A while ago, I wrote a post on the importance of hand written thank you notes (a lost art form in my opinion!). Today I wanted to share this eye opening information about WHY tenacity can separate you from the pack!

Any of you that know me know I am super protective of my relationships and my clients and prospects. The reasons are simple.

# 1 - I care about them and their business. Genuinely care. I am curious. Passionate. Protective.

# 2 - Salespeople who protect their relationships and their referrals make 4-5X more than salespeople who don't.

# 3 - It is a proven fact that although 91% of clients say they would give referrals, only 11% of sales professionals actually ask for them!

# 4 - Responsiveness is key. 30-50% of overall sales go to the person who responds first. It drives my family crazy that I answer email at 7 am, 10 pm and check it almost all the time. The truth of the matter is, he who snoozes looses. Be responsive. Even if the response is just "I received your request, I'm on it!"

I've had clients that I have serviced for 15 years or more; in multiple lines of business. I believe tenacity and responsiveness is what has kept them coming back. They know they can count on me to put their best interest first; and to be responsive and tenacious in helping them achieve their business goals.

I recently signed a new client, a multi-billion dollar brand, that I had been working on for over 18 months. That client stated to me that I was the ONLY one who stayed in contact past the first 90 days. Even though we didn't win the business the first time out.

In my first executive team meeting with LEAP, Daniel Knapp, our CEO, gave me a signed book. The book was Dr. Seuss' "Green Eggs and Ham". We proceeded to study the book together, and the lesson learned is paramount to any sales professional. Sam tried 20 times to close the sale - in 17 different ways no less!

I think there are 3 key things to be learned here:

1. Persistence Pays. Tenacity Rules. Never lose hope. Never give up.

2. Research. Sam does not blindly pursue his goal. He is confident his solution is best for the client; and he seeks to genuinely understand the client and their needs so that he can better understand the potential business fit between his solution and the client's desires.

3. Mutual Respect. Sam is humbly committed to his client and to their satisfaction. He does not seek to build a long term relationship that only benefits him. He seeks to build a long term relationship that is based on respect and rapport.

I have had the privilege of working with some of the greatest sales mentors and minds in the business over the years. The greatest compliment that any one of them has ever given me is that I am tenacious. Go be tenacious today!