Many people never really understand the true meaning of the word “persistence.”
When you continually work towards something that may seem like an insurmountable or unattainable task but never give up and continue trying until you accomplish your goal. That is my definition of persistence. I had a good reminder of this week of why being persistent truly pays off, and why most people don’t have the stomach or patience to endure being persistent.
There was a piece of new business that I had been working on for almost two years that, at times, I thought was very close and, at other times, the thought crossed my mind to throw in the towel and give up. For almost two years, I had made several trips across the country to meet with some very nice people who own and run the business, but everything from long term contracts with current vendors, to Covid, state mandated closures, business booms and now inventory shortages had kept this business unobtainable.
While being persistent, I also exercised patience in my dealings and communications. The owners would call or give me small projects that probably really weren’t worth a lot of my time in the grand scheme of things, but I warmly accepted each project knowing that it would hopefully get me one step closer to my end goal. Sometimes, the projects were frustrating, and others were at times easy projects. But what I failed to realize until this week was that each project was proving to them my ability to perform and execute in a very flawless manner.
And then it happened. All at once, when I took them a very well-thought-out plan that showed a tremendous value and fulfilled a need that I had observed over the last two years, it all came together and I won the business. No flashy presentation, no great speech, no discounted rates or concessions – just being that consistent vendor that I had proven to be with a value proposition of what I could bring to the table made it all happen. No bells or whistles, no frills, just a great business model that would prove to make them more successful than they are without me is what was communicated.
It felt great. It was also a little scary because I see how much work is now required, but for me, that is no problem. The business came by two years of grit and determination and a mindset of persistence – with a never-give-up attitude.
The next time life throws a wrench in your plans (or a series of wrenches – like the last two years in this case) all you need to do is remember one word.: persistence.