Power of Perseverance
By Jonathan Kranz
You know, I wish I had a dollar for every conversation I’ve had that’s run something like this:
Client: “We need to attract more qualified leads.”
Me: “Have you tried [fill in the blank: direct mail, optimizing web pages, publishing articles, public speaking, networking, etc.]?
Client: “It doesn’t work.”
Me: “Really? My other clients have had tremendous success with it. Why do you think [thing filled in previous blank] doesn’t work?
Client: “We tried it once. And it didn’t work.”
Me: [Gentle sobbing; muffled, yet derisive laughter; or frustrated banging of head against desk.]
There’s the rub: “We tried it once.” Once. And when the torrent of new business failed to instantly materialize, they gave up.
I’m a firm believer in ROI. Yet I also understand that returns aren’t instantaneous. Success is predicated, not on a one-shot effort, but on a sustained effort over time.
Case in point: Many of you may have met me (virtually) through the articles I publish on MarketingProfs.com. But after the first article I wrote for them, nothing happened; the phone didn’t ring off the hook. In fact, after the first full year of writing articles, I received little more than a trickle of inquiries.
Then suddenly, about ten or so articles in, the floodgates opened. Real leads – highly qualified inquiries from companies I’d love to do business with – came streaming in. And the leads keep coming.
Now, I don’t know what the sweet spot is, or why the sudden rush. Some call it “critical mass.” Others, “the tipping point.” But whatever you call it, it involves a simple virtue: perseverance. Once just isn’t enough.
So sure, monitor and measure responses to each deployment for tactical adjustments: tweak your offer, your primary benefit statement, your segmentation, etc. But if you expect success, maintain a strategic focus on your chosen technique for a fixed set of time or number of executions. Success comes to those who act. And act again. And again.
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Kranz Communications
(781) 620-1154
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