Every business at some point has a prospect that they just can't convert to a sale. For one reason or another you try and try and you just can't get them to buy. What keeps you going; that is what keeps you pursuing the prospect that refuses to buy from you?
Steelheading season is just around the corner for me and is the primary influence for this post. For those of you that don't know steelhead are sea-run trout; and they are at the top of "the must catch list" of many fisherman. I have only been steelheading once, but I am addicted. The question is why? Steelheading is hell. Its cold....and I mean cold. In Idaho (where I fish for steelhead) the best time to catch these fish is in the late fall/early winter when they are fresh from the sea and are returning to the rivers they were born in. Steelhead like low light and cold water. Therefore, great times to fish are when it is overcast; or early (very early) in the morning or in the evenings. Now here is the kicker; steelhead are not actively feeding. If they are not feeding how and why am I expected to catch one?
Steelhead are tough customers; I last fished for them for three days on the Salmon river in Idaho. I'm estimating that I cast somewhere between 500 - 1,000,000 times in 3 days....I had one bite. One bite, not one fish caught. Why? Why am I dying to go steelheading again next month? I'm not 100% sure but here are some guesses: I like the cold, I like casting, I like fishing and I like a good challenge. Is it possible that I want to catch a steelhead because they are not eating? Yes.
Now for the parallel to business; have you ever had a tough time converting a prospect to a sale? Why didn't you quit? What helped you succeed in converting that tough prospect to a sale?
I guess I'm hoping that I can take some of this advice to the river next month.