I've got this one guy, we'll call him Robin, because that's his name. Purchasing Manager at a pretty significant valve manufacturer. I've moved positions and companies a few times, but he remains relevant to what I do (I sell steel). Robin works for a company here in town, and he's actually been a "customer" of mine once that I got grandfathered (he would just send a PO out of the blue, but not respond to any offers for a meeting/lunch/etc). Every 3-4 months I have a rolling reminder set on my calendar, that has been running for the past 6-7 years now (2 different companies I've been with), to ping ole Robin. I don't waste a lot of time because I'm 98% sure it'll never go anywhere, but I want him to know I'm more stubborn than he is.
So every 90 days or so I'll leave a quick voicemail like "Hey Robin! It's DustFrog! Just wanted to touch base!" and followup with a bullshit email. He has actually responded "not interested at the present moment thx" once, and then a couple of years later when one of my emails was "how about now?" he responded "no thx".
Some of you say I'm wasting my time, and I for sure am. However, a handful of emails and voicemails in a year takes me less time than typing this post out, and this is 100% a waste of time too. At this point we are in a war of attrition.
Robin, I know what you do. I know you know who I am. I know my product is relevant to your company. And I know you secretly smile when you see my emails.
One of us will win someday Robin. But it won't be because I gave up.
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