How Many Times Do You Call a Prospect Before You Stop?

Think back to the last time you did something that you regretted. For me it’s not that long ago. I filled out an on line form requesting information about a product. I thought I would get some information emailed to me. Then I could review the materials and make a decision about next steps.  Imagine my surprise when something totally different happened.

Within a day I started getting phone calls and voicemails. One day I got four phone calls. I didn’t even get four different voicemails. They were the same voicemail. That’s not selling. That’s stalking.

Even worse, the voicemail sounded like an imitation of a stereotypical pushy salesman. His voice volume was loud. He presumed to know me when he didn’t. His greeting was insincere. He sounded like he was introducing someone to come on down on a game show.

I wasn’t going to play.

This was when I was traveling on a tight schedule with speaking engagements at conferences. Think about your time in a noisy airport. It’s very difficult to hear. It’s also undesirable to be speaking with suppliers after a long day of delivering presentations.

In this company’s defense, I did request the information. I didn’t request to be stalked.

So how do you know when to stop calling?

I use a statistic from Selling Power magazine which said that 81 percent of sales calls close after the fifth sales call. So if face-to-face sales calls take that amount of time, getting a prospect to speak with you could also take that long.

Plan your voicemail message. You should sound relaxed and focused, not stressed and phony. That means not talking too loud or soft. Start with why you are calling and what you hope to accomplish that is in the best interests of the listener.

I would have at least called back had he said, "I’m calling you because you expressed interest in... I’ve worked with other companies like yours to achieve these types of results and want to see if I can do the same for you." That doesn’t sound desperate does it?

Just don’t call on a daily basis, either. Multiple times a day is inappropriate, too.

After five tries that are spaced out over days, leave a voicemail that says why you called to begin with. Follow with "It seems like now isn’t the right time. If you wish to call me here’s my number." If prospects really want to speak with you they will call. If they don’t call back, then face it. They believe there is not a compelling need to speak with you now.

It’s important to face reality because I can promise you that when you go over the line into stalking territory you are now out of the boundaries of professional selling. You’re a stalker.

Do you buy from stalkers? I don’t.

I’ll bet your prospects don’t either. So pay attention to the voicemails you leave and stop calling when you don’t get a response after your predetermined number of attempts.

When you stop calling on a daily basis at least you can leave the prospect thinking positively about you.  That’s a lot better than being thought of as a stalker.

Maura Schreier-Fleming is a sales strategist and founder of Best@Selling, a sales training and consulting company. She wrote Monday Morning Sales Tips and works with sales professionals who want to sell more and get more business.