Persistence vs. Knowing When to Stop
September 18, 2005 | By Jack Yoest
When does persistence begin to look like lunacy? Typical sales managers will typically berate their teams to never give up! to keep pounding the pavement! overcome that objection! flog that prospect!
I know. Your Humble Business Blogger used to do the berating.
I come to you from a recent encounter on the receiving end of being a sales prospect. And I love sales guys -- The easiest people to sell to are other biz dev cheerleaders like me. However...
Jeff Otis, VP from AngelVision telephoned me three times -- on his fourth attempt, I took the call. Readers will remember the 70 minute sales presentation I endured from this marketing outfit.
During Jeff's call I referred him to my post on their presentation and some observations/criticisms. (File under Prospect Alienation Program.) After the call I get a gracious email from Jeff wishing me success yady yady ya. He's a class act. But it ends there.
Six hours later I get another email from Mike Jingozian, at Angel Vision. The, "I'm from Harvard and very smart" CEO. It looked like a form letter or worst, much worse -- spam. He closes with:
AngelVision
Technologies
P.S. Just a reminder that it takes three months to produce an Impact Movie - so if you want this tool ready by next quarter, we need to start now.
Start Now. NOW NOW NOW
(A "PS" is very effective in persuasive writing: it might be the only thing the prospect reads.)
Anyway, my good friend Mike, from Harvard, also attached his client testimonials. He forgot that he sent me 11 gushing pages of hard copy, harvesting an entire California Redwood forest to put paper in mailboxes across the country.
Now if there is any one screw-up any company must avoid is having the company name, like, say 'AngelVision Technologies,' in the same sentence as 'spam.'
This firm does not know the difference between sales resistance, dealing with objections and smart selling and account management.
In upcoming posts, I'll review exactly how the seasoned sales professional knows when to stop, using a three word question.
Our [AV] Impact Movies avoid unnecessary paper waste, help preserve our valuable natural resources such as forests and oil, protect wildlife habitats, and do not contribute to landfills.
Thank you (foot)notes:
Outstanding selling wisdom at GrowABrain postings on Salesmanship.
