Aggressive Patients and the Art of Prospecting
By Finn Faubion
When you hear the words ``aggressive” and “patience” together, they do not seem to fit; many people would say they are oxymorons. These words do not naturally go together…or maybe they do; like sweet and sour, while opposite in flavor, they can definitely please your taste buds when paired together.
I first heard this adjective/noun pair while in the beginning stages of the training program I went through to become a marketing consultant and, at the time, did not think much of it. After about two weeks out of my program and prospecting haaaaard, the two words came to me. Literally, they just popped into my head and for the entire rest of the day I could not figure out exactly why. The next morning, I started my 4:30 AM routine: fed my pets, drank my lemon water, hung on my pull up bar (which helps your posture), meditated, and fully immersed myself in the search for small businesses to help out (who might actually take the time to watch the personalized videos and emails I send to all 10–20 of them), all by 5:15 AM. Prospecting, in case you didn’t already know, is incredibly arduous work; this is why it is important to have a business niche that you enjoy, or you will hate your life every moment you are doing it. Along with enjoying your niche, you also have to stand out if you want to be seen. I cannot tell you how many email templates I have created and tested with catchy subject lines, statistics, and even emojis (everyone likes emojis). Oh, and don’t get me started on my video scripts-at this point, I probably have enough of them to cast a short film…I digress. So there I was; headset on, two computer screens, 27 tabs (probably accurate), and scrolling through Google map listings… when it clicked. I have aggressive patience when it comes to most things in my life, but in that moment, it was with prospecting.
Prospecting is all about obtaining clients; but what may be even more important is the database of leads which provide rich information about your target audience’s needs, preferences, and vulnerabilities. This is where psychology comes into play, but I will save that topic for another blog. The main reason anyone prospects is to bring in clients, however, everyone’s “why” may be different. I prospect in hopes of helping small businesses grow and thrive because I understand and truly believe that small businesses are the foundation to not only the economy, but also to the communities they serve. I am aggressive in my prospecting. I reach out…then I sit back and wait patiently for the day they whip open their laptop and find that email from me they saved, thinking…“maybe this will be helpful”; waiting for the day one of those business owner’s realizes that if they want to grow their business, they will need some help. I am patient because I know that what I am offering will truly help that small business owner who is struggling to improve their reviews, get leads, or create a loyal customer base. I am patient because giving up on a dream is not an option for me.
In the business world, aggressive refers to “pursuing one’s aims and interests forcefully, sometimes unduly so”, with synonyms such as assertive, competitive, vigorous, and energetic. Patience, on the other hand, means “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset”; patience has synonyms such as self-restraint, persistence, and diligence. Yep-this pretty much sums up what it is like to start a new business, learn a new skill, and most of all…PROSPECT.
Humans are trained at an early age to believe that the most gratifying feelings come instantaneously. Waiting is a tough lesson and patience is even more challenging. Unfortunately, most things in life actually do take a tremendous amount of patience, especially if your ultimate goal is to be really great at something. To expect to become an expert in something overnight, in a weekend, a month, or even a year, is simply far-fetched. I know this, you know this. However, I also know that no training or educational system can compete with what experience can teach you; it is during the experiences when one decides to either be “too legit to quit” throughout the painfully slow and low times, or to “throw in the towel” when sh*t gets to be too much to handle. What is it that is too much to handle? Were you not prepared to work your ass off when making the decision to start a new business from the ground up? Revisit your why if you are not sure how to answer these questions.
Okay, now that you have made it this far, you are well deserving of my pitch. For me, aggressive patience means that my dreams, my goals, and my “top of the mountain”, is worth the hard work and wait. I love what the unbearable tasks like prospecting will lead to-I go at it every day with aggression, knowing that if I am patient, it will pay off. But here is the thing-we are all equipped with a different set of skills, temperaments, and control we choose to have over our egos. Therefore, aggressive patience looks different for everyone; but what I do know for certain is that no matter who we are…when we have a dream, the desire to obtain it never goes away. It all comes down to who decides to jump in headfirst, without a life raft. What one chooses to do with that decision will reveal whether they are up to the challenge of practicing aggressive patience in an aggressively impatient world.
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