A few years ago, there was a very popular post on LinkedIn. The gist of it was that 80% of all sales were made on touches number 5-12, meaning that if you gave up on touch #4, your chances of actually selling something went way down. There was one problem with the document: it was attributed to the National Sales Executive Association, which actually doesn’t exist! (More on that is here.) The study it was referencing didn’t exist either, at least not that anyone can document. 

I came upon that stat because it was in a pretty useful sports psychology book, and I thought it would be an excellent blog post for our readers! Unfortunately, it was debunked, but anyone who has sold or played sports understands the value of persistence as well as the idea of the post. If you strike out with a client, you can’t sit around and mope; you have to persist and get after the next one. 

This next stat is real and comes from a sales consulting group. 48% of all qualified sales opportunities come on or after touch #4. This means that if you stop at touch #3, you’re cutting your chances of getting a qualified lead in half. If you are a salesperson, ultimately being persistent results in twice as many additional qualified sales opportunities for you and your team.

It is critical to consider the fine line between persistence and annoyance. 

Persistence is not just using the automated cadence you have set up, the one size fits all drop campaign that is identical for all of your prospects. (Speaking of these cadences, somehow many of them have found me lately… it seems like the cadences, when they do not receive a response, have turned indignant.) You can’t fake persistence, the same way that you can’t fake caring. I can’t tell you how many times being in the right place at the right time – a dogged sort of follow-up – resulted in a sale or a call back. 

Persistence is taking the time to actually listen to your prospect, understand their needs, and communicate how your product solves those needs. If you have the opportunity to converse with your prospect once, it is a matter of actively listening to them, taking notes, and then plotting out your follow-up.

This is where Maverick can help. You can take all of the information you know about your prospect’s unique situation and place it into an email cadence, even if you have not spoken to them. Once the prospect responds, you can take care of it from there. It is a foolproof way to get from first touch to qualification.

As for that annoyance piece, that’s a different challenge. If you are adding value to the prospect, you will always be of value to them as a resource, regardless of whether they are purchasing from you. And yes, you can add value to your prospects without speaking to them: sharing relevant whitepapers, motivational quotes, or doing your homework to imply how your product may be able to assist them. 

We have found that using Maverick, assembling a cadence that has value for your prospects, and then modifying the cadence based upon a prospect’s personal information is how our clients benefit. Modifying each cadence takes a little bit of time, but it is a valuable way to begin the follow-up process.

Want to learn more? Drop us a line and have us take you for your first flight. We’ll even get you set up with Maverick and ensure you’re ready for takeoff!