Are you short sighted or do you have a long-term approach to growing your business? While your goals for this week and month are important to pursue it is also important to recognize that persevering today will pay off down the road. People will respond positively to your perseverance. It is a quality many people admire and for some it even builds trust and admiration.
Recently, I met with a new client who has been a long time prospect. She has said “no” to me three times for different business development programs I have contacted her about participating in. I ran into her recently at a social event, we had a nice visit. Following that she responded to a general email I sent out to my whole list and a subsequent phone call I made brought her on board— finally as a client.
I stayed in touch with her and kept asking her to become a client for three reasons: 1) I liked her, 2) She fit my preferred client profile – a woman who is self employed in a service business and 3) I know the service I provide will benefit her and her business.
If there are people you want as clients and they meet the above criteria then turn on your perseverance and watch them come around.
Perseverance is more than steady follow-up, it is also belief in yourself and the product or service you provide. Knowing that you and your work are valuable, and that those who do business with you are making the right choice and will be far better off for having made that choice. Perseverance is powerful.
Incorporate these ideas into your work life to find out just how powerful and profitable perseverance can be.
Project a Positive Outcome
So often we stop because we think our efforts will not matter. If success was easy to attain everyone would have it. Smart, talented, hard working people have given up too soon and embraced failure, while not-so-talented or hardworking people have become successful simply because they kept going. The difference between these two groups is that the first has no patience and little commitment while the second group believes in themselves and their goal. They know that if it did not happen today or tomorrow, they would eventually reach their goal if they kept working on it.
Ask, Then Ask Again
Sometimes, perseverance means doing what you need to do to get what you want even when other people are telling you that you cannot have it. Yesterday, I called my bank with a question. I did not like the answer I got, I called back five minutes later, talked to someone else, and got a different answer that I like better. This is also perseverance.
Follow-up on Time
People appreciate perseverance. It makes them feel important and it makes you appear on your toes, focused and clear about what you want. If you follow-up on the exact day you were asked to, if you send the information immediately as you said you would, and if you check back exactly when you said you would, you make an impression. The right impression pays off.
Make a Different Offer
If you are persevering and you feel that you are not making progress, consider another approach. For example, if you are trying to book an appointment with someone and they keep putting you off, try inviting them to a lecture you are delivering or to be your guest at a lecture you are attending.
Be Creative
When you want to get someone’s attention, think creatively. You have to show them that you want their business so much, you are willing to go the extra mile just to speak with them on the phone or get 5 minutes of their time. If they don’t have time to meet, send them an empty box lunch that says “you gotta eat” with a card saying you will bring the lunch if they will schedule a meeting. If someone is not returning your call, send them an email with a picture of you sitting by your phone with a note that says “I am anxiously awaiting your call.” People love a little extra attention, and they love free stuff.
Turn a Setback into an Advancement
When you have a disappointment, don’t sit around and mope. An object in motion stays in motion and an object at rest stays at rest. If you take time to rest and contemplate everything you could have done differently and think “poor me,” you will find it more difficult to get moving again.
Follow each disappointment with a “quick win.” If an important client calls and cancels a meeting to sign a contract, make calls until you book not one but two new appointments with potential clients.
Remember that our agenda is not everyone else’s priority. People do not always make decisions as fast as we would like or rush to return our phone calls. Other people are busy working on their agendas and priorities. If we are persistent we will get their attention, their respect and, eventually, their business. The power of perseverance will make you as successful as we want to be.