How I got the greatest compliment in my sales career
The story begins with a situation a lot of salespeople will relate to: A rude prospect.
The only time that a compliment genuinely feels great is when it is earned.
A few years ago, I garnered the greatest compliment from my arch-nemesis customer.
I know you have a customer like that.
Every salesperson does.
A little background first:
I used to work for a national plant brand, and I had nearly complete freedom on who I got to sell to.
There were a few protected key accounts, but other than that, I could go anywhere in my territory and sell plants to people there.
Get this: My territory was essentially everything West of the Mississippi River (except Texas) in the US and Canada.
Talk about a dream sales gig. I would pick a beautiful spot out West that had a bunch potential customers in that area and go for a week on the company’s dime.
It was great.
So here’s where the story begins:
I was working to get a sale from one of the largest nurseries out near Portland, OR.
Why make 10 small sales when you can make one giant sale? Ya know... elephant hunting.
The owner was known for being a bit abrasive.
But, I was able to wedge myself onto his calendar through a call to his admin one spring.
I flew out there and showed up at his nursery for an "I'll be in the area" level of loose meeting.
If you've ever been in sales, you know the amount I'm stretching to even call this a meeting.
So, I showed up, and he was not in the office.
And… his sales manager didn't know why I was there...
This is going well already.
But he was courteous enough to decide that giving me a tour of a few different farms they own while we looked for the owner would be a great idea.
So off we go. The old facility tour...
After about an hour of the nursery show-and-tell, we found the owner.
Perfect.
He quickly walks up to the truck as I roll down the passenger window, a big smile on my face, and he immediately hits me with a demand:
"What are the top 20 plants that my competitor sells?!"
My big smile evaporates.
I tell him I don't know.
His competitor just happened to be one of the protected accounts I didn’t work with.
He sticks his hand up between us🖐️, says I'm no use to him, turns, and walks away. The meeting is over. It probably wasn't 20 seconds.
His sales manager and I had to pick our jaws up off the floor of the truck at this level of rudeness.
Talk about an awkward ride back to their office.
I was sweaty. Embarrassed. Pissed. Determined.
Somebody much smarter than I once told me in reference to terrible customers, “The greatest revenge is taking their money.”
He just casually spilled some of the best business wisdom I’d ever heard.
I finished my weeklong sales trip, and upon returning to our office, I emailed him the list of his competitor's top 20 plants.
Who cares if he was rude? I want the sale.
A week later, I called him. No answer. I left a voicemail.
A week after that, I did it again.
And again... and again. Rinse. Repeat.
To make sure I still sounded enthusiastic and positive, I turned it into a game only I was playing.
I would call every Friday afternoon and leave a unique voicemail.
Eventually, he'll crack, I'd tell myself.
Months later, after still calling him every Friday, I ran into him at a trade show. I'd called him 26 times at this point.
He stops to pull me aside and says to me:
“You are the most professionally persistent salesperson I’ve ever met.”
26 calls is probably a bit much for most prospects, but this wasn't an average prospect. This was a big one. The trophy fish that keeps the angler going back to the lake.
The $100,000+ sale came soon after that. And then another one six months later...and another...
Moral of the story is...
• No response isn't a "No."
• Don't stop trying until they officially decline.
• Space out your calls and emails appropriately to avoid being pushy.
Don't be annoying.
Be professionally persistent.