On Persistence

Many salespeople have an earned reputation of giving up too easily. This might occur during prospecting and then roll all the way through to the conclusion of the deal. I’ve been guilty of this as well.

However, I still remember one specific deal. It was only a few thousand dollars, a set of sign letters at a window blind shop, but for whatever reason I wanted that deal and, typically, I couldn’t care less about a project of this size.

I did get that sale. When I asked the customer why he chose me, he told me that “I was the only salesperson left”. Last man standing. That’s o.k.. I’ll take it. I also took a lesson from that experience. There was no reason that this would not hold true in $100,000 deals as well.

I know one salesperson and his key to success is that he will simply not go away until you tell him directly to do so. Another gentleman that I know is fond of saying “My second best answer is No”. Don’t leave me hanging.

Persistence is one of the key characteristics of successful salespeople and I can be obsessive about this and not just in sales. Right now I am dealing with a hissing issue in one of my guitar amps. I have thrown hundreds of dollars at this problem and dozens of hours.

While I have finally reached the point of achieving a workable solution, I did not find the root cause. There is still something not quite right and I will find it. It’s become personal. Update. I finally uncovered two issues and took care of them. The sweet taste of victory.

Why persistence pays …

You may be that last man, or woman, standing.
Your weaker, less persistent, competitors will often drop out.
You have invested the time to this point. You might as well stick around for the reward.
Your competitor’s accounts are on loan from you. You need to be correctly positioned to recover them when the opportunity presents itself.

Ultimately, persistence in sales may be tied directly to an extreme hate of losing. A long time ago, I made a deal with myself that I could tolerate losing only when one condition had been met. I had done everything that I possibly could do to secure that sale. Persistence is the necessary element in all of this.

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Craig M. Jamieson

Managing Member at Adaptive Business Services

Craig M. Jamieson is a lifelong B2B salesperson, manager, owner, and a networking enthusiast. Adaptive Business Services provides solutions related to the sales professional. We are a Nimble CRM Solution Partner. Craig also conducts training and workshops primarily in social selling and communication skills. Craig is also the author of "The Small Business' Guide to Social CRM", now available on Amazon!