‘Tis a lesson you should heed:
W.E. Hickons, Try and Try Again
Try, try, try again.
If at first, you don’t succeed,
Try, try, try again.
Most salespeople stay inactive due to wrong assumptions about the probability of success.
Based on proper investigation, if you figure a deal makes sense for the other party, don’t give up when sensing a lack of interest or political hurdles.
Sometimes you must lead your prospects to their luck. It doesn’t mean there won’t be a business just because somebody says “No.”.
It’s the one who perseveres and catches the fish.
Stay actively patient.
The Anecdote
In 1915, Polar explorer Ernest Shackleton and his crew were on a mission to cross Antarctica. They traveled south on their sailing vessel “Endurance.” They didn’t come far. After a few hundred miles, huge ice rocks locked the ship. And then it broke under immense pressure.
The sailors had to survive on the drift ice with a wracked ship for 14 months. Nobody could help them as there weren’t any people within a radius of 1000 miles. So they were alone with their destiny.
During those days, Shackleton had to choose between giving up their life or survival. He made his bet for the latter. However, survival would mean a strong belief and absolute conviction of their success. He could not show the slightest signal of doubt because he had to keep the spirit high. He had to keep away his crew’s anxiety, stress, and negative emotions. Panic or fatigue would’ve led to a disastrous outcome. So he kept them busy and ensured they maintained good physical and mental shape.
Shackleton told his men daily that he fully believed in rescue and did everything he could to save them. After more than a year on ice, they had the chance to reach open waters again. He then ordered them to escape on three rowing boats to Elephant Island, a small island nearby. From there, he started another hazardous trip to save his men. Accompanied by only a handful of sailors, he rowed to another isle, Southern Georgia. From there, he could finally organize help. They rescued all 27 sailors – 635 days after they started their original mission.
Shackleton and his men survived because they never gave up. Every day, the captain sold survival instead of despair. They prepared for the moment the ice set them free again. Then it was time to act with full force according to the prepared plan.
How to Practice
Relax and give up the idea of deal closure. You cannot influence the timeline. But you can control your daily activity. Be prepared once momentum comes in your favor:
- Do a regular (e.g., monthly) proper analysis of the prospective client’s business case. See where and how your product or service delivers value. Estimate the economic benefit of your product for the specific client in $$$ as best as possible.
- Continue stress-testing and updating your deal hypothesis by interviewing educated insiders. They might become new leads.
- Check your sales story outline monthly: Overall situation -> Big customer problem -> Implication for the business -> Need for solution -> Your solution.
- Sometimes, the change of a critical decision maker can turn the situation completely. Map all relevant contact persons that could influence the success of your deal. Update that map frequently.
Do this with your prospects; at some point, your target client’s spokesperson can’t afford to ignore you anymore. Be prepared for this moment. The door opens. The ice sets you free.