Tag Archives: persistence

TNF #113: Don’t break the chain

Welcome Professionals…

…today is Thursday again, time for the next Thursday Night Flight post. It is close to my bedtime and I have no idea, no clue for this post. I don’t feel like writing today.

Whatever – there is no way I am going to break the chain.

Two years ago, I took the deliberate decision to write one post every Thursday and have kept my sequence since then. I will not skip an edition just on a gut level. If I quit, it is due to a deliberate thought process.

When I started this series it was clearly an experiment in digital marketing. I had never written a blog before. English is not my native language. I knew that I would struggle and that I would make plenty of mistakes. I decided to go for it anyway. To embarress myself in public and to acknowledge my shortcomings.

I have the sincere goal to pass on helpful experience on best practices for top management consultants. As I do this, I learn a lot for myself. I make myself aware of tips and tricks as I write them down. I practice writing a blog. And after all, I also take an exercise in self-discipline.

This is why it is so important to never break the chain!

Job done!

Malte

Thursday Night Flight is brought to you by Malte Müller Professionals. Sharing best practices for top management consultants on topics like communication, client handling, problem solving, appearance, and fitness. Check out www.mm-professionals.com for more material and free resources!

TNF #092: Persistence vs. patience

Welcome Professionals…

…Building new client relationships requires a long-term effort. Trust will only grow over time. It may take years to establish a new client relationship. Many times, we will give up too early. For a winning strategy, we need to keep the right balance between persistence and patience.

Persistence is highly important. We must not loose grip if our emails or phone calls do not get answered. We continuously have to think of new ways to add value to the person that we want to build a connection with. We have to keep trying.

There is a tipping point, when persistence is turning into annoyance. When our activity reaches a certain level of intensity and frequency, the target person might feel pushed into something and this will usually put an end to the newly established connection. This is why persistence has to balanced with patience.

Hard to say which number of contact attempts is ideal. My business partner has empirically developed a rule of thumb over the last 30 years in business. According to his practical research, it takes 8 quality interactions per year to develop a new connection. This has proven to be working for hundreds of connections established. A quality interaction is defined as a two way communication that is personalized and linked to the target person’s targets and interests. Sending a simple newsletter does not count, but a personal invitation to an event with an answer received (confirmation of attendance or excuse due to other plans) will be eligible. Phone calls turn out to be the most efficient means for quality interactions.

I have tracked this rule myself and it works for me. Let me know how it works for you!

Malte

TNF #055: Persistence is key

1 Reply

Welcome Professionals…

…I was reminded of the importance of persistence this week. For a time of 2 weeks, I had to interrupt my daily workout due to a cold. When I started again, I was surprised how weak my muscels had become only due to this break of 2 weeks.

It is so important that we keep our positive habits consistently. We need to keep our routines of practicing and continuously improving our skills. The moment we stop, the skill level will degrade rapidly.

This is not only true for physical sports, but also for creative thinking, slide writing, story telling, networking, giving speeches and so on and on. Persistence is key!

Wishing you a great and persistent week

Malte