Placing asymmetrical bets with your vertical market

A built-in advantage of targeting one vertical is it forces persistence.

Here's what I mean:

Statistically speaking...44% of salespeople give up after getting one no. They approach somebody, and the person says no, and they never go back to that person again.

22% more salespeople give up after the second no.

14% more give up after the third no.

12% more give up after a fourth no.

Whatever you're trying to sell, 92% of salespeople will give up after being told no.

By having a narrowly defined target audience, you eventually circle back to the same buyers multiple times. Since 60% of buyers finally say yes after 5 no's, your chances of getting a yes improve each time you ask for the business.

Questions to ponder:

👉 What is your sales follow-up process? 

👉 Are you or your sellers giving up after one no?

CQ

P.S. Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz, authors of "Go For No," inspired this post. 👇

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do so many salespeople give up after just one no?

Because rejection feels final in the moment. Statistically, 44% quit after just one no, without realizing that persistence often changes the outcome over time.

How does the dropout rate compound across multiple no's?

44% quit after the first no, another 22% after the second, 14% more after the third, and 12% more after the fourth, adding up to 92% giving up before ever reaching the point where most yeses actually happen.

Why do 60% of buyers reportedly say yes after five no's?

Because initial resistance often isn't final resistance, it's a natural part of the buying process. Persistence past the early no's is what eventually gets a buyer to a genuine yes.

How does targeting one narrowly defined vertical actually force more persistence?

Because a smaller, focused audience gets circled back to repeatedly over time, rather than being abandoned after one rejection in favor of chasing an endless supply of new, unrelated prospects.

What questions are worth asking about a current sales follow-up process?

Whether there's an actual defined process for follow-up, and honestly, whether sellers are giving up after just one no instead of continuing to circle back the way the data suggests is necessary.