This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
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How can you be persistent without being pushy? If you were trying to make a sale, close a deal, otherwise move things along in a conversation with a client or potential customer, how can you kind of get things done, create a sense of urgency perhaps, but not be annoying and pushy because nobody likes that. We don't want to live in a world with pushy salespeople, but you also want to get business stuff done, right? You also want to make progress in your side hustle. So let's talk about the balance here.
We've got a question from Emma. She's trying to find that balance in her sales efforts, wants to know how many times she should push for a sale before backing off. She likes the idea of aligned selling, which is basically where you believe in your product. You know you're offering something that's good and helpful and useful, but you also want to make sure it's right for the customer at this time. You don't want them to go away feeling bad about their purchase.
That's kind of a worst case scenario for everybody. So when do you stop pushing for sales? How many asks is too many? Let's talk about it in a quick action-packed episode. This is episode 3132 of Side Hustle School, detailed question and my answer coming right up.
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Hi, I'm calling from Seattle. My name is Emma. I'm trying to find the right balance in my sales efforts and I'm unsure about how many times I should push for a sale before backing off. Your books have been a great help in guiding me to think about more aligned selling, as in not pushing too much, but I don't want to give up too easily either. What are some guidelines for knowing when to stop asking for a sale?
In other words, how can I make sure I'm being persistent without being pushy? Thanks. - I agree, you should not push too much, but you also should not give up easily. Sometimes a well-placed follow-up can go a long way. People are distracted.
People have a lot of inbound communication. They've got a lot of things they're keeping up with or trying to, or maybe falling behind in. And so, as I said, the right follow-up can be helpful. The problem, of course, is when someone just keeps following up when it's pretty clear that the other party is not interested. So as a general rule, I think maybe two follow-ups, so three total contacts, is probably the most appropriate strategy, depends on the industry, of course, depends on the relationship, how well you know this person.
If you don't know them at all, then I don't think more than three is that helpful. There is this automated thing now that happens with email pitches. I get email pitches all the time, and I don't mind that generally, but I do mind the incessant follow-up. Now the automated thing is like, if you don't respond, then you get another one the next day, and then a couple days later, and then they just keep going on and on for sometimes six or seven messages, and I think that's really annoying and pushy. So I would not recommend that.
Much better to focus on providing value at every interaction. If you are following up, maybe there's something you can add in the follow-up that is a little bit helpful, that's not just like, hey, checking back, and then hey, checking back again, checking, checking, checking back, you know? And a good customer relationship management system, CRM system, can help you keep track of your interactions and follow-ups, so you don't overdo it, or, as Emma said, give up too easily. Nothing wrong with a little bit of follow-up. So focus on that.
Hopefully you're gonna find all the customers you need, the right customers, the ones that will be with you for a long time, that will be valuable to you, just as you are valuable to them. Listeners, let me know what you think. If you have a question, you know where to go, sidehustleschool.com. More than 3,100 episodes are in the archives, completely free, available for download on the site, and of course, a new episode drops every day, seven days a week, also free. I hope you'll subscribe or follow.
My name is Chris Guillebeau, this is Side Hustle School. [Music]
- From the Onward Project.
