Rick has a post about Low Hanging Fruit. A few months back he taught me a lesson that is now very obvious, but was quite an important lesson for me to learn. He told me that for every 10 calls I make, I'll find 1 person that doesn't want to do business with me, 8 that might do business with me and 1 that will. Previously, I'd spend a lot of time trying to convert the 8 maybes. However, Rick pointed out that it'd be easier for me to get another client by calling 10 more people as picking up the phone 10 more times was completely within my control. Duh!
Incidental afterthought plug....
Disclaimer: I benefit if you go to these. Not as much as you will, though.
Great point here, Pete. Thanks for that. You can spend lots of time trying to sell to the wrong people but that effort will not change them into the right people. If you have a reluctant lead, sometimes the best thing to do is to be friendly, end the call and send them some marketing materials to keep on file. Brochures or post cards are cheap; your time is not.
Something I have found in the past is that it is important to follow up even the less successful sales calls with a short note and something for them to keep on file or a business card magnet, which I have found will stay around longer than a traditional business card. You never know when someone's business needs will change and that person will need you in the future.
Posted by: Carl Weaver | June 05, 2006 at 09:33 AM