Persistence

By FH Cooper | Leave a Comment

You may wonder what this has to do with marketing and we will get to that.

But first, an often-used famous quote used by many companies (but I couldn’t find an attribution).

“Press On. Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence.

Talent will not: Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.

Genius will not: unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. 

Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts.

Persistence and Determination alone are omnipotent.”

 

In our pursuit of new business development, we were told many times, short of an outright no, call back in a few months or so. We set up a tickler file and kept in touch with prospects on a regular basis.

Suddenly the scenario changed, and a very positive voice would say, let’s meet or let’s talk. You know that something at their company changed. The people you were previously dealing with, left. Or the company was purchased and there was a change in many areas of management.

It is very hard to keep prospecting up in the face of your regular work, however, when your present projects are completed, you better have some project(s) to replace them. Prospecting is an integral part of your job description. While you are servicing present clients, you must continually search for new clients. How much time you allot to this is a function of your total work. However, we suggest that a percentage of your every day be devoted to this task.

Prospecting is not easy. There are prospects I have been in contact with for over a year, and others I had to quit because it was obvious nothing was going to change. Only you can decide these questions. In addition to prospecting internally by engaging your present client for possible referrals from within their company, also ask them about other external contacts that they know.

You must have tenacity not to get intimidated if a prospect puts you off. Merely ask if you can get back to them in a month or two. What would be convenient. You may be surprised to find that they are more hospitable than you expected but are frustrated by internal finances or policy. Sooner or later this often changes for the better. To ensure that they give you the first shot at a new project, you have to earn a place in their mind so they think of you first. Time to go prospecting!!