve a challenge. You can't give up after a few attempts when we know it could take 8 or more. You have to have discipline and patience. 

 

Let me ask you a question. 

Is there something you are facing that is frustrating you because it's not happening quickly enough? 

What process or system have you created to help you achieve your desired outcome?

Is there a different approach that you could be using?

 

My advice if facing a setback is first, don't take it personally; stay positive. So much of staying positive comes down to perspective and mindset. It's all about the lens through which you see your job, day-to-day tasks, and career. The way you look at things and the things you look at change. 

 

Approach each situation as a way to help vs. sell. Not everyone your calling will be a good fit for your products and services. And a good sales professional realizes that. We are not calling to sell; we're calling to help. Because we never know where someone might be in the buying cycle or what challenges they face, we should never assume we can't help. We are looking for an opportunity to have a conversation to see if we can help or if our company is a good fit.

 

Stay Persistent! In the advertising world, effective frequency is the number of times a person must hear your advertising message before responding. The same applies when making calls to new clients.

 

We know our frequency of connecting is, on average, eight times. We never know exactly where each prospect is in their buying journey. Stay with it and realize that they may not be ignoring your messages, we may not be a top priority that day, or they would have called us. Stay with it until you get a no or a not yet.

 

Your persistence, attitude, attempts and adjustments will be the difference in realizing your goals. 

 

Stay With It and See it Through!

 

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Learn more about Simplifying Your sales meetings using 3-word topics at http://www.threewordmeetings.com.