Customer Acquisition - How Patient?

[Rob]

Just picking up a point raised in a previous thread about customer acquisition. How patient do you have to be in acquiring a new client. I remember once it took me 3 years to get a clinet. Once a year I visited the business and treated them as if they were already my client. There was no hard sell, just a conversation about what they had been up to the previous year and the challenges they were seeing ahead. I was patient.

Sure enough during the third the competition messed up and they immediately picked up the phone to me and the deal was done!

Was wondering if I was overly patient or do you have examples where you have hung on but finally clinched a new client?

[nickyd]

Hi Rob

I waited 6 years to be awarded a tender by the South African Government and eventually in 2006 I was awarded my first building tender. Today, I deeply regret my persistence and patience; as it turns out, once all the building work was complete, they never paid me my final payment. As the saying goes - Get to YES, close the sale, if you don't, MOVE ON!
Blessings
Nickyd

[Rob]

Nickyd,

Don't draw the conclusion that wasn't worth it ... you just dealt with the wrong party! Am also based in Africa and being involved in banking (see my profile) the first lesson is 'enter into contracts with governments at your peril'!

[Raja C Hireker]

Hi,

Raja here.

I've been in situations where I've completed a marketing document or a campaign for third parties, but, didn't get paid.

I could've ranted and raged.

However, the more PROFITABLE route was to take what I knew, what I did, what I completed, and take it to similar industries as a REAL LIVE piece of work.

We can all do this.

Also, with every seemingly BAD experience, there's ALWAYS a way to turn it around and extract some nourishable value from it.

Raja

Business & Personal Success Coaching / Copywriter
http://RajaHireker.com


P.S Now, I get paid BEFORE I take on any projects! A BIG lesson learnt!

[lady macbeth]

We attend one big trade show each year and everyone always asks when we get back whether it has been worthwhile and have we had any orders.

This year we had an nice order from a customer that we originally met two and a half years ago at one of our first trade shows and have seen at each one - just to keep in touch. The order was a nice surprise!

I think it takes time to build the rapport and trust and as soon as she got the money she needed she told us that she knew exactly what she wanted and who she wanted to buy off. Without that contact over the years she wouldnt have been so quick to simply that place the order with us and might have taken time to shop around. So in this case I think the persistence did pay off.

Oh and they paid with no problem :)

Samantha