No! No! No! We don't want any! Go away and leave us alone!
If you're a salesperson chances are you know what it feels like to have these words said to you. Or maybe you've used these words toward a salesperson.
When you hear these words what does it do to you? Does it inspire you? Does it challenge you? Does it make you want to run and hide?
I've been told “no” so many times, that I actually feel cheated if I don’t get a “no” first.
I can't say that I've always been the most determined & persevering of sales people. But something about one particular prospect had me so determined to get their business back that it became an obsession.
I was a woman in a man's world. In 2008 I sold masonry concrete block. The economy had just crashed. Construction, in Arizona was at an all time low. And it was my job to woo back lost clients.
We had lost clients during the boom of 2005 and 2006 due to cement shortage and our in ability to meet the demand. One particular masonry contractor came to us during this time, asking us it to provide them with a specialty block of which we were the only manufacturer in the valley. We had to turn them down, causing them to lose the job. They were “still” ticked at us 3 years later when I showed up in their office to try to get the account back. Imagine how I felt, this was to be my biggest challenge yet.
In fear and trepidation, I put on my most charming smile
and marched myself into their office. Only to come face to face with the fierce and powerful “gatekeeper”
receptionist, who gave me a smirk, as if to say "who are you and what do you want?"
When I told her what I wanted, she disappeared behind closed doors, came back a couple minutes later and said “We’re really not interested.”
I said “okay. May I speak with the manager or the estimator please?” She refused to let me, and told me that they were “too busy to be bothered”. So I told her to let them know Iwill be back next week.
I did come back the next week, and this time with a box of donuts. I thought a little sweetness might help unlock that gate. This brought a smile to the receptionist’s face. She was happy to take those donuts back to decision makers. But when she came back, she was alone, except for traces of powdered sugar splashed across her black top. She said “they are in a meeting they can't talk to you right now.”I said, okay, but let them know - I'll be back next week.”
This went on week after week. One week I would have donuts. The next cookies and next week chocolates from the fudge factory. I couldn't figure out what these people wanted. Were they looking for gold plated macaroons or something.
I did talk to an estimator at one time and he told me that I was wasting my time. He said. “We're really happy with the suppliers we have and we don't need another one.” I told him I was willing to be second choice or even third choice is long as I had the opportunity to bid a job from time to time. he said he would talk to the other estimators and would let me know. So I left. But first I said “I'll be back next week.”
This went on for several months and by now the receptionist and I were sharing cookie recipes. One day she went back to tell them I was there, and they sent out a guy that was at the bottom of the food chain.
I think he was the janitor or something. He said "you know, you're really a nice person and we appreciate all the goodies. But you are gonna be doing this from now until doomsday. You might as well just give up and go away, because they're NEVER going to give you a chance. I was deflated! I went out to may car and cried my eyes out, but not before telling him, with a smile on my face “I’ll be back next week”.
The next week when I got there, not the janitor, not an estimator, not a manager, but the Owner actually invited me into his office. He said, I tell you what, I've never known anyone as determined as you. He explained why they had decided not to do business with my company. He went into great detail about past "water under the bridge” He told me that it was not about me, but was because of bad blood between the owners of both companies. And after what seemed like an hour lecture, he finally said, "But, your persistence has paid off. We’re going to let you bid a job."
My company did end up getting the job, and I ended up forming great relationship with a lot of the estimators.
And using the acronym PERSIST, this is what I learned from my experience.
P: Press on through the urge to give up. Never quit.
E: Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.
R: Resistance will come.
S: Stand strong anyway.
I: Invent new ways of getting the attention you seek.
S: Smile and keep going.
T: Be Thankful for the experience, whether you win or not.
And though I sold “block” not brick. I think the following quote by Randy Pausch from his speech called “The Last Lecture” sums up the lessons that I learned in my sales experience.
“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Or in other words, “If at first you don’t succeed, you can always say…”I’ll be back Next Week!”
I said “okay. May I speak with the manager or the estimator please?” She refused to let me, and told me that they were “too busy to be bothered”. So I told her to let them know Iwill be back next week.
I did come back the next week, and this time with a box of donuts. I thought a little sweetness might help unlock that gate. This brought a smile to the receptionist’s face. She was happy to take those donuts back to decision makers. But when she came back, she was alone, except for traces of powdered sugar splashed across her black top. She said “they are in a meeting they can't talk to you right now.”I said, okay, but let them know - I'll be back next week.”
This went on week after week. One week I would have donuts. The next cookies and next week chocolates from the fudge factory. I couldn't figure out what these people wanted. Were they looking for gold plated macaroons or something.
I did talk to an estimator at one time and he told me that I was wasting my time. He said. “We're really happy with the suppliers we have and we don't need another one.” I told him I was willing to be second choice or even third choice is long as I had the opportunity to bid a job from time to time. he said he would talk to the other estimators and would let me know. So I left. But first I said “I'll be back next week.”
This went on for several months and by now the receptionist and I were sharing cookie recipes. One day she went back to tell them I was there, and they sent out a guy that was at the bottom of the food chain.
I think he was the janitor or something. He said "you know, you're really a nice person and we appreciate all the goodies. But you are gonna be doing this from now until doomsday. You might as well just give up and go away, because they're NEVER going to give you a chance. I was deflated! I went out to may car and cried my eyes out, but not before telling him, with a smile on my face “I’ll be back next week”.
The next week when I got there, not the janitor, not an estimator, not a manager, but the Owner actually invited me into his office. He said, I tell you what, I've never known anyone as determined as you. He explained why they had decided not to do business with my company. He went into great detail about past "water under the bridge” He told me that it was not about me, but was because of bad blood between the owners of both companies. And after what seemed like an hour lecture, he finally said, "But, your persistence has paid off. We’re going to let you bid a job."
My company did end up getting the job, and I ended up forming great relationship with a lot of the estimators.
And using the acronym PERSIST, this is what I learned from my experience.
P: Press on through the urge to give up. Never quit.
E: Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.
R: Resistance will come.
S: Stand strong anyway.
I: Invent new ways of getting the attention you seek.
S: Smile and keep going.
T: Be Thankful for the experience, whether you win or not.
And though I sold “block” not brick. I think the following quote by Randy Pausch from his speech called “The Last Lecture” sums up the lessons that I learned in my sales experience.
“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Or in other words, “If at first you don’t succeed, you can always say…”I’ll be back Next Week!”
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