{"id":1406,"date":"2015-03-28T12:30:18","date_gmt":"2015-03-28T17:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/?p=1406"},"modified":"2015-04-01T01:37:29","modified_gmt":"2015-04-01T06:37:29","slug":"persistence-or-annoyance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/persistence-or-annoyance\/","title":{"rendered":"Persistence or Annoyance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"angry-man-274175_640\"I was recently visiting an established client and saw the opportunity to \u201cdrop In\u201d on a potential client that I had been repeatedly trying to contact.<\/p>\n

Why wouldn\u2019t you, I hear you ask?<\/p>\n

I approached reception and introduced myself and asked to speak to the principal\u00a0of the college (let\u2019s call her Bernie for anonymity’s sake) and was told to wait in reception.\u00a0 After 2 minutes of waiting, out storms this petite lady with a decidedly angry expression and the first words out of her mouth were, \u201cI don\u2019t know you, I don\u2019t know your company, and I never asked to see you!\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, the consummate professional that I am, I didn\u2019t balk at this onslaught and asked her for 5 minutes of her time.\u00a0 It was wasted by the way, but I\u2019ll explain why.\u00a0 For those who study body language or NLP, I could instantly tell that \u201cBernie\u201d was not giving an inch, with her crossed arms and crossed legs, coupled with the etched scowl.\u00a0 It turns out that my calls to her office had been misrepresented and the message that she received had claimed that I knew \u201cBernie\u201d and that she was expecting my call!\u00a0 Now this is clearly not the case and never have I used duplicity to gain an audience with the MAN (Money Authority Need).<\/p>\n

According to \u201cBernie,\u201d she had been emailing various peers across the city asking about me and they too had received calls from me.\u00a0 Here ensued a quite malicious train of communication that has ensured that numerous potential clients are no longer an option!\u00a0 Quite an incestuous industry that I work in!<\/p>\n

My remit is to support schools and colleges with under-performance and \u201cchallenging\u201d students that disrupt their peer group and are on the brink of exclusion.\u00a0 Despite being endorsed by Local Government, the DfE, and numerous other schools and colleges as a cost effective early intervention, it is surprisingly difficult to obtain an audience with principals\u00a0and head teachers.\u00a0 It sometimes feels like they are either burying their heads in the sand or that they feel their existing provisions are sufficient, despite figures to the contrary.<\/p>\n

Now, I know this is not the case having spoken with and supported many schools and colleges, but they feel that anyone trying to gain an audience is automatically trying to sell them something.\u00a0 And I am no different, just for clarification!\u00a0 However, the way in which we approach our provision ensures that it falls within their existing budgets and when balanced against existing provisions, it is a more cost effective solution with outcomes that have a positive impact!<\/p>\n

One of the things head teachers and principals most frequently say to me when I’m working with them in their schools is, \u201cI don’t want to be annoyed by sales calls.<\/strong>\u201d Usually they say this at the thought of receiving a phone call from someone like me.<\/p>\n

When it comes to your marketing, there’s a big difference between persistence and annoyance\/pushiness.<\/p>\n

Or is there?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

One thing we know about this environment is that it’s taking more interaction with a prospect before they become a client. It doesn’t matter what type of service we’re talking about, people are taking a little longer and investigating more thoroughly before spending their money.<\/p>\n

We know the budgets are tight for these schools and colleges. And we know that the growing competition is making more noise. Plus, your prospects have built a deflector shield to ward off messages (usually in the form of some great gate-keeper receptionists and PA\u2019s).<\/p>\n

S,o let me sum this up\u2014your prospects are taking longer to decide, there’s less money, and tons more messages to \u201cbuy from me.\u201d And through that din, you’re satisfied that your prospect doesn’t want to work with you after you’ve emailed or called them once, maybe twice?<\/p>\n

I don’t think so<\/strong>!<\/em><\/p>\n

You aren’t being annoying. You’re providing valuable, decision-making information when you talk to your prospects.\u00a0 Marketing\u2026 and support\u2026 is about building relationships, not about being annoying. You must be prepared to \u201ctouch\u201d your prospect and do it again, and again.<\/p>\n

Here are some ways to make your contacts more productive for you and your prospect:<\/p>\n