Pitbull Marketing

We have all heard the stories or seen headlines relating to Pitbulls or American Pitbull Terriers. The stories aren’t pretty and whether or not they are a fair representation of the dog breed is another discussion. The one thing that is never argued when it comes to Pitbulls is that they don’t let go! They are magnificently focused on the task at hand. If that approach is applied to marketing it can produce terrific long term results or the philosophy can back fire and have a negative affect. How do we avoid the negatives?

A true story may provide answers that would be otherwise difficult to explain. In a previous life and business I had a person that made phone calls for me; these were cold calls to set up appointments. Anyone who has ever done this knows it is a difficult and thankless job. Lets face it, some people are brutal when they don’t know and aren’t face to face with someone. The person making these calls was well trained and truly a professional, no matter the response the caller was always courteous and professional. If someone declined to meet with me during one of these calls the caller would always ask if it was alright if they called back in six months. Six months is a long time away so most people would say sure, why not. Most of the time I didn’t know how often someone had been called but in one case My Caller was excited after getting me an appointment with someone who had said no for several years.

When I arrived at the meeting I was surprised when the person who had agreed to the appointment told me the only reason I was there was because my phone caller was so professional and persistent. He proceeded to tell me that he would always chuckle when they would say, “Would it be alright with you if I contact you in another six months?” But one day he turned to his calendar and marked off six months immediately after the call. You guessed it, the next call was exactly six months to the day! He told me he had to arrange an appointment if for no other reason to let me know how professional my staff was. After several meetings this person became a long term client and friend.

I congratulated and praised the person that made the call(s) but I think getting that appointment was the best reward of all. The fact that the return call was exactly six months later can be attributed to the use of a computer, but the actual call was made on time due to a Pitbull like commitment to following through, doing what a person said they would do and professionalism. The courtesy, respect and professional demeanor that was used in daily practice made the Pitbull approach not only bearable but admirable.