A little less than four weeks ago, something really strange happened to me. In two minutes, I doubled my family. Gianluca Ryan and Vincenzo Nicola were born on April 4th at 9:35 and 9:37 respectively. As I’m sure you can imagine, life has been a bit of a blur since then, but for some strange reason, all of you readers out there and my blog have never been far from my mind.
So here’s the deal. When I can, when I have the brainpower, and when the muse visits me, I will share with you my reflections on how parenting four kids under four including two newborns can possibly inform my sales career.
And today’s lesson...
PATIENCE
There is a misconception among some that sales is all about being aggressive and getting there first, being the loudest, and wanting it the most. While determination and persistence are absolutely critical to a salesperson’s success, sometimes the best thing you can do with a prospect, or even a customer, is to hang back. Timing can be crucial, and if you put on your aggressor hat with the wrong person, you could scare him or her away, many times for good.
Being a parent, especially to toddlers, requires Herculean patience, almost every hour if not every minute. It’s a great time to keep your eye on the big picture and know that, if you are clear about what you want your outcome to be (like landing a big LOYAL long term customer, or raising kids that are decent world citizens) you will have to have the patience of Job.
Finding the balance of pleasant persistence can be hard, but you’ll know it when you see it. Your prospects will not sound annoyed when they hear from you. Some crucial keys here are to be viewed as a content provider; someone who has her clients’ best interests in mind and is always keeping her ear to the ground to find ways to help THEM succeed.
So, from crazy-town-central, I bid you a fond farewell until I come up for air again, and remind you to keep your eye on the ball, know exactly what you want and how you’re going to get it, but know that great things are often worth the wait.
- Categories:
- Business Management - Marketing/Sales
- People:
- Kelly Mallozzi
Blogger, author, consultant, coach and all around evangelist for the graphic arts industry, Kelly sold digital printing for 15 years so she understands the challenges, frustrations and pitfalls of building a successful sales practice. Her mission is to help printers of all sizes sell more stuff. Kelly's areas of focus include sales and marketing coaching, enabling clients to find engagement strategies that work for them and mentoring the next generation of sales superstars.
Kelly graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Political Science and, among other notable accomplishments, co-founded the Windy City Rollers, a professional women's roller derby league. She is also the mother of two sets of twins under the age of ten, so she fears nothing.