Many decades ago a fable was written about a race between a tortoise and hare. The hare quickly burned out while the tortoise maintained a slow steady pace and ended up winning the race.
Well, I don't buy that.
Slow and steady no longer wins the race, especially in sales.
Sure, this approach is okay if you are nurturing an opportunity wi th someone who isn't ready to move forward or who doesn't need your product, service or offering right now.
For example, a few days ago a friend of mine told me that he finally snagged a deal with a particular company after courting them for eight years.
However, situations like this are becoming more rare in today business world.
I read a recent tweet that stated that 78% of companies will do business with the first supplier that responds to an online request (contact form, email).
In today's highly competitive business world the people who respond fast and with the appropriate information will win more sales and earn more money than competitors who are slow to respond.
Times have changed and decision makers no longer have the patience to wait for sellers to get back to them. Decisions are made quickly and deals are offered to sellers who demonstrate the ability to react fast.
However, if you wait too long to reply, respond or get back to people, you will lose the business to a competitor who is faster on the draw.
Case in point...
A few weeks ago a friend asked me to recommend someone for a project he needed completed. I gave him the name and email address of a person who I thought could help. However, my friend emailed yesterday to advise me that he had not yet received a reply that person even though a full week had passed since he had contacted this person.
Sure, that person could be on vacation but given today's technology he should be responding to people who contact him, even if it's just to say, "I'm on vacation, let's connect when I return to the office on..."
Here's another example...
I contacted a company on Monday January 2nd, forgetting that it was a statutory holiday for many people. I left a message but I when I didn't receive a return call by Wednesday I sourced another supplier for the product I was looking for. Not surprisingly, I still haven't heard back from the first company I called.
Many people (and companies) are struggling to increase their sales. They blame the economy. They claim that it's more difficult to make a sale. They say that competition is tougher.
At least they are right about the last point.
Competition is tougher.
That means you need to race like a hare if you want to capture more sales, win more deals and make more money. You can't afford to act like a tortoise if you want to succeed in today's sales world.