When is enough, enough or said another way, when do I become a pain in the a–?
People ask me these questions all the time. OK, not all the time, but a lot.
When do I give up on a prospect?
When do I pull the plug on a client?
When do I change my marketing and / or content strategy?
I believe that there isn’t one right answer because it’s never black or white. Here’s what I do myself, and train others to do as well:
Prospecting
I’m very persistent, but not to the exclusion of reaching out to other prospects. I stay on the grid in “soft” ways adding value all the time (the 3 I’s – introductions, invitations, information, ya know). I won my biggest client ever after 36 touches over the course of 18 mos. Of course, I try to find an influencer or someone that can refer me to a decision-maker, but when that doesn’t work, I do my due diligence and make certain I’m focused on the correct person, industry, and company and if I see a super-duper revenue opportunity, I’ll keep it going.
Clients
I pull the plug on a client when they are dishonest, abusive, change the deliverables, refuse to pay (!), or want me to do something I don’t want to do. I provide them with “notice” and stay very PC through it all, but in my head I am screaming, “get me the heck out of here.” I also refer other resources, but not without giving a heads-up to the resources and alerting them to why I am resigning the business.
Marketing & Content
Assuming you’ve done your due diligence and have given your marketing endeavors enough time to demonstrate results but they haven’t, it is time to re-visit the work, determine what isn’t working and WHY, and revise what you are doing. It’s important to not “pull the plug” before allowing enough time to accurately assess what’s happening (or not happening!). It’s equally as important to not allow too much time to elapse, so that you find yourself behind the eight-ball in terms of marketing outreach and lead generation.
Sales and marketing can be a complex dance, comprised of many intricate steps, but when done correctly, your efforts should yield positive results.
Have questions? Connect with me at amiller@adrianmiller.com.