Someone I spoke to last week told me about the most successful salesperson he’d ever met in the social sector.
This man described his approach as “collide and follow up.”
Collide is the act of getting that first, high quality interaction, which inevitably is the opposite of a lazy, AI-drafted email written generically to everyone. It is a high-value, memorable, in person connection—or its highly curated virtual equivalent—an encounter that leaves a deep and lasting positive impression.
Follow up is what it sounds like, with two notable characteristics.
The first is its relentlessness. Sales is for people with the courage to offer up something of value and the toughness to get told, time and again, some version of “no” or “not now.” We have the fortitude and discipline to continue to pursue leads in the face of repeated rejection.
The nature of the follow up is what really struck me. He described it as relentlessly generous, wildly adding value, the polar opposite of the self-serving, transactional nature of most sales pursuit.
It got me thinking about a simple 2×2 for salespeople.
So many salespeople, especially in the social sector, are too timid. Decisions in our sector are often slow, and it is natural to conclude that the most respectful thing to do is to give people lots of space.
The opposite approach is to recognize that a self-serving interruption is itself the problem. It is a tax on someone’s time and attention, whereas and any generous outreach is just that: additive, without seeking something in return. It reminds me of Adam Grant’s givers, takers, and matchers, and how often salespeople are at best matchers but most often takers.
The best salespeople are living in quadrant 1: completely fearless in their willingness to connect, to push, to try again, and tireless in ensuring that each and every interaction creates value for the person they’re connecting with, as an end in itself.
