Real Hustle is following them down the aisle.

When times are good nobody is chasing as they can sell without.

But when times are tough, without a doubt this is when people should be chasing every lead and every customer but very few do. I think it’s usually because it comes on the heels of great times, of easy times. When times are good people get fat and when things get hard they just live off the fat instead of working for more.

I recently went to the local farmers market with my family. After a few disappointing minutes of touring around the massive amount of vendors with many similar products we grabbed a coffee to discus what we bought.

My wife was actually the first to say, “nobody is really hustling.” She went on to tell me that she bought some vegetarian Thai food even though neither of us are vegetarians. But the guy who was working the booth was just so damn compelling.

“Hey, do you like Thai food?” he said as she walked by with a baby strapped to her back and another child in tow. Probably among the least likely customers given the circumstances.
He asks again, “do you like Thai, how about green curry?”

She does so she stopped and said yes.

“Then you’ve got to try this,” he says as he proceeds to give her yellow curry.

She says, no, she likes green curry but he tells her she needs to warm up a little as he gives her four different samples before he blows her away with the amazing green curry. She then bought several meals from the man and carried on.

— Leads deserve your attention. Don’t waste them. —

No one else was following her down the aisle, no one else was enticing the customers with free samples like this guy, no one else was really hustling. In fact, no one seemed all that hungry for business and based on the amount of vendors in that room, they should all be hustling for attention and sales.

We live in a generation where many people don’t want to be bothered, but you should definitely be there for those that do. Be ready to catch their eye and offer them something irresistible when they look up from their phone. Make sure you’re ready to answer any questions because in a world where unlimited information is at your fingertips, you don’t want to wait to get the attention of a store owner. Always be ready and always hustle for the next sale.

Regardless of the type of market we’re in, we should never live off our fat. Always hustle, always be hungry, and always chase the customer down the aisle.

In my business, or any sale position, if you’re given even a slight amount of interest, as small as a glance as they walk by, an email, a phone call, a referral, and especially if a prospect actually walks into your store – you should never stop chasing them until they politely or probably not politely ask you to stop phoning, emailing or showing up at their door.

Always be chasing them down the aisle.

For me it’s called the yellow folder – it’s a very technical system that I have. It is literally a yellow folder and with permanent marker in big black letters it says LEADS. Everybody that has ever contacted us or has been referred to us goes into the yellow folder and on a regular basis I go through it and I chase them. I resurrect conversations, emails, make phone calls, make it personal like dropping off a copy of my latest book, a business card, or my favourite cinnamon buns. Sometimes it’s direct and sometimes it’s providing them with information on something that happened in the area just to stay on their radar.

Leads deserve your attention. Don’t waste them.