Finding new business means finding the ability to persevere against being told no

http://www.petevanbaalen.com/single-post/2017/08/07/Finding-new-business-means-finding-the-ability-to-persevere-against-being-told-no

In my office at home is a picture of Abraham Lincoln and a motivational quote. The quote details how big a failure Abe was, especially early in life. Any historian can tell you about the failures Lincoln suffered in business, in politics, with his love life and his marriage.

And yet he remained persistent in the face of those failures. The rest, as they say is history.

The ability to be persistent in the face of failure is what separates the great from the average (or worse) in business. If you took an honest, hard look in the mirror or your own sales organization you might find some opportunities for improvement.

For the longest, media sales reps relied on relationships to manage their territories. This style, still in use and still success to a point, required very little actually selling. As the media landscape has changed, the need to be an aggressive selling sales department has grown. Media companies, especially newspapers have struggled with this change.

Prospecting for new business and having to resell existing business requires a different skill set than someone relying on existing relationships to maintain business. Selling more means being told no more often, and thus the need for our sales team to be more persistent.

I saw a post on LinkedIN recently with some not so recent stats on sales. From the National Sales Executive Association, the following sales stats should remind us to be persistent in our quest to find new business:

·         48% of sales people never follow up with a prospect

·         25% of sales people make a second contact and stop

·         12% of sales people only make three contacts and stop

·         Only 10% of sales people make more than three contacts

·         2% of sales are made on the first contact

·         3% of sales are made on the second contact

·         5% of sales are made on the third contact

·         10% of sales are made on the fourth contact

·         80% of sales are made on the fifth to twelfth contact

While I don't think there is scientific data backing up those stats, I do think the lessons those numbers are trying to make are very much on point. Being persistent in the face of being told no time and time again is not easy. In a world of immediate gratification, having to wait until the fifth sales call or later to make the sale is not easy.

Your sales team needs to understand the importance of allotting time for prospecting each week. If you let a sales rep prospect only when they have time, chances are they will never have time. They will successfully fill their schedule with other things to avoid being told no countless times.

Consider doing a time study to see just how little time your sales team is spending looking for new business. There is a good chance you won't like the results. They are spending too much time doing servicing on existing accounts, selling existing accounts and doing drop ins instead of set appointments with accounts. Those are all comfortable things to do, and all of which we need to do. But the results are limited and usually will not help grow your business.

Develop your sales team to be hunters, spending a significant amount of time developing new business. Develop your sales team to have thick skin so they can be persistent in their pursuit despite being told no so often.

That motivational quote regarding Lincoln sums up the sales philosophy needed to find new business:  "The difference between history's boldest accomplishments and its most staggering failures is often, simply, the diligent will to persevere."