Building a sales pipeline is a lot like running a marathon. It’s not always enjoyable, and you’ll face plenty of disappointments along the way.
I ran my first marathon: 42.2 km in 4 hours and 29 minutes. And believe me, the first 20 km were a lot more fun than the last 20! 😉
But I knew that if I kept going, I’d eventually cross that finish line.
And that’s exactly how building a sales pipeline works.
When you’re doing outreach on LinkedIn, rejection is part of the deal. People won’t respond to your messages. Meetings get cancelled. Prospects tell you they’re not interested. And sometimes, even after months of conversations, a deal still falls through.
That’s part of the game!
What I’ve learned from building YouLynq.me and helping hundreds of companies grow through LinkedIn is that most people simply give up too soon.
They send a few messages, don’t see results and stop. They post content for a few weeks, generate no leads and decide that LinkedIn doesn’t work.
But social selling is a marathon, not a sprint!
Sometimes it takes 6 to 12 months, or even longer, before a conversation turns into actual business.
That’s why I always say: content builds your brand, outreach starts conversations and follow-up creates opportunities.
You need all three.
And just like running a marathon, consistency matters much more than speed.
Most new business comes from following up, not from the first conversation. And that’s exactly where most salespeople give up.
They stop at kilometre 20, while the finish line is at 42.
So keep posting, keep connecting, keep following up and, most importantly, keep building relationships.
Because your next customer might already be in your network.
You just haven’t crossed the finish line together yet! 🏃♂️
A big thank you to AutismeFonds.
You can donate here: https://lnkd.in/d4qWMceE
Want to watch my entire marathon? You can find the full recording on YouTube here: https://lnkd.in/dzqnbbqX
