Persistent versus Pushy Selling

 
How to be persistent to get the sale versus being pushy

Every salesperson knows they have to be persistent to gain a customer, to get a prospect appointment, or to make a follow-up appointment again and again. 

However, not one single salesperson in the world wants to be known as pushy.  This is even more true in agribusiness.  It’s a small world, and your reputation as a salesperson will quickly spread.  That’s both good and bad.  Good because if you are good at what you do, word of mouth will be your best and cheapest source of marketing.  Bad, because obviously the reverse is true.  If you are pushy with customers/farmers/Ag buyers, that travels fast as well

The dilemma for any salesperson occurs when they know they need to follow up in order to be successful in sales.  Very few sales are made on the first call.  So, they want to follow up.  But when, how, and with what?  They struggle with how soon to call, text, or show up on the farm.  Too soon, and they come across as pushy.  Too late, and they risk losing the sale or appearing like they don’t want the customer’s business.  This dilemma goes back and forth in the minds of salespeople.

The struggle they have is not setting up the next steps at the previous sales call.  To help with this, I recommend the following thought process when approaching your sales call sequence:  “The purpose of your first phone call is to get the first appointment.  The purpose of your first appointment is to get the second appointment…and so on.” In other words, go into every sales call with the goal of getting back in front of this prospect or customer.  As you plan your first sales call, focus on what you will discuss in order to get the next appointment. 

If you do this, then there is an obvious reason and time frame to follow up.  On your first sales call, you agreed to bring back some analysis or information that is relevant to helping this prospect with your products/services.  This gives you an agreed upon purpose and the confidence to pick up the phone and schedule the next sales call.

This leads me to the next and more effective way to follow up.  Schedule the next sales call before you leave the call you are on.  Don’t leave the farm or the feed mill without asking for the best day to return for the next sales call.  Pull out your phone, open your calendar, and ask the prospect when the best time would be to return.  If they tell you to come back in a couple of weeks, then select a range of days and ask if Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday would work for them.  If you have a large geography and travel far to get there, then suggest a date based on when you will be in the area again.  If they tell you to come back after harvest or planting, then put a phone call reminder on your calendar.  This is a reminder to call this prospect back on a specific date to ask for a follow-up to this sales call.

Does this work every time?  Of course not.  However, I think someone who agrees to another meeting while you’re standing face-to-face is a little more committed to honoring that next sales call.  Yes, prospects will give you their phone number and then ghost you.  But those who do that will certainly have do so if you don’t make the follow-up.

That brings me to my last point.  Once you do talk or meet with a prospect, get their contact preferences.  Phone, text, email…..mornings, afternoons, evenings….and anyone else that needs to be in on the discussion.

Here are some thoughts on Persistent versus Pushy:

Pushy:  I want you to buy from me.
Persistent:  I want to be your preferred supplier and to earn your business.
 
Pushy: “We have great products, great service, and competitive prices.”
Persistent: “We work with producers like yourself to _______.  We’ve invested heavily in the local area to serve customers like you.  Someday, we should work together…. Or, Someday, it might work out for us to work with you…or, Someday, it would be great to work with you.”
 
Pushy:  The philosophy that – “I don’t take “No” for an answer.”
Persistent: Here’s the truth about that statement.  Yes, you do take “No” for an answer.  If not, you might get kicked off the farm for a long time.  There are numerous reasons for a no.  No, for now.  No, for that product.  No, I can’t make that decision.  No, I don’t have enough information to make that decision.  No, I don’t even understand what you are asking me to do.
 
 
Most salespeople I work with, or coach, tend to err on the side of being too soft on their follow-up skills.  They are too afraid of appearing pushy.  So, they leave their sales calls with either no follow-up plan or a vague idea of the next steps. 

Leaving a sales call with a weak follow-up plan actually makes the situation worse.  Pushy selling occurs when you follow up with nothing new for your customer.  You just repeat the same sales call before, or you “check in” to see if anything has changed. 

Shift the focus of your sales calls to getting the next sales call and see how it improves your follow-up success and your feeling of adding value to your customers/prospects.