Yesterday I received a sales call from someone I met recently who would like to do business. While I'm not in need of his services at the moment, I would certainly like to keep in touch. He understood that the timing wasn't right, and asked if he could be "professionally persistent" and call me next month. I almost fell out of my chair.
Yes! Please, be persistent in a professional manner. Not aggressively so: "I've been calling you for months, isn't it time we do business together?", nor the reverse, painfully meek: "You probably have found another source by now, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to make one more call."
Being professionally persistent means asking for a better time to call, and following up with confidence and sometimes a dash of humor. A case in point: I've been trying to schedule a meeting with a very important person with whom I have a strong connection, but it hasn't happened. Each time we agree on a date, she cancels, albeit with great apology. When it happened this morning at 9:00 (the 10:30 coffee date is off), I recalled the phrase I heard yesterday and told my VIP that while I was sorry we weren't going to get together, I congratulated her on her recent business coup and told her I would continue to be professionally persistent. She laughed and told me to do just that. She also thanked me for my understanding.
The Elegant Executive always assumes good intentions, doesn't let minor setbacks ruin the day, and knows that mutually beneficial professional relationships take time to nurture and grow.
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