As a young kid, I was always taught the valuable lesson of never giving up or quitting. No matter how many times you get knocked down, you have to stand up and keep moving. That is the same trait that I also admire in many of the entrepreneurs that I have funded over the years. This mentality is what carries many great entrepreneurs from near death experiences to ultimate success. However, I do caution that entrepreneurs should temper this “never give up” attitude with a “move on quickly” one as well.
Let me explain. Many entrepreneurs will take this same “never give up” attitude with the sales process or raising financing. On the one hand this attitude is what is absolutely necessary to get things done but on the other hand it can be quite detrimental. What entrepreneurs need to do is learn how to qualify their leads and to do it quickly. The worst outcome for an entrepreneur i to spend countless cycles on trying to close a deal that is not closable or spending way to much time on a lead only to end up giving away the farm to make it happen. Never giving up may actually prevent you from finding the next great customer or funder. I have seen this time and time again from many companies and what is problematic is that time is precious for a startup. You only have so much time to hit your milestones so use it wisely. When you are meeting with potential prospects make sure to qualify them in the first meeting and understand if they really do have a need for what you are selling, the decision making process, the timeframe in which a decision is made, and ultimately the potential budget. If the information does not meet your needs, move on quickly. You can take your “never give up” attitude by trying to qualify as many prospects as possible rather than “never giving up” on one or two.